Harbhajan Singh Names His 15-Member Team India Squad for the 2019 World Cup
May 29, 2019 at 7:24 PM
The prominent Team India face Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday (February 12) has picked his 15-member squad of the Men in Blue, for the forthcoming 2019 World Cup scheduled in England and Wales.
However, apart from the squad, the quality off-spinner of his time Harbhajan has named the left-arm orthodox spinner Ravindra Jadeja as the only probable. Jadeja, who had done a bulk of the job for the national team, has faced some serious competition from the young spinners in the form of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and his slow-ball partner Kuldeep Yadav.
Having said that, Jadeja has the benefit of playing a handy role with the bat at the lower order. So, it eventually pushed Harbhajan to pick the Rajkot-born star as the potential candidate for the ODI showpiece. The ICC’s coveted event will kick off on May 30 between hosts England and South Africa in London.
Virat Kohli should keep fitness in check: Harbhajan
Also, it will be Virat Kohli’s first-ever World Cup as a skipper. Meanwhile, Harbhajan predicts the 30-year-old batting star Kohli will score most runs while considering his fitness.
Meanwhile, Kohli will be leading the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Kohli is going through a crucial phase according to Harbhajan. He added Kohli should manage the workload.
“If he [Kohli] remains fit, he is going to make runs in England because if the summer is good there then it’s going to be an Indian summer,” Harbhajan told Sports Tak.
Interestingly, the 38-year-old Harbhajan has preferred Dinesh Karthik over young prospect Rishabh Pant as a backup wicketkeeper for MS Dhoni. On the other side, he has backed promising Vijay Shankar in the all-rounder line-up alongside Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav.
Interestingly, veteran cricketer Harbhajan expects top-order Ambati Rayudu will make a cut in spite of KL Rahul. The top-order batter Rahul has been struggling to score runs, of late.
Kuldeep-Chahal show to continue in England?
However, Harbhajan settled with the obvious spin-choice in the form of Kuldeep and Chahal. He feels speedster Umesh Yadav will perform his duty alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohamed Shami.
Besides, Harbhajan suggested the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) selection committee should rest senior players. He added there should be a mixture of youth and experience in the impending home series against Australia.
“Some senior players should be rested. And some young players should get the opportunity in the India vs Australia series and it should be a mix-and-match,” Harbhajan concluded.
Here’s Harbhajan Singh’s 15-men squad for the 2019 World Cup:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Dinesh Karthik, Umesh Yadav and Vijay Shankar.