Sourav Ganguly omits Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma from his 15-man India squad for 2023 ODI World Cup

Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly omitted current batting sensation Tilak Varma and the struggling batter Sanju Samson from his 15-member India squad for the ODI World Cup. Ganguly also overlooked Prasidh Krishna from the squad, but said that Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna and Yuzvendra Chahal could come in as replacements, according to him. “If one of the batters gets injured then Tilak Varma can enter, while if the pacer gets injured then it’s Prasidh Krishna, while in the case of spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal is the option," Ganguly said on Star Sports.

Straight from the heart of a captain! ♥️@SGanguly99, who captained India to the 2003 WC finals, shares his vision for the current generation that will fight for #CWC2023!💪🏻

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Ganguly also had returning batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in his 15-man squad. He chose Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as spin-bowling all-rounders while opting for Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya as pace bowling all-rounders. Ganguly had earlier said that Axar was preferred over Chahal for the Asia Cup as he adds an option to the batting lineup.  “They have picked Axar Patel ahead of Chahal because of his batting. So I think it’s a good selection. Chahal can still come back if someone gets injured. This is a 17-member squad, two, in any case, will have to move out," said Ganguly. India begin their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan on 2 September in Pallekele before facing Nepal at the same venue two days later. As far as their World Cup campaign is concerned, the Men in Blue kick off their campaign against Australia in Chennai on 8 October. The marquee India vs Pakistan clash will take place in Ahmedabad on 14 October. India squad for World Cup, as per Sourav Ganguly: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav.