Former Indian cricketer Ajit Agarkar has come up with his playing XI for Team India's opening game of the upcoming 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup against South Africa with a surprise inclusion of Vijay Shankar at the number 4 batting position on Monday, 18 March.

Visibly, India is struggling to find the no.4 batsman over the past three years and Agarkar backed Shankar over Ambati Rayudu for the role, saying he has all the needed potential to fit in that position.  

In his 2019 World Cup squad, Agarkar has picked Mohammad Shami as Jasprit Bumrah's new-ball partner in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar while Hardik Pandya managed to find himself in his playing XI.

Agarkar didn’t make any changes in the top-three lineup, but he decided to go with Shankar as number 4 batsman because of his all-around abilities, while Rishabh Pant, who has been backed by many including Ricky Ponting for debatable no.4 spot, was not picked by the former pacer in his Playing XI.

On Monday, Agarkar revealed his squad to ESPNCricinfo, “I have a little surprise with No. 4. It is Vijay Shankar. He has shown glimpses of what he can do at the top of the order. Rayudu has been batting there for a while, but in my opinion, Shankar has a more all-around game to fit in that position. Plus, he gives Virat Kohli an option of a few overs if needed.”

Meanwhile, former international explained reason behind picking Shami ahead of Bhuvneshwar, “At this point in time, Shami's form and the way he is bowling at different stages of the innings be it with the new ball or the old ball, middle of the innings or end of the innings, he seems to be bowling better than Bhuvneshwar Kumar.”

Noteworthy, he has kept rest of the India squad remains the same with only adding Pandya as his all-rounder while picking Yuzvendra Chahal over Ravindra Jadeja in his playing XI for the showpiece event.

Ajit Agarkar's Playing XI for World Cup 2019:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)