India will aim to replicate their 2011 success and pick up their third title when they head into the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, which is slated to be held from May 30 to July 14 in England and Wales.
The Men in Blue, who lifted the glory in 1983 and 2011, will head into the cricket’s showpiece event as one of the favorites given their good show both at home and away in the past three years.
Virat Kohli will continue to lead the Indian side in the mega event, while opener Rohit Sharma will serve as his deputy.
Before arriving in England and Wales, skipper Virat Kohli had said that they are entering in the tournament with a balanced and a strong side.
Talking about the rest of the squad, Dinesh Karthik was named in the 15-member squad as India’s second wicket-keeper to back up for experienced Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He was called up at the expense of Rishabh Pant, who was named in reserves.
While the national selectors had decided to rope in Vijay Shankar for the No.4 position, KL Rahul was also named in the Indian squad as the reserve opener.
India are coming into the World Cup on the back of their maiden five-match ODI series triumph in Australia and subsequent 4-1 series victory in New Zealand. However, the Men in Blue slumped to a series defeat against the Aaron Finch-led side at home in March.
On Saturday, the Kohli-led side began their final stages of preparation for the mega event with a disappointing six-wicket defeat at the hands of Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in their first warm-up game of the World Cup at the Oval.
Second-ranked India will now play their second warm-up game against Bangladesh at Sophia Gardens in Wales on Tuesday before kickstarting their campaign at the quadrennial event against South Africa on June 5.
Let us take a look at India’s complete schedule and squad:
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
June 5: South Africa vs India at The Rose Bowl, Southampton (3:00 pm)
June 9: India vs Australia at Kennington Oval, London (3:00 pm)
June 13: India vs New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Nottingham (3:00 pm)
June 16: India vs Pakistan at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester (3:00 pm)
June 22: India vs Afghanistan at The Rose Bowl, Southampton (3:00 pm)
June 27: West Indies vs India at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester (3:00 pm)
June 30: England vs India at Edgbaston, Birmingham (3:00 pm)
July 06: Sri Lanka vs India at Headingley, Leeds (3:00 pm)
SEMI-FINAL
July 9: 1st semi-final (1 vs 4) at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester (3:00 pm)
July 11: 2nd semi-final (2 vs 3) at Edgbaston, Birmingham (3:00 pm)
FINAL
July 14 at Lord’s (3:00 pm)
Squad:
Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kedar Jadhav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar. Source Zee News
