Venkatesh Iyer vs Vijay Shankar - who can challenge for a spot in India's 2023 World Cup squad?
The ongoing 16th edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League is doubling up as the audition for another tournament scheduled to take place this year, the ICC 50-over Cricket World Cup. While the tournament will be on the back of the minds of the respective countries, it will attract more attention once the IPL is done and dusted.
India, who are hosting this edition of the World Cup, will be desperate to ensure that the selection and planning is spot on as they try to end their drought in ICC tournaments.
While the management has said on record that they are close to finalizing the personnel, there is a chance that IPL performances may be taken into account. In the past, we have seen players like Varun Chakravarthy and Ishan Kishan being included in World Cup squads on the back of IPL performances.
Several players will be trying to attract the attention of the national selectors in the hope of making it to India's 2023 World Cup squad. Two such players are Venkatesh Iyer and Vijay Shankar, who have impressed pundits, ex-cricketers and fans in recent times.
It is unlikely that both of them will make it to the Indian side, and hence, they could be vying for one spot. Both are primarily batters who can bowl a bit and right now, there is no guarantee whether Shreyas Iyer, India's incumbent No. 4, will be fit for the marquee tournament.
Venkatesh Iyer or Vijay Shankar, who has a better chance of making it to the World Cup squad?
Vijay Shankar was part of India's 2019 World Cup squad when he was chosen for the No. 4 spot ahead of Ambati Rayudu, a decision that received a lot of criticism. He blew hot and cold before being injured and was eventually ruled out of the tournament. His last appearance for India came in the tournament itself as he fell out of favor with the selectors.
Shankar has been quite impressive in this year's IPL, although the sample size is not large. Ahead of the IPL, he enjoyed a brilliant run in the domestic season as he smashed three successive centuries in the Ranji Trophy. His body language, too, has been extremely good lately.
Venkatesh Iyer, on the other hand, has a solid List-A record, with an average of 48.15 together with a strike-rate of 105.83. He was good in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well. Iyer played a sensational innings (63* off 24 balls) for his franchise Gujarat Titans against the Kolkata Knight Riders in a recent fixture.
While Shankar is a more solid option and Iyer is the more flamboyant one, Shankar has this season displayed that he is now a powerful striker too, which might just tip the scales in his favor. Shankar also has substantial experience playing ODIs, which is an important factor. Iyer, on the other hand, has only played two ODIs, which is not ideal.
Hence, if a choice has to be made between the two, Shankar may be favored owing to his more complete batting game, experience and form.