3 fringe Indian players for whom the 2023 World Cup has come a year too soon
The fixtures for the 2023 World Cup have been released, but Team India have more questions than answers regarding their squad composition for the quadrennial event.
There are a few players who seem to be over the hill and have fallen out of the reckoning for the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan has lost his place in the side, having been replaced by Shubman Gill. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin are somewhere in the mix for the shortest format but aren't really part of the ODI picture.
At the same time, there are a few big names who have been in and around India's squads but haven't managed to nail down their spots in the side. They are bound to become integral members of the side as time wears on, but the 2023 World Cup will probably be a bridge that has come too soon to cross.
Here are three Indian players for whom the 2023 World Cup has come a year too soon.
#3 Arshdeep Singh
On paper, Arshdeep Singh has it all to succeed at the highest level. Being a left-armer who can swing the ball both ways, he is automatically a potent new-ball threat. To sweeten the pot, the youngster is an excellent death bowler with a deadly yorker and variations in his locker.
So far, though, Arshdeep hasn't been able to crack the ODI format. He has gone wicketless in the three games he has played so far, having lost his place in the squad to Jaydev Unadkat.
The 24-year-old has also been picked in India's squad for the Asian Games, lending weight to the belief that he isn't in the thick of things for the World Cup, which will be held at a similar juncture.
Arshdeep will, no doubt, become an integral part of India's sides going forward, but he may not be able to win the race against time to be selected for the home World Cup.
#2 Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain Team India at the Asian Games. The opening batter, who was part of the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) victorious 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, has been appointed the skipper of the youthful squad in a move that came as a slight surprise.
Although the selectors seem to hold Gaikwad in high regard, they're unlikely to consider him for a spot in the World Cup. If they did, they probably wouldn't have appointed him as the captain of the Asian Games squad. Even otherwise, where will he fit in?
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are the first-choice openers, with Gaikwad having played only one ODI to date. The 26-year-old is on his way to becoming an Indian regular, but he might not be able to nail down a spot in the World Cup squad.
#1 Yashasvi Jaiswal
Gaikwad isn't the only young opener who might miss out on the World Cup. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who recently hammered a sensational hundred on his Test debut against the Windies, has also been named in the Asian Games squad.
It might seem strange to suggest that a player who has featured in only one international game will be of value to the Men in Blue in the quadrennial event, but that's just the kind of form Jaiswal has been in. The southpaw already seems like a complete batter, and the red-hot nick he's in suggests that he'll be better than the other options at India's disposal.
India, though, might want a more experienced batter to be their backup opener at the World Cup. Jaiswal will definitely play a ton of international cricket in the coming years, but September-October might be too soon to see him in the ODI format.