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India is the host nation of this year’s Cricket World Cup and are favourites to take out the tournament. I think they have a great all-round squad and I’m expecting them to be there at the business end of the tournament.
Squad
Jasprit Bumrah – Bowler
Shubman Gill – Batter
Shreyas Iyer - Batter
Ravindra Jadeja – All-rounder
Ishan Kishan – Wicket-Keeper
Virat Kohli – Batter
Hardik Pandya – All-rounder
Axar Patal – All-rounder
KL Rahul – Wicket-Keeper
Mohammed Shami – Bowler
Rohit Sharma – Batter
Mohammed Siraj – Bowler
Shardul Thakur – Bowler
Kuldeep Yadav – Bowler
Suryakumar Yadav - Batter
Batters
India goes into the tournament with five players that have a batter position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the batters.
Shubman Gill – 82 points
Shreyas Iyer – 38 points
Virat Kohli – 48 points
Rohit Sharma – 45 points
Suryakumar Yadav – 31 points
Gill has been the star of the Indian batters in recent times. Over his last 10 ODIs he’s scored two 100s, four 50s, one 30+ scores and three scores between 10-27. It sounds like he will be missing the beginning of the CWC due to dengue. Sharma and Kohli are likely to start most of the matches. I’m expecting them to have a big score or two throughout the CWC but picking between the two of them is a coin flip. Iver and Yadav round out the Indian batters and they are my least favoured. If you have their cards, you may be able to play them in the odd game. It really depends on what starting XI India puts on the field and who the opposition is.
Bowlers
India goes into the tournament with five players that have a bowler position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the bowlers.
Jasprit Bumrah – 108 points
Mohammed Shami – 79 points
Mohammed Siraj – 78 points
Shardul Thakur – 54 points
Kuldeep Yadav – 89 points
India has a well-balanced bowling attack that will likely be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Over Bumrah’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 84.2 overs, taken 24 wickets and averages 3.8 dot balls an over. Over Siraj’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 66.3 overs, taken 17 wickets and averages 3.7 dot balls an over. Bumrah will be a must start most matches as he averages a great base of 38 points a game through dot balls alone. Siraj is also a good starting option but his selection for my starting XI will depend on India’s opposition and the pitch report. Yadav is the only Indian spinner and should be a great option for GDS coaches in most matches. Over his last ten ODIs he has bowled 73.3 overs, taken 21 wickets and averages 3.6 dot balls an over. Shami and Thakur are in the next tier down for me as they will likely not play as many matches as the other bowlers. If they are in the starting XI, I might consider them to start in my squad but it will depend on India’s opposition and the pitch report.
All-rounders
India doesn’t have as many all-rounders as other teams and head into the tournament with three players that have the all-rounder position designation in GDS. Hardik Pandya is the seam bowling all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patal are the spin bowling all-rounders. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the all-rounders.
Ravindra Jadeja – 70 points
Hardik Pandya – 76 points
Axar Patal – 60 points
When choosing which all-rounder to play in your squad it really depends on where India is playing, who their opposition is and the pitch conditions. Both Jadeja and Pandya will be very good starting options in most matches and are the pick of the Indian all-rounders. I can’t really see Patal starting too many games but on spin friendly wickets, he is very capable of scoring well in fantasy. That’s if he gets a start!
Wicket Keeper
India goes into the tournament with two players that have a wicket-keeper position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the wicket keepers.
KL Rahul – 66 points
Ishan Kishan – 40 points
On the field Rahul is the keeper and this makes him the clear number one. However, Kishan will likely open the batting with Gill being absent. If India has a favourable match up and bat second, Rahul might not have to bat if India are chasing a lowish total. This sort of scenario would bring Kishan into play.
Predicted Starting XI
1. Rohit Sharma
2. Ishan Kishan
3. Virat Kohli
4. Shreyas Iyer
5. KL Rahul
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Shardul Thakur
9. Kuldeep Yadav
10. Jasprit Bumrah
11. Mohammed Siraj