India's predicted XI for World Cup on the basis of ODI performances in Australia
2018 was a year of experiments for the Indian ODI team. All throughout the year, India were experimenting with the playing XI to find an ideal combination for the World Cup and it would be fair to say that they were successful to an extent.
During the recently concluded Australian ODI series, India tried a few new combinations. Middle-order was the focus of the experiments in particular. Also, Indian think-tank tried to find an ideal bowling combination.
In absence of Bumrah, India tried Shami, Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed to find the third seamer for the World Cup. India tried three spinners, Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal to decide their front line spinner for the World Cup. Let us take a look at India's predicted XI for the World Cup on the basis of the Australian tour ODI performance.
Top 3: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli
Selecting India's top-three is a no-brainer, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli form the world's best top-order. Their performance over the last few years has been outstanding as a group. The best part about this top-order is the fact that they have scored runs all over the world, which makes them a formidable top order combination in the English conditions as well.
Number 4: MS Dhoni
Indian team has made it clear that MS Dhoni is their first-choice for the slot of the wicketkeeper-batsman for the World Cup. Indian team management has reiterated every now and then that Dhoni's experience is an asset for the team especially in a high-pressure tournament like World Cup.
Dhoni justified the faith of the team management by performing excellently during the Australian series. He was Man of the Series on the basis of his batting performance during the three ODIs. Australian series was an ample indication of the fact that Dhoni is the ideal number 4 for India considering his ability to handle the pressure cooker situations which will be plentiful during the World Cup.