3 Indian players who'll be looking to cement their World Cup spot in the upcoming ODI series against Australia
With only 5 ODIs remaining for the World Cup, India have almost tightened up the screws. However, there are still some slots which India would like to get complete clarity on in the upcoming 5 match ODI series against Australia.
Here are the three players of India who will be looking to cement their place in the World Cup squad as it is the last international assignment for India before the mega event:
#1 Rishabh Pant
India have been trying and testing Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik as a back up for MS Dhoni for the past few series. For the ODI series against the Aussies, Karthik has been dropped and Pant has been given a chance to cement his credentials. Clearly, the slot is still up for grabs.
Karthik has done little wrong to be axed from the squad, but selectors are keen to invest on a left-handed batsman and it will be a do or die series for Pant if he wants to break into the World Cup squad after his horrible show with the bat and in the field in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia.
#2 Vijay Shankar
Vijay Shankar is the latest inclusion in the race for the World Cup. With an average of 37.3 and a strike rate of 91. 2 and with an economy rate of 4.98 in List A cricket, he is a handy all-rounder who can provide some great balance to the team.
Taking into consideration the fact that Hardik Pandya has not fully recovered from his injury and Shankar's performance in the recently concluded New Zealand tour, selectors have decided to give him a few more games to prove his worth.
With the need for a fast bowling all-rounder in the playing XI coupled with India's dilemma of selecting the fourth seamer, Shankar will look to grab this opportunity with both hands to get into the World Cup squad.
#3 KL Rahul as the 3rd opener
After scoring runs for India A against England Lions and with scores of 50 and 47 in the recently concluded T20I series against the Aussies, KL Rahul has almost cemented his place as the 3rd opener in the World Cup squad. However, it will be interesting to see if he can continue his fine form in the upcoming ODI series and get the boarding pass for the mega event.
Rahul has shown great character to bounce back from the recent controversy he found himself in and will be looking to solely focus on his game and play an instrumental role in helping India win the World Cup in England later this year.