India's World Cup squad

India have named Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik and KL Rahul in the squad for the upcoming World Cup 2019 in England and Wales. Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant were left out of the squad, which also has a place for Ravindra Jadeja.

There had been a lot of talk regarding the potential number four for India, a pain point that the team has been trying to resolve for quite a while now. Vijay Shankar will now bat at two-drop, as revealed by chairman of selectors MSK Prasad. The reserve 'keeper slot has gone to Karthik, while KL Rahul will be the back up opener.

MSK Prasad stated that Karthik was preferred over Pant due to his superior 'keeping skills.

"Definitely a case where we debated (at) length. We all (agreed) that either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will come in only when [Dhoni] is injured. In an important game, wicket keeping is also important. That's the reason we went with Dinesh Karthik," said Prasad.

Ravindra Jadeja took up the third spinner's slot, alongside wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. The four pacers in the side picked themselves with Jasprit Bumrah leading an attack that also includes Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik