These five players have lost their given chances in ODIs and might not make it to the 2019 World Cup.
India has been very successful at the World Cup tournaments in recent times. They won the 2011 World Cup under MS Dhoni at home in India and reached the semi-finals stage in the 2015 World Cup in Australia-New Zealand. However, this time, India will be playing the tournament under the leadership of Virat Kohli and India are being looked at one of the prime contenders for the championship.
There are many changes that have come in the Indian limited overs cricket since the 2015 World Cup and the biggest change of this is the change of leadership with a more aggressive Kohli taking over from Dhoni.
Also, the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav have added to potency to the Indian bowling lineup, something that was missing from the previous Indian teams.
Here we take a look at five such Indian players whose chances of playing for India in the 2019 World Cup might have ended and their dreams of becoming a World champion in England might be over.
Here are 5 Indian players whose 2019 World Cup dream might be over
DINESH KARTHIK
Since then Karthik also had a chance to become regular in Tests as well, when he came into the team replacing an injured Saha and Parthiv Patel in South Africa test series, then played in the Afghanistan Test and was named as the no.1 choice keeper for the England Test series.
His recent ODI performances have been just adequate, but with the entry of Rishabh Pant, as a finisher in the team and Karthik being dropped for the first two ODIs against Windies; tides have turned a bit on him going to the 2019 World Cup.
Karthik battling for the no.4 and no.5 spot with the likes of Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, and Ambati Rayudu and they have been slightly more indented to make it to the World Cup, given the selector’s inclination.
Dinesh Karthik’s strike rate and his inability to get going from the ball one, including an Indian record of facing 18 deliveries without scoring a single run in an ODI against SL in 2017, has gone against him when compared to his closest contender Rayudu.
RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN
His spin partner Ravindra Jadeja made a triumphant comeback into the team after his performance in the Asia Cup 2018. Ashwin, however, has been relegated to being a Test specialist, as he couldn’t have much success in the IPL 2018 as well, despite leading the KXIP franchise.
The rise of wrist spinners all over the world has marginalized finger spinners, but Ashwin’s loss of form has also hurt him badly. His England Test series was a preview of how well he might do in the ODIs as well, and by the looks of it, he seems to not be in the selectors’ scheme of things when ICC World Cup 2019 is concerned.
AJINKYA RAHANE
Rahane has close to 3000 runs in 90 ODIs at an average of 35.26 with 3 centuries. Though he was the best batsman overseas for India in the last 3-4 years, he was benched for the first two Tests against South Africa and even returned with just 2 fifties in the England series also. He played in the ODI series against South Africa in early 2018 with some decent scores, but his inability to pump up the scoring rate resulted in him being dropped for the ODI series in England and then for the Asia Cup 2018.
A major role in his dropping from limited overs team was played by his performance in the IPL 2018 for Rajasthan Royals. He opened for the franchise and decided to go for the anchoring role. But his low strike rate and tendency to get out after eating up lots of deliveries, kind off showcased that his game is not made for the modern-day limited overs cricket.
YUVRAJ SINGH
Yuvraj Singh had made his debut in 2000 as an 18-year-old and fulfilled the promise he shown in his younger days. In 304 ODIs, he has 8701 runs with 14 centuries at an average of 36.55 and strike rate of 87.67.
Since coming back from his victory over cancer in 2012, Yuvraj has been in and out of the team with the longest break of over two years. His below-par IPL performance hasn’t helped his cause either and despite a few knocks like a 150 against England in 2017 and a half-century against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017; has been out of the team since then.
Lack of form and fitness have been the main issues for Yuvraj, as he strives to make a comeback into the Indian team. He hasn’t given up on a final hurrah at the World Cup 2019 in England; but by all looks and means, that ship has sailed a long time ago.
SURESH RAINA
However, as it happens with everyone, Raina lost a bit of focus and was out of contention quite some time in 2016 and 2017. He made a good return to the Indian team in the T20I series against South Africa in 2018. But after a dull limited-overs series in England, was not chosen for the Asia Cup 2018 or for the first two ODIs against West Indies.
The selectors have already looked beyond Raina and have their eyes set on Rishabh Pant as the finisher with either Manish Pandey or Ambati Rayudu playing the role of accumulators in the middle order.
Suresh Raina was one of the pillars of the Indian team in the MS Dhoni dynasty, but his lack of focus on fitness, failing yo-yo Tests and lack of form overall has caused him to go well down the pecking order for the 2019 World Cup and might not be given opportunities to stake a claim.