Former Indian cricketer Abhishek Nayar has unveiled his playing XI for the opening match of the upcoming World Cup 2023, led by Rohit Sharma. In his selection, Abhishek Nayar has left out the young wicketkeeper-batter, Ishan Kishan, for the game against Australia in the prestigious event.
The highly anticipated World Cup is set to commence on October 5th with a match between 2019 semi-finalists England and Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. A total of 48 matches will be played in the tournament across ten venues in India.
The Rohit Sharma-led team is considered one of the favorites to win the title in this 10-team tournament, given their familiarity with the conditions. The Indian team previously won the trophy under the leadership of MS Dhoni in the last ICC ODI tournament held in 2011.
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The Men in Blue will start their World Cup campaign with a match against the Pat Cummins-led Australian team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8th. India had lost to the Men in Yellow at this iconic venue in an ODI match earlier this year.
Abhishek Nayar’s India Playing XI:
- Rohit Sharma (c)
- Shubman Gill
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- KL Rahul (wicketkeeper)
- Hardik Pandya
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Ravichandran Ashwin/Axar Patel
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Mohammed Siraj
Nayar has chosen Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the opening pair, while star batter Virat Kohli occupies the No. 3 position. Following Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who will also keep wickets, make up the middle order. Notably, Ishan Kishan has been excluded from Nayar’s playing XI.
Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are the chosen all-rounders, with Shardul Thakur missing out in favor of an extra spinner to suit the pitch conditions. If Axar Patel is unavailable, Ravichandran Ashwin will bat at No. 8.
Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj form the primary bowling attack, while Mohammed Shami failed to make Nayar’s final selection. Hardik Pandya is expected to contribute as the third pacer in the bowling attack.