The Indian squad is packed with quality players but either wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal or Washington Sundar should have found place in the home team's line-up, reckons 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh.
All-rounder Axar Patel was ruled out of the global event due to quadriceps tear and the management replaced him with senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin was summoned for the ODI series against Australia and eventually he was included in the final 15-man squad as Chahal and Washington miss out.
"I personally feel the only miss in this side is Yuzvendra Chahal. I think the only aspect that is missing from this team is a leg-spinner," Yuvraj told PTI in an exclusive interview.
"I was very keen to see Washington Sundar in the side if we are not picking up Yuzi. But maybe the team wanted an experienced bowler, so that is why I think they went with R Ashwin," said one of India's greatest ODI cricketers. Yuvraj spoke on the sidelines of an event, organised by Vicks, to release the World Cup anthem.
The performance of Jasprit Bumrah will have a massive bearing on India's campaign in the World Cup at home, felt former India batter. Bumrah returned to the Indian side during the T20I series against Ireland recently after a long injury lay-off and he also produced intense efforts in the Asia Cup.
"Jasprit is a match-winner, like Zak (Zaheer Khan) did for us back in 2011. What makes Jasprit a threat is he has skill and pace. He is an asset to the team.
"To make a comeback from the back injury at this stage is quite big too. As a team you feel confident to have bowlers like that, they win you matches from any situation." Yuvraj, who was the player of the tournament during the 2011 World Cup, was pleased to see the growing maturity of Bumrah as a cricketer.
"Bumrah has matured in the last couple of years, he has captained India and has become a smart bowler. Rohit knows how to use him wisely, especially because he has captained Bumrah in the Mumbai Indians," said Yuvraj.
"The advantage with Bumrah is that initially he can get wickets with pace but when he starts going for runs, his skillset will come into play. There will be days when you will win a game after scoring 300 or 350-plus but these kinds of bowlers like Bumrah are needed to defend scores like 250s and 260s," he said.
