Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan Select India’s Starting Lineup For The World Cup Opener Against Australia, Saying That Ashwin “Will Definitely Be There”

The 2023 ODI World Cup campaign for Team India will start exactly 10 days after that. The Rohit Sharma-led team is expected to win the prestigious trophy for the third time in history, adding to their 1983 and 2011 triumphs, now that the competition is being hosted at home. Prior to defeating Australia 2-1 at home less than two weeks ago, India ended their five-year trophy drought by winning the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. India has also checked all the necessary boxes going into the 50-over competition. However, India has struggled with selection issues due to the wide range of in-form possibilities in the 15-member team, all of whom are peaking at the appropriate time. However, Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan have made a decision regarding the starting XI for India’s first game.

Two exhibition games will be played by Team India before the commencement of their World Cup campaign. On September 30, they will play England, and on October 3, they will play the Netherlands. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the Men in Blue will eventually kick off their campaign against Australia on October 8.

India had some selection issues prior to the game, notably in the middle order, as four batters—Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan—were vying for the Nos. 4 and 5 spots. The other one concerns whether India should select three fast bowlers or the same number of spinners for their bowling lineup.

Gavaskar backed Iyer, who made a brilliant 105 against Australia in Indore, and Rahul, who hammered a ton against Pakistan in the Asia Cup and followed it up with two fifties against Australia, for the position in a YouTube interview with Star Sports. Ishan, who made a brave 82 against Pakistan earlier this month in Sri Lanka after a top-order collapse, and Suryakumar, who scored back-to-back half-centuries against the Australians, including a career-best 72* off 37, were therefore left out.

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Gavaskar selects India’s starting lineup for the 2023 World Cup opener against Australia.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah form Gavaskar’s India XI for the tournament’s opening match against Australia.