Indian squad for World Cup 2011 announced

The BCCI on Monday announced the 15-member Indian squad for the 2011 World Cup beginning from February 19.

The team comprises seven batsmen, one all-rounder, four pacers and three specialist spinners.

Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina have been retained from the present team on a tour of South Africa. Vice-captain Virender Sehwag, who had opted out of the ODI series in South Africa, has made a return for cricket's biggest event.

Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra will take care of pace-bowling while Harbhajan, R. Ashwin and Piyush Chawla form the spinners' trio.

Yusuf Pathan has been handed the all-rounder's job. Wicket-keeping has been entrusted entirely to captain M.S. Dhoni.

Those who failed to find a place in the team include spinner Pragyan Ojha, pacer S. Sreesanth and all-rounder Rohit Sharma.

The selection panel, headed by chief selector K. Srikkanth, chose the team out of a list of 30 probables. Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten, who are currently busy with the ODI series in South Africa, were also part of the consultations done through teleconferencing.

The 15-member team is: 

MS Dhoni (C)

Virender Sehwag (WC)

Sachin Tendulkar

Gautam Gambhir

Yuvraj Singh

Suresh Raina

Virat Kohli

Yusuf Pathan (all-rounder)

Zaheer Khan

Ashish Nehra

Munaf Patel

Praveen Kumar

Harbhajan Singh

R. Ashwin

Piyush Chawla

Chief selector K. Srikkanth said a well-balanced team had been picked up keeping in mind the ground and wicket conditions in the sub-continent.

"We have selected the best combination after consultations with the captain and the coach. I am confident the team will win the World Cup for us," Srikkanth said in Chennai.

He brushed aside concerns over fitness of the players, saying: "Every team has injury concerns. Why worry about it?"