3 one-on-one competitions within the Indian team for a spot in the World Cup squad
England is set to host the 50-over World Cup next year from the end of May. India are amongst the favourites to lift the trophy after their disappointing performance in the previous edition. However, apart from a core of around 9 players, many spots in the team is still up for grabs. The selectors have started the process of narrowing down the options and they will need to take some hard decisions while selecting the World Cup squad.
On that note, we have listed down 3 competitions in the team which may see only one among them get through to the squad.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja vs Kedar Jadhav
Hardik Pandya will be a certainty in the World Cup squad as a pace bowling all-rounder is a necessity on the pacer-friendly wickets of England. We all know Hardik's hitting abilities and he can take out the opposition on his day.
That leaves only one spot available for the all-rounder's role. Since Chahal and Kuldeep are the lead spinners, Jadeja has to fight it out with Kedar Jadhav for an opportunity at the World Cup. While Kedar is a batting all-rounder with unpredictable bowling performances, Jadeja is a genuine bowling all-rounder who can guarantee a few good overs.
Kedar is suitable at No.6 but Jadeja cannot play above No.7 due to his limited batting skills. On the fielding front, Jadeja scores ahead of Jadhav. The series against Windies will be important because if Jadeja plays well, the team management might consider playing him ahead of one of the wrist spinners. On the other hand, Kedar Jadhav is ruled out of this series and he has to impress big time in Australia to confirm his ticket to England.