On Monday, 15 April, plenty of debates in the Indian cricket community will come to an end (and new ones will begin) as the squad for the World Cup is announced.
With the Indian Premier League at the halfway stage, the selectors will announce the list of 15 cricketers to be led by Virat Kohli at the marquee event.
The World Cup will be starting on May 30 in United Kingdom, a few days after conclusion of IPL on May 12. India’s first game is on June 5 against South Africa. They play two warm-up matches in the last week of May.
India captain Kohli had made it clear that the Indian Premier League form will have no bearing on the final squad that is being selected for the World Cup, something that his deputy Rohit Sharma backed as well.
“I don’t see the IPL having any influence on World Cup selection. I think that will be very, very radical sort of analysis,” Kohli had said before the start of the Australia ODI series. “We need to have a solid team. Before we head into the IPL, we need to be absolutely clear of what team we want for the World Cup. I don’t see anything changing on how the IPL goes for any of the players.”
Having said that, certain players who are in better form than others in the IPL might end up making the final cut. The think-tank has maintained that they are more or less certain of the final makeup of the squad, with debates likely to happen over one spot — an extra middle order batsman or a back-up wicket-keeper or an additional spinner.
Given that it has been a hotly debated topic in recent times, here’s a chance for you to vote on what the final 15 should be, if you had a say in it.
We will publish the most popular choice of 15 before the squad is announced on April 15.
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