Recently, ICC ( International Cricket Council ) officially announced the 15-member squad of the Indian team for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 tournament. It would be exciting to draw an intriguing comparison of the Team India World Cup 2023 squad vs. the 2019 and 2011 squads.
As the grand tournament is being hosted in India, many fans are curious to know the Indian team squads prior to one month ahead of the ICC World Cup tournament starting from 5th October 2023 (Thursday).
Rohit Sharma as a captain is set to lead his team along with all-rounder cum vice-captain Hardik Pandya with their perfect understanding and co-ordination.
As Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya continue to be the captain and vice-captain of the Indian cricket team followed by the events of the Asia Cup 2023 tournament, common questions may arise among all cricket fans such as:
- Are all players in the World Cup 2023 squad the same compared to the Asia Cup 2023 squad?
- How strong is the batting and bowling line-up of the Indian cricket team?
- Can Hardik Pandya as a Vice-captain support Rohit Sharma’s captaincy to make his team win World Cup once again after 2011 at their home ground?
- Is the Indian cricket team’s squad stronger for the World Cup 2023 tournament compared to 2019?
- In what ways does the present Indian cricket team surpass the 2011 World Cup winning squad?
- How can Team India manage the absence of the former World Cup 2011-winning captain MS Dhoni?
As a cricket fan, the answer to the common queries will be discussed in detail by sharing important facts and stats.
Before comparing the Indian Team World Cup squads of 2023 and 2019, let us know the exciting facts and stats of players included in the 15-men squad of the ICC World Cup 2023 as discussed below in detail…
Team India World Cup 2023 squad: Important Players included and Stats
Here is the list of 15 members included in the ICC World Cup 2023 Indian Squad along with their best stats ( as of 6th September 2023) :
|
S.No |
Player |
Role |
Highest Score (in ODIs) |
Total Number of Wickets Taken (in ODIs) |
Best Bowling Figures in ODI (Runs- Wickets) |
| 1. | Rohit Sharma
(Captain ) |
Right Handed Batsman | 264 | 8 | 27-2 |
| 2. |
Shubman Gill |
Right Handed Batsman |
208 | NA | NA |
| 3. |
Virat Kohli |
Right Handed Batsman |
183 | 4 | 15-1 |
| 4. |
Shreyas Iyer |
Right Handed Batsman |
113 | NA | NA |
| 5. | Hardik Pandya
(Vice Captain) |
All-rounder
(Right Handed Batsman and medium fast bowling) |
92 | 74 | 24-4 |
| 6. | Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder
(Left Handed Batsman and spin bowling) |
87 | 197 |
36-5 |
|
7. |
Surya Kumar Yadav | Right Handed Batsman | 64 | NA | NA |
|
8. |
Ishan Kishan | Left Handed Batsman
& Wicket Keeper |
210 | NA | NA |
|
9. |
KL Rahul |
Right Handed Batsman & Wicket Keeper |
112 | NA | NA |
|
10. |
Shardul Thakur | Bowler
( Right arm fast bowling) |
50 | 59 | 37-4 |
| 11. |
Kuldeep Yadav |
Bowler
(Left arm spin bowling) |
19 | 141 | 25-6 |
| 12. | Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler
(Right arm fast bowling) |
16 | 121 | 19-6 |
|
13. |
Mohammed Siraj | Bowler
( Right arm medium fast bowling) |
9 | 46 | 32-4 |
| 14. | Axar Patel | All-rounder
( Left Handed Batsman and spin bowling) |
64 | 58 | 24-3 |
|
15. |
Mohammed Shami | Bowler
( Right arm medium fast bowling) |
25 | 163 | 69-5 |
After seeing the above list of Indian players included in the ICC World Cup 2023 squad, we can observe the abridged version of the Asia Cup 2023 squad with the exclusion of three players – Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Prasidh Krishna.
While KL Rahul managed to secure his spot in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 tournament, it is regrettable to know that a rising talented batsman like Sanju Samson hasn’t been provided a fair opportunity to showcase his talent in a grand tournament.
At the same time, most of the cricket fans would be pleased with the inclusion of players such as Surya Kumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, and Ishan Kishan who have performed well in TATA IPL 2023 with their special batting techniques.
Team India World Cup 2023 squad vs. 2019 squad:
Before delving into a detailed discussion about the present Indian Team squad for ICC World Cup 2023, let us take a moment to reanalyze the Indian team squads from ICC World Cup 2019:
| S.No | Player | Role |
|
1. |
Rohit Sharma ( Vice-captain) |
Batsman (Right Handed) |
|
2. |
Shikhar Dhawan |
Batsman (Left Handed) |
| 3. |
Virat Kohli (Captain) |
Batsman (Right Handed) |
|
4. |
KL Rahul |
Batsman & Wicket Keeper (Right-Handed) |
|
5. |
Hardik Pandya |
All-rounder ( Right Handed Batsman and medium fast bowler) |
|
6. |
MS Dhoni |
Batsman & Wicket Keeper (Right Handed) |
|
7. |
Dinesh Karthik |
Batsman & Wicket Keeper (Right Handed) |
|
8. |
Kedar Jadhav |
Batsman (Right Handed) |
|
9. |
Ravindra Jadeja |
All-rounder ( Left Handed Batsman and spin bowler) |
|
10. |
Jasprit Bumrah |
Bowler (Right arm fast bowling) |
|
11. |
Mohammed Shami |
Bowler ( Right arm medium fast bowling) |
|
12. |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
Bowler ( Right arm fast bowler) |
|
13. |
Yuzvendra Chahal |
Bowler ( Right arm leg spinner) |
|
14. |
Kuldeep Yadav |
Bowler (Left arm spin bowling) |
|
15. |
Vijay Shankar |
All-rounder ( Right Handed batsman and medium pacer) |
After revisiting the Indian cricket team squad from the ICC World Cup 2019 tournament, there were certain similarities and differences observed which will be discussed further. This can help many cricket fans to decide if the present Indian cricket team is better compared to the previous edition’s performance of this grand tournament.
India World Cup 2023 squad vs. 2019 squad: Similarities and Differences to be known
In the past 4 years (from ICC World Cup 2019 to 2023), there has been a tremendous change in the Indian cricket team with few similarities and the majority of differences listed below:
SIMILARITIES:
- Top Batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul retained their spot in the Indian cricket team squad for both ICC World Cup 2019 and 2023.
Team India World Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma( Left), Virat Kohli ( Middle ) and KL Rahul ( Right) secured their position after 2019 World Cup - Rohit Sharma continues to play ODI matches as an opening batsman.
- Virat Kohli retains his 3rd position in the batting order ( might change depending upon the match situations and pitch conditions).
- All-rounders like Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja have maintained their best performance for the past 4 years and secured their position in the Indian cricket team for the upcoming tournament.
Team India World Cup 2023 squad all-rounders: Hardik Pandya( Left) and Ravindra Jadeja ( Right) secured their positions after the 2019 World Cup - Top-performing bowlers like Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami have been prioritized the most for the ICC World Cup – 2019 and 2023 editions.
Team India World Cup 2023 squad: Kuldeep Yadav( Left), Jasprit Bumrah ( Middle ) and Mohammed Shami ( Right) secured their position after 2019 World Cup - A common fact observed in the Indian batting order from World Cup 2011 to the present is the batting performance after 40 overs. A quick fall of wickets is commonly observed in the majority of the matches after the 40th Over.
DIFFERENCES:
- One of the major changes that has occurred within the past 4 years is the absence of legendary cricketer MS Dhoni. Absolutely, after the retirement of MS Dhoni from International cricket on 15th August 2020, BCCI ( Board of Control for Cricket in India) has been in dilemma to find the best player who can fit into the role of MS Dhoni as a successful batsman, wicket-keeper, best finisher, calm and clever captain.
- If a detailed comparison is drawn, we can find that players such as Shikhar Dhawan, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, MS Dhoni, and Vijay Shankar were replaced with an alternative option of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
- Additional inclusion of an All-rounder ( Axar Patel ) will prove to be an added advantage for the Indian cricket team to perform well against their opposition in tough situations.
ICC World Cup 2023 Indian Team all-rounders: Hardik Pandya (Left), Ravindra Jadeja ( Middle ), and Axar Patel ( Right ) - The absence of a right-hand and left-hand opening combination can sometimes prove to be convenient for opposition bowlers.
In the ICC World Cup 2019, the opening combination for the Indian batting order featured Rohit Sharma (right-hand batting style) and Shikhar Dhawan (left-hand batting style). Whereas in 2023, the majority of the ODI matches were played with the opening combination of Rohit Sharma (Right Hand) and Shubman Gill ( Right Hand).
- The absence of experienced and top-performing bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal may prove challenging for the Indian bowling order against their opposition.
Absence of top bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Left ) and Yuzvendra Chahal ( Right) in ICC World Cup 2023 - Another major difference observed is the Indian cricket team captain. In 2019, Virat Kohli as a captain was unsuccessful in leading his team to the World Cup-winning moment. After facing severe defeats and criticism as a captain, Virat Kohli decided to hand over the full-time captaincy to Rohit Sharma in 2022.
Previous Indian Captains for the ICC World Cup - Ravi Shastri served as the Indian Team’s Head Coach during the ICC World Cup 2019. As we fast forward to the upcoming ICC World Cup tournament, Rahul Dravid is the Head coach for the highly anticipated tournament.
Indian Team Head Coach for ICC World Cup from 2011 to 2023 - A new 360-degree batsman “Surya Kumar Yadav” entered the world of Indian cricket in the recent few years. The reason why Surya Kumar Yadav is popularly known as “Mr.360″ after the South African Batsman “Ab De Villers” is because of his spontaneous ability to play different shots across all directions.
- The top three Indian Batsmen who have scored double century in their ODI career – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ishan Kishan can definitely prove to provide a strong back-up to the Indian batting order.
Top 3 Double Century Scoring Indian Batsmen Included in ICC World Cup 2023 - The middle-order batting has improved by proving their ability to perform well in tough situations and have learned to become less dependent on top-performing batsmen such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Revisiting the Indian Team Winning Squad of ICC 2011 World Cup
Before we conclude about Team India 2023 World Cup Squad vs. 2019 and 2011 squad, let us revisit the Indian Team winning squad of ICC World Cup 2011 as shown below:
| S.No | Player | Role |
|
1. |
Virender Sehwag
( Vice Captain) |
Batsman (Right-Handed) |
| 2. | Sachin Tendulkar |
Batsman (Right-Handed) |
| 3. | Gautam Gambhir |
Batsman (Left-Handed) |
| 4. | Virat Kohli |
Batsman (Right-Handed) |
| 5. | Yuvraj Singh |
All-rounder ( Left- Handed Batsman and spin bowler) |
| 6. |
MS Dhoni (Captain) |
Batsman & Wicket Keeper (Right Handed) |
| 7. | Suresh Raina |
All-rounder ( Left- Handed Batsman and spin bowler) |
| 8. | Harbhajan Singh |
All-rounder ( Right Handed Batsman and spin bowler) |
| 9. | Zaheer Khan |
Bowler ( Left arm fast bowling) |
| 10. | Munaf Patel |
Bowler (Right arm medium fast bowling) |
| 11. | Sreesanth |
Bowler ( Right arm medium fast bowling) |
| 12. | Piyush Chawla |
Bowler ( Right arm leg spinner) |
| 13. | Ashish Nehra |
Bowler ( Left arm medium fast bowling) |
| 14. | Yusuf Pathan |
All-rounder ( Right Handed Batsman & off-spin bowler) |
| 15. | Praveen Kumar |
Bowler ( Right arm medium fast bowling) |
After scrutinizing the list of players above, it becomes easier to understand why the Indian cricket team in 2011 was successful in winning the World Cup compared to the later editions because of the following reasons:
- Inclusion of senior players in the bulk like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, and Ashish Nehra.
- Flexibility to execute the left and right-hand batting combination for opening, middle, and lower-order batting.
- Inclusion of the best four all-rounders in the squad- Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, and Harbhajan Singh.
- Strong Bowling performance of the Indian team with the presence of experienced bowlers by restricting the opposition from scoring high.
- Less dependent on top-order batsmen.
- MS Dhoni: The mastermind behind the team’s success and failures in all the matches.
Conclusion About Team India World Cup 2023 squad vs. 2019 and 2011 squads
Compared to the 2019 World Cup squads, the present Indian cricket team looks stronger with the inclusion of many emerging talented cricketers as listed above. The balanced batting and bowling order can prove to bring triumphant results against their toughest opposition.
However, when compared to the World Cup 2011 winning squad, the current Indian cricket team is short of well-experienced cricket players (except Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) and an additional all-rounder.
At the same time, Rohit Sharma has better-winning records as a captain compared to Virat Kohli in ODIs.
Also, Hardik Pandya has a good winning record as a captain in TATA IPL 2022 and 2023. This indicates that Hardik Pandya as a Vice-captain can assist Rohit Sharma’s captaincy to help his team recreate the winning moments of ICC World Cup 2011 once again at their home ground.
It is a regretful fact to know that BCCI has taken a lesser chance of implementing variations by including an abridged version of the Asia Cup 2023 Indian Team Squad which is similar to the present World Cup Squad.
The outcome of Asia Cup 2023 would primarily have an impact on India’s chances of winning the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament.
It is a challenge for Rohit Sharma and his team to win the Asia Cup 2023 and World Cup 2023 tournament with the same squads in the absence of MS Dhoni.
Let’s hope and wish Rohit Sharma and his team to achieve victories and create sensations in the upcoming tournaments of the Asia Cup 2023 and World Cup 2023…
