Cricket World Cup 2023: Mumbai stamp on India's 'Fab 15'; four players play for domestic giants

Mumbai in the domestic cricket and have then gone to represent the country. Once upon a time in the late 1960s and 1970s, Mumbai players dominated the Indian squad. The same is reflected in the ODI Cricket World squad announced by BCCI.

Hyderabad: Domestic giants Mumbai, which has produced a plethora of star cricketers, has once again had its stamp on India's World Cup 2023 squad, which was announced by Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar on September 5 in Kandy.

Mumbai, who are 42-time Ranji Trophy champions, is the cradle of Indian cricket. Be it Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sandeep Patil, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Lalchand Rajput, Ravi Shastri, Praveen Amre, Aby Kuruvilla - all have represented Mumbai in the domestic cricket and have then gone to represent the country. Once upon a time in the late 1960s and 1970s, Mumbai players dominated the Indian squad.

• 𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗔! 🇮🇳 👏#CWC23 | #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/Forro8kCYL

  — BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗔! 🇮🇳 👏#CWC23 | #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/Forro8kCYL

  — BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2023

  ">

  𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗔! 🇮🇳 👏#CWC23 | #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/Forro8kCYL

  — BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2023

Cut to 2023, the dominance of Mumbai is still evident in the national team, as four players included in the 2023 ODI World Cup squad are from Mumbai, who have also won the Vijay Hazare Trophy (the domestic ODI championship), including skipper Rohit Sharma. The other three players are - flamboyant batter Suryakumar Yadav, Worli boy Shreyas Iyer and 'Palghar Express' Shardul Thakur. All three have played on the famed Mumbai maidans in their fledging days.

Call it a coincidence, that two members of the five-member selection committee - chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Salil Ankola - have also played for Mumbai, during their playing days.

After Mumbai, it is the state of Gujarat, which has its impression on the national squad. There are three cricket associations in the state - Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra. While pacer Jasprit Bumrah and left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who has been picked play for Gujarat, all-rounder Hardik Pandya represents Baroda and another all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja represents Saurashtra.

Opener Shubman Gill plays for Punjab while star batter and former skipper Virat Kohli plays for Delhi. Young wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan plays for Jharkhand, while KL Rahul plays for Karnataka, which is also a strong domestic side. Bengal too has its presentation in the 15-member squad in the form of ace pacer Mohammed Shami, while Hyderabad, which also produced greats like Mohammed Azharuddin, is is presented by pacer Mohammed Siraj. Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav plays for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit.

Interestingly, Kerala and Maharashtra have no representation in the squad. The Cricket World Cup will be hosted by BCCI in different cities of India and it is the best bet for Men in Blue to lift an ICC Trophy after 2013. If India makes it to the summit clash to be played at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, it will be a proud moment for both Bumrah and Axar to play on their home ground and if they win it will be the icing on the cake.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav