IPL 2019: 4 Indian players who can earn a World Cup spot by performing well in the tournament
The biggest cricketing extravaganza on the planet is here. The introduction of IPL at the world stage paved the way for many of the hidden talents to showcase their skills on one of the biggest cricketing stages in the world. Some turned everyone's heads and have gone to win laurels for their national team in the process.
For a while, the IPL was the primary tournament for the national selection process surpassing the Ranji Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. With India enduring a shock home series defeat at the hands of Australia, the IPL may very well prove to be the criteria on which the World Cup squad for this year might be selected.
However, the majority of the squad is almost a done deal with a few spots having competition from several players as such. While the top order has the go-to players in the form of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and the captain Virat Kohli himself, the same cannot be said for the rest of the lineup.
With England playing the hosts for this year's World Cup, one can expect surprise inclusions in the national team come two months from now. Finding the right balance will be a major key for the selection panel and some players might offer them a reason not to ignore them during selection.
Will there be a need for two wrist spinners or is it necessary to have an extra replacement seamer in the midst? Is a backup keeper batsman going to be required or will an allrounder serve as a better bet in the squad? Well, it's hard to know what the selectors feel but we can always try to predict what might happen.
India's middle order conundrum and their final bowling attack of choice have to be addressed by the selection panel and they might be looking at these following players in the upcoming IPL to see whether they can perform at the biggest stage of them all.
#1 Ajinkya Rahane
The calm headed vice-captain of the Indian Test team has been far overlooked for the shorter formats of the game. With the number 4 position of the team still not being booked by anyone, Rahane might well be the man to provide the middle order stability that India badly needs to support the world class top order.
Rahane is one of the very few players whose overseas record have better statistics compared to their home record. Considering the fact that conditions in England might suit Rahane better than the other options right now, he will look to remind the selectors his worth in the next two months.
Rahane might not be the first choice for the number 4 spot in the current scenario but a good show in IPL might just tilt the scales in his favour when the selection committee meets.