"Not Even Me...": Rohit Sharma Sounds Warning, Says Nobody Assured of ODI World Cup 2023 Squad Spot

With the ODI World Cup 2023 fast approaching, the Indian cricket team is in its final mode of preparation. The team recently ended the ODI series against West Indies as winners, despite regular captain Rohit Sharma and ex-India skipper Virat Kohli not featuring in the fional two games. It looked like the Indian team management was preparing for a contingency plan. Now Rohit Sharma has said that nobody is assured of a place in the World Cup squad.

"No one is an automatic (selection), even I am not. We have this thing where nobody is guaranteed a spot. We cannot say that 'you are there after all' or things like that," Rohit said. "Yes, some players know that they are going to play but at this point in time, playing three ODIs in the West Indies was a good opportunity to look at a few guys. In the Asia Cup, again, we will face good opposition," he said.

The Asia Cup will take place from August 30 with India facing Pakistan on Sepetmeber 2. He also opened up on India's injury concerns. "Shreyas and KL are coming off not playing anything for four months, big injuries, surgeries rather. Both had surgeries. I know, I had to undergo surgery once and how it feels afterwards, it is quite tough. We have to see, how they respond, what they do," he said.

"The selection (meeting) will be there in a few days, we will have a good debate about what we can do. But honestly nobody is an automatic choice – they all have to fight for the spot – everyone has to, whether it is a top spot or a bottom spot.

"We have got a lot of names there. We will see what is right combination for us to go in the World Cup but before we have the Asia Cup," the India skipper said.

Rohit said he wants some of the Indian players to bat under pressure to get accustomed in the longer run.

"We will see, we want to win but at the same time there are a lot of questions that we need answers of. But in the Asia Cup, I want to see some of the guys batting under pressure against quality teams," he said.

"I still want to see those things, so we will wait and see what happens, but it is always nice to have a lot of names, rather than just one or two names. I hope they are fit in time – firstly that is the most important.

"They (Rahul and Iyer) have been at the NCA for the last four months, working really hard and it looks quite positive so we will keep our fingers crossed," Rohit added. 

With PTI inputs

Topics mentioned in this article

Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Hardik Pandya Jasprit Bumrah KL Rahul World Cup 2023 India Cricket Team Cricket