India's 15-man World Cup 2015 squad

With the 2015 World Cup just over a month away, the Indian selectors picked the 15-man squad that will represent India in the marquee tournament yesterday. The side was on expected lines, more or less, with most of the top performers during the last couple of years making it to the squad. MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin are the only four surviving members from the 2011 World Cup winning squad.

The 15-man squad for the World Cup is as below:

India's 15-man World Cup 2015 squad

MS Dhoni (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akshar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane

Though there were doubts about Ravindra Jadeja’s availability for the World Cup owing to a shoulder injury, he has been included in the team because the Indian team’s physiotherapist has vouched for him getting fit on time. In the process, any hopes of a spectacular comeback by Yuvraj Singh were dashed. For his consistent performances in 2014, Akshar Patel has been rewarded with a place in the 15-member squad. 

As far as the bowling department is concerned, all the four fast bowlers, that have been selected, will be playing their first World Cup. Stuart Binny, with his medium-pace bowling, will add some variety to the pace department. In spite of the fact that the World Cup is going to be played on the fast and bouncy pitches of Australia and New Zealand, the selectors have opted for three spinners in Ashwin, Jadeja and Akshar. There weren’t too many surprises as far as the batting is concerned with most members automatically picking themselves.

Now that we have taken a look at the squad that will be representing India at the marquee event, here’s an analysis of the fifteen in three different facets: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.