3 Batsmen who can come in the Indian team in place of Ambati Rayudu for the World Cup
India won the third ODI against Australia by 7 wickets while chasing a target of 230 runs. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav starred in the chase as an unbeaten 121-run stand between the duo, for the fourth wicket, steered India home with 4 balls to spare.
With this win, India clinched the three-match ODI series 2-1 and won their first ever bilateral ODI series in Australia.
Ambati Rayudu, who failed in the first two ODIs, had to sit out in Melbourne. The number 4 conundrum, which had been a matter of talk since the England tour, seemed to be solved with Ambati Rayudu fitting into that place.
However, poor outings in the first two ODI has once again brought the problem to the fore. Rayudu scored a two-ball duck in the first ODI and could only muster 24 off 36 in the second ODI. Due to this, Rayudu was replaced by Jadhav in the final ODI.
With the squad submission deadline for the World Cup approaching near, India needs to sort out their squad very soon.
Here, we will have a look at some promising cricketers who, if given a chance, can make an impact on number 4.
#1 Mayank Agarwal
The lad from Karnataka had a dream debut for India, in Tests, in the recently concluded India tour of Australia. He solved the opening conundrum as he scored 195 runs in 3 innings at an average of 65. He also registered two Test fifties to his name.
Mayank got into the team on the back of some great performances in the domestic circuit. He topped the batting charts in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy where he plundered over 1100 runs at an astounding average of 105.45 in 13 innings.
While, he has had an underwhelming IPL season so far, with an average of just 16.75 in 59 innings, he is scoring well elsewhere. He has an average of 50.58 in first-class cricket while he averages 48.71 in List A matches.
He also has a triple century to his name in first-class cricket. With 12 centuries in List A cricket, the right-hander knows how to build an innings and to play a big knock. He might be the solution that India is desperately looking for.
List A: Matches: 75, Runs: 3605, Avg: 48.71, S/R: 100.72, H.S: 176
First-Class: Matches: 48, Runs: 3794, Avg: 50.58, H.S: 304