The Indian team squad announcement for the ICC World Cup 2019 has been made by the BCCI. Although most of the spots were decided much ahead of the meeting held today, a couple of inclusions were to be made. The main contenders for the inclusion were Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Ambati Rayudu, Vijay Shankar, and KL Rahul.

The final squad for the World Cup is as follows –

Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (Vice Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (Wicket Keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami.

On being asked about picking Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant, BCCI’s chief selector MSK Prasad stated that Dinesh Karthik’s wicket-keeping skills worked in his favour, leading him to be selected in the team. He added that DK was just a back-up for Dhoni and won’t be part of the playing eleven unless necessary. “Definitely a case where we debated in length. We all were in unison that either Pant or DK will come in only when Mahi is injured. In an important game, wicketkeeping is also important. That’s the reason we went with Dinesh Karthik,” MSK Prasad stated.

The chief selector further stated that Vijay Shankar’s three-dimensional play that included him being a versatile batter, bowler, and fielder led him to be picked over Ambati Rayudu, who has been lacking consistency recently. “After the Champions Trophy, we have tried quite a few middle-order batsmen, which also included Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey. We did give a few more chances to Rayudu but Vijay Shankar gives three dimensions. He can bat, if the conditions are overcast he can bowl, plus he is a fielder. We are looking at Vijay Shankar as a No. 4. Now we have plenty of options for that slot,” he said.