How does India World Cup squad 2023 look compared to WC winning team of 2011?

India on Tuesday announced their 15-man squad for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Led by Rohit Sharma, India has chosen to move ahead with a slightly-aged squad compared to the 2011 World Cup-winning team.

The Indian squad of 2011 World Cup had an average age of 28. This Indian team averages slightly higher at 30.06 years although it has got the likes of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill as young blood. The 2011 team on the other hand boasted of a 22-year-old Virat Kohli and in its ranks.

Let’s take a look at how these teams fare compared to each other:

Batting

The Indian team of 2011 World Cup had Sachin Tendulkar. Need we say more? It was Sachin’s last World Cup and the whole team was charged up to provide the little master with the only trophy that was missing from his cabinet.

The other batsmen were stalwarts in their own right, with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina providing India with a solid base. Barring Sachin, each of the ones mentioned were below 30 at that time, providing a pretty decent mix of experience and youth.

The World Cup 2023 team has 36-year-old Rohit Sharma leading from the front with his experience. 34-year-old Virat Kohli will add his weight to the team with 31-year-old KL Rahul.

Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan will benefit a lot from having these experienced heads around since this will be their first ODI World Cup. Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav are at the prime of their career and are expected to deliver under pressure.

India World Cup 2011 Squad: MS Dhoni (C & WK), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Piyush Chawla, and S Sreesanth.

Bowling

India in 2011 went in with a more experienced bowling line-up in the 2011 World Cup with three main bowlers in their 30s. Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra all were playing for a long time with each other. They understood the needs of the game very well. The group was able to guide juniors such as Ravichandran Ashwin and Piyush Chawla throughout the tournament.

It is worth noting that Rohit Sharma’s bowling line-up has only one specialist spinner compared to three in Dhoni’s team. Rohit has opted for an extra pacer with Mohammed Siraj making the cut. Jasprit Bumrah has just returned from injury but would have to take a leading role along with Mohammed Shami in the tournament.

All-rounders

The biggest difference between the two squads will be all-rounders. While the 2011 squad had batters who could roll up their sleeves whenever needed, the Top 5 of the current WC squad are one-dimensional players. The sheer lack of bowling options has forced selectors to look for specialist options.

Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohd Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will all be in ‘bowling only’ while Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer are all in ‘batters only’ category.

The Indian team of 2011 WC had several players who could roll an arm if needed. Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, and Suresh Raina could all be employed in the middle overs according to the game plan. There was also Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar who could be part-time bowlers.

The 2023 WC team has some of the best all-rounders up their ranks. Vice-captain Hardik Pandya offers a solution for captains in any sphere of the game. He along with the economical Ravindra Jadeja will provide the depth needed in batting and bowling to do well in a major tournament like the ODI World Cup.