India's probable 15 member squad for World Cup 2019
The 12th edition of the ICC World Cup is scheduled to start on 30 May 2019, and all the 10 participating teams are working hard for the mega event that will be played in England for the fifth time.
India will start as one of the key favorites to clinch the World Cup owing to their current form. Moreover, India's wrist-spinning trio of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have won many matches for India in recent past.
Though there are a lot of positives, India's never-ending search for a solid No.4 batsman still continues to haunt the team. Despite having a plethora of batsmen who can bat at No. 4 position like Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant, none of the cricketers has been consistent enough to seal the spot for themselves.
With less than 7 months to go for the World Cup, the selectors might have already zeroed down on some players for the event, taking into account the performances of the players from the ongoing England tour.
Here, we take a look at the players who could make it to India's probable 15 member squad for the marquee event.
Openers - Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma
#1 Shikhar Dhawan
Aptly called as the "Man for Tournaments", Shikhar Dhawan hasn't put a foot wrong while playing for India in major ICC Tournaments like Champions Trophy and ICC World Cup. Dhawan's impactful batting at the 2015 World Cup played a major role in India's qualification to the semis.
He ended the 2015 World Cup as the top run-scorer for India and the fifth highest run-scorer in the tournament. He amassed 412 runs at an impressive average of 51.50 which included 2 centuries and a solitary half-century.
Dhawan's form will play a huge role in India's campaign and the team would want him to repeat his past heroics.
#2 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has undoubtedly been one of the most consistent openers for India in the limited overs format of the game. The swashbuckling opener has combined well with fellow opener Shikar Dhawan to provide brilliant starts at the top of the order.
He will be a valuable asset for the team as he can go berserk from the very first ball owing to the placid ODI pitches in England.