Former cricketer and current commentator Wasim Jaffer has chosen his desired 15-player squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Interestingly, he included the out-of-favor players Shikhar Dhawan and Sanju Samson in his selected team.
Despite not being included in India’s 17-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against West Indies and having played his last match for the national team in December 2022, Shikhar Dhawan has been chosen by Wasim Jaffer as a backup opener in his preferred India’s 15-member squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
In a conversation on JioCinema, Wasim Jaffer revealed his three preferred openers for India’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad, which are Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Shikhar Dhawan. He provided this selection while discussing the potential composition of the team for the upcoming tournament.
Also read: ICC ODI World Cup 2023: India Squad Prediction
“My three openers will be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan. Even though Shikhar Dhawan is not going to be picked, I will keep him as the backup opener. Even if he doesn’t play at the start, I am okay with that.”
“After that, Virat Kohli at No. 3 obviously. Shreyas Iyer at No. 4, KL Rahul at No. 5 and Hardik Pandya at No. 6. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will be my three spinners in the XI.”
“In my XI, I will have Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj/Mohammad Shami. I will play two seamers – Bumrah and Siraj. For me, it is very important that Hardik Pandya bowls because the World Cup is in India. Even if he doesn’t bowl 10 overs and bowls seven-eight overs, it’s enough for me.”
“If he bowls, I will definitely try to play three spinners and I will definitely play both Axar and Jadeja because they are all-rounders. My third spinner will obviously be Kuldeep. My fourth seamer will be Shardul Thakur. Sanju Samson will be my backup keeper because I have already picked Shikhar as my third opener.”