World Cup 2019: Probable Team India squad

With less than 100 days to go, the preparations for the ICC 2019 ODI World Cup have started. Team India will now play no more ODIs before the World Cup so the time has come to pick the 15 best men fro mthe nation for this iconic tournament. Here is the probable India National Cricket Team squad for World Cup.

Batting: Few straightforward, few tricky 

The top-order is no-brainer. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli pick themselves as they probably form the most lethal top-order in the world currently.

MS Dhoni is the de facto wicket-keeper. So, he fills one slot in the middle order while Hardik Pandya is an automatic choice as well. Kedar Jadhav has grown immensely as a bowler and this will surely book his ticket for England.

And now comes the tricky part. The number four slot. Kohli had made it clear that Ambati Rayudu is their number four batsman but Rayudu’s recent performances don’t reflect that confidence. KL Rahul has got runs lately and has finally regained form. The fact that he can be a cover for openers as well makes him a strong contender.

The bowling cauldron

LIke the batting, the bowling department too has names that get picked automatically. Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are obvious choices while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami have done more than enough to be hailed as the second seamer.

Now the question is should India go for a fourth pacer or a third spinner. Ravindra Jadeja along with his left-arm spin, brings the adds-on of fielding and batting to the table while in the fourth seamer category India don’t have many lucrative options. Khaleel Ahmed has fared decently while Siddaarth Kaul hasn’t made a massive impact and Umesh Yadav has looked erratic.

India’s probable squad

India also have two more questions to answer. Should they have a back-up wicket-keeper and if yes then who? And what about Vijay Shankar?

Rishabh Pant hasn’t done great things with the bat in the chances he has got while his wicket-keeping has been a massive turn-off. Dinesh Karthik is establishing himself as a T20 finisher but do the selectors trust him in ODIs?

Also read:ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Full schedule

Importantly Vijay Shankar’s steady rise has added to the headache of selectors as his performance demands selection but India may not have vacancies.

India probable World Cup squad

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayadu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja/Dinesh Karthik.