Shardul Thakur was selected in India’s World Cup 2023 squad ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal because of his all-round abilities. He is a pace bowling all-rounder who India thought could contribute with both the bat and ball. However, Thakur has failed in both the Asia Cup 2023 and the ongoing India vs Australia ODIs to showcase his all-round abilities. His batting is below par in ODIs and he is expensive with the ball as well. Therefore, India should look to find a player who could replace Shardul Thakur in the World Cup 2023 squad. Here we have listed three players who could be the perfect replacement for Shardul Thakur in the upcoming ODI World Cup.
1. Tilak Varma
The young lefty is making a mark in ODIs. He is in a great form with the bat and can also bowl a bit. He is a handy player who could actually prove to be useful with the bat and ball. Varma also brings a different dimension to the Indian batting line-up with his left handed batting.
2. Yuzvendra Chahal
The ODI World Cup 2023 is scheduled to be played in India and despite that India has picked only one leg-spinner that is Kuldeep Yadav in the squad for World Cup. Yuzvendra Chahal’s exclusion from the ODI World Cup has created a lot of controversy and the selectors could rewrite their wrongs by picking Chahal in place of Thakur in World Cup.
3. Ravichandran Ashwin
About two months ago, no one was thinking about Ravichandran Ashwin playing ODIs for India. However, he has returned to India’s ODI squad after Axar Patel was injured before the Australia series. Ashwin is a off spinner and India lacks one in their World Cup squad. He is also a much better batter than Shardul Thakur in ODIs. Therefore, Ashwin could replace Shardul Thakur.