3 Team India stars whose spot for the 2023 ODI World Cup is under the scanner
Team India went into the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia with plenty of hope. They also kicked off their campaign on a high, getting the better of Pakistan by four wickets in a last-ball thriller at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). However, their weaknesses were exposed by South Africa in the Super 12 match in Perth. England then hammered them by 10 wickets in the semi-final in Adelaide.
Following another failed attempt to lift an ICC trophy, the Men in Blue’s focus has now shifted to preparations for the next World Cup, the 50-over edition, which will be held in India next year. Team India are currently in New Zealand for a white-ball tour. Having clinched the T20I series 1-0, they are 0-1 down in the three-match ODI series.
The visitors came up with a rather disappointing performance at Eden Park in Auckland in the first ODI to go down by seven wickets.
As the Men in Blue look to fine-tune their squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup, we look at three players whose spot for the tournament is under the scanner.
#1 Shikhar Dhawan
Veteran Team India opener Shikhar Dhawan is leading the team in the ODI series against the Kiwis. However, there are a number of questions about his place in the squad, especially with regard to next year’s World Cup.
Dhawan will turn 37 on December 5. The big quandary over him is - are the selectors and team management 100 percent sure that he is in the plans for the World Cup?
To be absolutely fair to the left-handed batter, performance-wise Dhawan hasn’t done all that badly. Since the start of the West Indies tour, he has crossed the half-century mark four times in 11 innings. He fell three short of a hundred in the Port of Spain, which would have been his first three-figure score in ODIs since the 2019 World Cup.
The issue with the southpaw is his strike rate. If we look at some of his recent ODI knocks, he scored 40 off 68 balls against Zimbabwe in Harare, four off 16 against South Africa in Lucknow, and eight off 14 against the Proteas in Delhi.
Dhawan did impresses with 72 off 77 in Auckland. However, there were phases where he struggled to accelerate here as well.
Shikhar Dhawan departs for cheap 🏏
#crickettwitter #indvznz https://t.co/xSNpG7e30k
With Shubman Gill coming up with some impressive knocks in recent times, Team India might be in with a quandary over their opening combination for next year’s World Cup.
KL Rahul is another opening option as skipper Rohit Sharma’s partner.
#2 Rishabh Pant
Team India keeper-batter’s Rishabh Pant recent struggles are another cause of headaches for the management. The 25-year-old has just not looked like his fluent self in recent white-ball matches. The musical chair between him and Dinesh Karthik during the T20 World Cup 2022 doesn’t seem to have done much good to his confidence.
Since his sensational 125* in the Manchester ODI against England in July, he has played 13 knocks in white-ball cricket, 12 of them in T20Is. In the 20-over format in these games, he has scored 219 runs at an average of 21.90 and a strike rate of 134.35. In his last five T20I knocks, he has registered scores of 27, three, six, six, and 11.
Rishabh Pant needs to step-up 👀
#crickettwitter #india https://t.co/AHPBtiMYOj
Pant’s dismal run continued as he was dismissed for 15 off 23 in the Auckland ODI. It can be argued that the keeper-batter’s form in another format cannot be made the basis for his selection in ODIs. However, beyond just numbers, it’s Pant’s mental makeup that seems to be the bigger issue.
The pressure of lofty expectations seems to have finally gotten to him. It might not be a bad idea for Team India’s think tank to give him a break.
#3 Shardul Thakur
After being dropped from the T20I squad, all-rounder Shardul Thakur’s place in the ODI side also seems in danger. The 31-year-old medium pacer was clobbered for 63 runs in nine overs in the first ODI against New Zealand in Auckland - 25 off those came in one over. Thakur had no answer as Tom Latham took him on and went berserk.
Often referred to as “Lord” for his ability to shift the momentum of a match with his Midas touch, Thakur’s bowling seems to have lost a bit of zip in recent times. He claimed only one wicket in two ODIs at an average of 107 and an economy rate of 7.13 during Team India’s tour of South Africa at the start of the year.
Thakur did very well in West Indies, where he was the joint-leading wicket-taker with seven scalps in three games. He also did a decent job against the Proteas at home, claiming three wickets in as many ODIs. However, Thakur’s USP has always been his ability to be a game-changer.
#INDvNZ
@CricCrazyJohns Yes, Shardul Thakur is making things happen in his 8th over but this time in favor of the opposition. Conceding 25 runs in 1 over 🙏 😑 #INDvNZ https://t.co/3O4cXjtKXq
With Deepak Chahar returning from injury, Thakur will have to perform exceedingly well if he has to stay in contention for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Both Chahar and Thakur have similar skills as all-rounders. So even if both are picked in the squad for the ICC event at home next year, only one of them is likely to feature in the starting XI.
Who that will be would depend heavily on how the pair perform in the build-up to the World Cup.
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