With just over a month left for the World Cup to begin in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to pick the squad on September 3. As per reports, most of the players from the Asia Cup squad are likely to be included in the mega event, which will be hosted by India from October 5 to November 19.
Official confirmation?
While there is no official confirmation regarding the date of selection of the squad, the selectors may announce the team after India’s match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup on September 2. Meanwhile, Team India is gearing up for the Asia Cup which is being hosted by Pakistan, but will also be played in Sri Lanka.
Earlier, chief selection Ajit Agarkar and Skipper Rohit Sharma had confirmed that the World Cup squad will be picked in line with the team announced for the Asia Cup. The World Cup will be played in a round-robin format just like in 2019. All 10 teams will play against each other at least once, followed by the knockouts. The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals. There will be 15 members in each squad.
Concerns over KL Rahul
Meanwhile, selectors may also consider some players as stand-by as there is uncertainty over the fitness of some of the players. KL Rahul, for instance, has been declared unfit to play the first two matches of the Asia Cup because of a “niggle” problem. Because of this, Sanju Samson has been included in the Asia Cup squad so that he can be utilized in the latter part of the tournament in case Rahul is unable to recover on time.
Batting at number 5, KL Rahul is one of the important batsmen in India’s batting lineup. In 18 innings so far he has scored 742 runs at an average of 53 in the 50-over format of the game so far.