Ishant And Axar Added To Reserve List For WC 2019

On 15th April BCCI announced the 15-man Indian squad for World Cup 2019. Since then everyone is speculating whether the team can win the World Cup or not.

Apart from the 15-member squad, a list of reserve players were also announced for the tournament. The list included names of Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu and Navdeep Saini.

Currently reports have suggested that two new names are being added to the reserve list. These players are pacer Ishant Sharma and spinner Axar Patel. Both these players are currently playing for Delhi Capitals in the IPL.

“Ishant, Axar, Pant, Rayudu and Saini are aware that they have been named stand-by. The board has informed them about this and while four of them won’t be travelling with the team like Saini, they have been asked to be ready to jump onto the plane whenever needed,” the BCCI official was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

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Ishant is chosen based on experience

The official also spoke on the sudden selection of Ishant. The lanky pacer has been the lead bowler in Tests but wasn’t even close in contention for the ODIs. However the official said that it is because of Ishant’s experience that he is selected.

“You cannot buy experience in the market.  Moreover, Ishant has matured as a bowler and knows what is required of him. Considering the magnanimity of the tournament, it was felt that he could be the best bet to come in and soak the pressure that comes with playing for the country on the big stage. He has done it in the past and considering how he has excelled over the last year, he can do it again,” he said.

The official also cleared the fact that the reserve players were a like-for-like replacements. “We were looking at two batsmen, two pacers and a spinner when we decided to name the stand-by players. As you are aware, this year’s format will see every team competing against every other team in the tournament and covering the bases is very important in such long format tournaments,” the official concluded.