Ravi Shastri wanted 16-man World Cup squad, says excluded players shouldn’t lose heart

India’s head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday mentioned that Indian team would have preferred a 16-member squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019 in England and Wales instead of the traditional 15 and the same was conveyed to the cricket’s governing body. Shastri also had a word of advice for the players who missed the bus to England – Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant.

When you only have 15 to pick, there is bound to be someone or the other who misses out, which is very unfortunate. I would have preferred 16 players. We had mentioned to the ICC that in a tournament that long, 16 players makes sense. But the diktat was 15,” said Shastri at an event in Dubai.

The former Indian all-rounder added that he doesn’t involve himself in selection matters, but does provide inputs to the captain. “I don’t get involved in selection. If we have any opinion, we let the captain known,” he said.

India’s World Cup squad was announced on Monday by BCCI’s selection committee on Mumbai where KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar and Dinesh Karthik got the big nod, while Pant and Rayudu faced the axe. Shastri urged the latter two not be disheartened by the selection news. “They (who missed out) shouldn’t lose heart. It’s a funny game. There could be injuries. So you never know when you could be called up,” he said. Well the two players along with Navdeep Saini have been named as standby players for the World Cup on Wednesday.

When asked about World Cup favourites, Shastri rated England ahead of other teams. England have been the most consistent team over the last two years. They have multi-dimensional players. They have depth in bowling and batting. And they are playing at home. So they would start as favourites.”