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Rohit Sharma (Source: Twitter)
India is set to announce its final squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup in 2023. As today, September 28, is the last date to announce the squad, India is looking to resolve some injury issues. Especially the concerns over all-rounder Axar Patel's participation in the tournament are the talk of the town. However, after winning the ODI series against Australia, India skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about the World Cup squad.
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In the post-match press conference, Rohit was made to answer some boiling questions regarding the late inclusion of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and the injury update to Axar Patel. Rohit revealed that the team is not confused and knows what they are doing. He said, "When we talk about the 15, we are very clear about what we want. We are not confused; we know where we are headed as a team. It's a team sport, and we want everyone to come and play their part; that's how we win championships. It's about looking after the body and trying to stay fresh for the next one and a half months."
The India skipper also hinted that if Axar fails to attain match fitness, he will be dropped from the final squad. Either Ravichandran Ashwin or Washington Sundar will take part in the final fifteen. It's worth noting that after September 28th, teams can't make changes to their squad without written permission from the Apex Cricket Council. In that case, taking a half-fit player to the World Cup doesn't seem to be a great choice.
Rohit Sharma failed to clean-sweep Australia in the ODI series
After winning the first two ODIs under the leadership of wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, India lost the third ODI game against Australia. In the third ODI, India failed to chase a mammoth total of 352 runs in 50 overs. However, Indian fans were delighted to witness a vintage performance from skipper Rohit Sharma. Chasing a huge total, Rohit smacked Aussie bowlers with back-to-back sixes.
He scored his half-century within the powerplay and became the first player to do so in the last 13 years. However, his amazing batting performance failed to lead India to victory as Indian batters were trapped by the Aussie spinner. Part-time spinner Glenn Maxwell dismissed both Rohit and Virat Kohli to change the momentum of the game.