ICC World Cup 2019 | India announce Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu and Navdeep Saini as standbys

Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu’s hopes were shattered when India excluded them from the 15-man squad for the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales on Monday. The two front-runners made way for Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar into the squad. Pant and Rayudu’s hopes took a massive beating after being in the scheme of things for the World Cup in recent times, but fortune smiled at them once again as they have been named among the standbys for India’s World Cup squad. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore seamer Navdeep Saini, who impressed many with raw pace and control, has also found a place among the standbys. 

“Just like ICC Champions Trophy, we have three standbys. Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu are the first and second standbys while Saini is the bowler in the list. So if anyone gets injured, as per requirement, one of the three will be going,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on Wednesday.

If a player suffers a mistimed injury, one of the three will get a nod as per the requirement. Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Avesh Khan will also be travelling to England purely as net bowlers and can be roped in if the management feels so. 

“Khaleel, Avesh and Deepak are not designated standbys. In case of bowlers, that possibility is there but when it comes purely to batsmen, it will be either Rishabh or Rayudu,” the BCCI official said.

India play their opening game of the tournament against South Africa on June 5.