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Meet India's World Cup Squad For The Ultimate Cricket Challenge

World Cup Warriors: Meet India's Squad For The Ultimate Cricket Challenge
MUMBAI, INDIA - APRIL 02: Indian cricketers pose with the trophy after victory in the Cricket World Cup 2011 final over Sri Lanka at The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 2, 2011. India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets. (Photo by Naveen Jora/India Today Group/Getty Images)
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MUMBAI, INDIA - APRIL 02: Indian cricketers pose with the trophy after victory in the Cricket World Cup 2011 final over Sri Lanka at The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 2, 2011. India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets. (Photo by Naveen Jora/India Today Group/Getty Images)

India has won the ICC World Cup twice—in 1983, and 2011. Will they be able to stage a repeat win? They will be up against three-time winners Australia in their home conditions. 2011's world cup heroes—Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Yuvraj Singh—are no longer in contention. Take a look at the final fifteen who will shoulder the responsibility of retaining the title.

MS Dhoni (Captain)
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He scored the winning runs of the 2011 World Cup, and has been entrusted to retain it in 2015. Dhoni's ability to keep cool and hit runs under pressure, coupled with his wicket keeping skills make him an invaluable player to the Indian cricket team.

Born: July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 250
Runs: 8192
Strike Rate: 89.28
100s: 9
50s: 56
Virat Kohli (Vice Captain)
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The master of the chase, Virat Kohli is arguably India's best ODI batsman with an uncanny ability to convert 50s into 100s.

Born: November 5, 1988, Delhi
Playing role: Middle-order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 146
Runs: 6208
Strike Rate:90.50
100s: 21
50s: 33
Ajinkya Rahane
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With an impressive performance at the India-Australia Test series down under, Rahane has earned his spot in the 15.

Born: June 5, 1988, Maharashtra
Playing role: Top-order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 42
Runs: 1230
Strike Rate:77.65
100s: 2
50s: 7
Rohit Sharma
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Rohit Sharma is gradually beginning to realise his potential, he recently scored 264 off 173 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens. He is the only batsman to hit two ODI double-hundreds.

Born: April 30, 1987, Bansod, Nagpur, Maharashtra
Playing role: Batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 126
Runs: 3752
Strike Rate: 81.01
100s: 5
50s: 23
Shikhar Dhawan
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Shikar Dhawan is an aggressive opening order batsman who scored the fastest test century for a debutant. His debut was spectacular, but has been found to be susceptible to the short ball.

Born: December 5, 1985, Delhi
Playing role:Top-order batsman
Batting style: Left-hand bat

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 49
Runs: 45.46
Strike Rate:90.85
100s: 6
50s: 11
Stuart Binny
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Stuart Binny is a limited-overs specialist who made his ODI debut this year.

Born: June 3, 1984, Bangalore, Karnataka
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 6
Runs: 40
Strike Rate: 63.49
100s: 0
50s: 0
Wickets: 9
Suresh Raina
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An attacking middle-order batsman and fielder, he has an impressive strike rate and 32 fifties in his limited-overs career.

Born: November 27, 1986, Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Playing role: Batsman
Batting style: Left-hand bat

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 203
Runs: 5051
Strike Rate: 93.22
100s: 4
50s: 32
Ravindra Jadeja
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Jadeja's frugal economy rate while bowling, pinch-hitting and fielding skills makes him an invaluable asset to the team.

Born:December 6, 1988, Navagam-Khed, Saurashtra
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling Style: Slow left-arm orthodox spin

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 109
Runs: 1691
Strike Rate: 84.55
100s: 0
50s: 10
Wickets:134
Ambati Rayudu
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A wicketkeeper batsman who can also bowl right-arm offbreaks, his recent ODI performances against Sri-Lanka, which include a century and a 50+ have earned him a spot in the final 15.

Born: September 23, 1985, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm offbreak

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 24
Runs: 685
Strike Rate: 76.96
100s: 1
50s: 5
Wickets: 2
Ravichandran Ashwin
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Ashwin's frugal off-spin will prove handy in the limited overs format. He can also be a useful lower-order batsman.

Born:September 17, 1986, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm offbreak

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 87
Runs: 609
Strike Rate: 90.49
100s: 1
50s: 0
Wickets: 119
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
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His ability to swing the ball and hold his own with the bat at the lower order have earned him a spot in the final 15. He was out of action in the Australia series due to an ankle injury.

Born:February 5, 1990, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm medium

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 42
Wickets: 44
Ishant Sharma
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His high arm action enables him to bowl at speeds of around 140 kph, and trouble batsmen when the ball is new.

Born: September 2, 1988, Delhi
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm fast-medium

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 75
Wickets: 106
Mohammed Shami
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Shami is capable of reverse-swinging the old ball, and holds the test record for the most number of wickets by an Indian pacer on debut.

Born: March 9, 1990, Jonagar, Bengal
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm fast-medium

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 36
Wickets: 68
Umesh Yadav
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The son of a coal mine worker, Yadav can bowl at 140 kph and move the ball both ways.

Born: October 25, 1987, Nagpur, Maharashtra
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm fast-medium

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 38
Wickets: 47
Axar Patel
BCCI.TV
Axar was awarded the BCCI Under-19 cricketer of the Year in 2014 and the Emerging Player of the Tournament in IPL 7.

Born: January 20, 1994, Anand, Gujarat
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling Style: Left-arm orthodox

ODIs Stats
Matches Played: 9
Wickets: 14
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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.