INDIAN ODI TEAM FOR THE 2019 Cricket WORLD CUP

 
The cricket world cup is 7 months away and its time to have a relook at the Indian team. I did write on this topic a few months back so this is more of a follow up article.
 

Only 15 players are allowed to go to the World Cup. So who are those 15 who should be representing India in the quadrennial Cricket World Cup?

Lets first have a look at the playing XI who according to me should be taking the field on 5th June 2019 against South Africa at Southampton.

Rohit Sharma

Shikhar Dhawan

Virat Kohli

Ambati Rayudu

MS Dhoni

Hardik Pandya

Ravinder Jadeja

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Kuldeep Yadav

Jasprit Bumrah

Yuzvendra Chahal

The 4 reserves should be:

KL Rahul

Kedar Jhadav

Umesh Yadav

Khaleel Ahmed

India is blessed with a very talented top order. Rohit-Dhawan-Kohli is the best Top 3 in the world today. Needless to say that they have to score the bulk of the runs for India to even dream of winning the coveted trophy. Make no mistake, India does have a dicey middle order. Rayudu with all his talent has never been consistent in international cricket. Dhoni is a shadow of his old self. So one of the top 3 has to bat till the end so that the others can play around him. That’s the only way India will be able to score big runs.

No place for Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has done no harm to his reputation in his brief stay in international cricket but he can’t be drafted into a team where Dhoni is playing. He can only be drafted in if Dhoni is not playing and I don’t see this happening till the world cup gets over. Another reason of not having him is because none of the top 4 bowls. So India needs an all rounder at the No. 6 position. Can’t have an one dimensional player at No. 6. 2 of these 3 (Jhadav, Pandya, Jadeja) has to be part of the playing XI in all the matches.

My choice of the first XI gives India 6 bowling options (3 pacers and 3 spinners). One of the reasons why India has succeeded in ODIs post Champions Trophy of 2017 has been because of the performance of our Wrist Spinners (Kuldeep & Chahal). Both are wicket takers and genuine tweekers of the cricket ball. Taking wickets in the middle overs, dry up the runs of the opposition and India should persist with this method. On the rear occasion where the conditions are too good for the seam bowlers, one can think of changing the combination.

If the conditions are damp and cloudy with rain in the air then my combination of the playing XI will be:

Rohit Sharma

Shikhar Dhawan

Virat Kohli

Ambati Rayudu

MS Dhoni

Kedar Jhadav

Hardik Pandya

Bhuvneswar Kumar

Kuldeep Yadav

Umesh Yadav

Jasprit Bumrah

So in seam friendly bowling conditions, I am opting for Jhadav in place of Jadeja (Better batsman – to cushion the batting, who can also bowl a few overs) and Umesh in place of Chahal. Once again we have 6 bowling options (4 pacers and 2 spinners) and a batting line up upto number 7.

Reserve Bench

My first choice reserves have a thought process behind it which is given below:

KL Rahul

Though he has been inconsistent but he is one of the most talented batsmen that India has today. One of the very few who have scored centuries in all formats of the game (Tests, ODIs & T20s). He is a terrific fielder, a back up opener and a back up wicket keeper. He pips Rishabh Pant to the post because of the above.

Kedar Jhadav

Street smart cricketer who has always performed whenever given the opportunity. He is a good finisher. Bowls off spin and is a partnership breaker. He has a third dimension in his game which many are not aware off and that is he keeps wickets as well.

Umesh Yadav

India has problems in pace bowling department. We have good bowlers for Tests but in ODIs you need bowlers who will not leak runs. Problem with Indian pace bowling is that all leaks runs, can’t bowl yorkers consistently. I chose Umesh ahead of Shami, Shardul and Siddharth Kaul because they are far worse. Umesh has the pace going for him and he is a brilliant fielder in the outfield.

Khaleel Ahmed

A fit Shardul Thakur can still pip him when the team is announced but I prefer Khaleel because he brings in the variety (left arm pace). What ever little we have seen him in the last few months show that he is still a work in progress but he seems to be a quick learner. He is very young and I think he should go as the 4th pacer. Barring sudden injuries, I don’t see him getting a game though.

So as of today this is how I see the Indian 15 for the World Cup to be:

Rohit Sharma (VC)

Shikhar Dhawan

Virat Kohli (C)

Ambati Rayudu

MS Dhoni

Hardik Pandya

Ravinder Jadeja

Bhuvneswar Kumar

Kuldeep Yadav

Yuzvendra Chahal

Jasprit Bumrah

KL Rahul

Kedar Jhadav

Umesh Yadav

Khaleel Ahmed

We still have 15 more matches before the world cup so a couple of changes can still happen. I will come back with another post on this same subject after the Australia Series.

Till then keep commenting on what you think would be the best 15 for India.