ICC CWC 2019: 3 things which might hurt India's chances in the World Cup
With less than 3 months to go for the ICC World Cup to be held in England this year, it is time for the fans to rate their team's chances in the upcoming championship. Out of the ten teams participating in the glorious competition this year, India is currently ranked second in the ICC ODI ranking, sitting just behind England who lead the table.
India, having won the competition in 1983 and 2011 previously, is expected to win the Cup with certain players like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in red-hot form.
With ODI victories over Australia in their own backyard and New Zealand as well, India would be looking at the probability of repeating their feat of the 2011 edition of the tournament.
While each team will be having their own share of concerns going into the tournament, we look at what problems Team India may face in the World Cup.
#1 Inconsistent and unreliable middle order
The middle order, presently consisting of Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, and Hardik Pandya/Vijay Shankar has failed to steer India to a victory in a crucial chase or to consistently take it to a good total.
Most of the runs have been coming off the bats of Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, with occasional sparks from Shikar Dhawan. While Rayudu has been inconsistent with his scores, MS Dhoni has failed to show his past form again with time.
Kedar Jadhav has been the most helpful amongst the middle order, by providing runs to the team and bowling some overs to break partnerships. Both the all-rounder's Pandya and Shankar also lack the responsibility to lead the batting.
The team needs the middle order proves its heavyweight tag by scoring 150-175 runs every match, helping the team in a winning cause.