Best Possible middle Order for Indian Cricket Team at next year's World Cup
The void left in the Indian middle order with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina dropping form towards the end of their careers have left the batting positions of number four, five and six open for contention. Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, who has been the backbone of the middle order for more than a decade and has won number of matches for India in crunch situations on countless occasions in the past but is currently going through a difficult phase in his career in which he has been unable to deliver as consistently as he would have liked to.
India’s troubles in the middle order are not due to lack of options as there have been several young Indian batsmen coming up the ranks in the domestic circuit looking to secure their places in the team. There have been a few others looking to cement their places after having made a comeback into the team, with the 2019 World Cup around the corner.
Over the last couple of years, there have been as many as 10 players who have been tried at numbers four and five including the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, and KL Rahul.
Interestingly, none of them has been able to deliver as consistently as the team management would have wanted them to.
This also leaves the middle order slots open for youngsters like Krunal Pandya and Rishabh Pant who will be desperate to grab any opportunity presented to them. Here is what will be the best Indian middle order for the 2019 World Cup :
#1 No. 4: KL Rahul
Rahul has been a consistent performer for India in tests averaging 40.86 in 24 matches at the top of the order which is truly phenomenal considering his limited experience in international cricket.
The Karnataka batsman also has a terrific record in T2OIs, averaging 49.71 at a strike rate of 155 which demonstrates his ability to hit the big shots when required. He has also had an impressive season in the 2018 IPL playing for Kings XI Punjab in which he has smashed 659 runs at an average of 54.91 striking at 158.41.
The right-hander has a sound technique which allows him to play freely with both front and back foot and his exploits in international cricket are testimony to the fact that he is not only capable of building the innings for the team, when the team loses early wickets but equally capable of accelerating at the desired run rate once a solid foundation is set.
The 26-year old however has been in and out of the ODI squad and his numbers in ODIs hardly do any justice to his talent.
The Karnataka batsman needs to be provided more opportunities in order to illustrate his immense talent, glimpses of which we have been seeing for the last two or three years. He is the best pick to the No. 4 Slot. The Skipper Virat Kohli and Team management need to just back him at No. 4 till the 2019 World Cup.