Who is going to be India's dark horse for the World Cup?
India's World Cup campaign is set to feature all the pomp and show: from the established elegance of Rohit Sharma, the brutality of Shikhar Dhawan, or the perfection of Virat Kohli. Even MS Dhoni's antics are well known, and Pandya, we've seen can deliver on the big stage. As for the bowlers, the spin twins are proven match winners and the quicks are looking quite formidable.
But there is one player, the dark horse, the underrated hero in the lineup, that my gut instinct tells me will make all the difference.
For starters, he is a tiny man, but doesn't show it in the way he pulls and hooks. He averages over 40 in his short 46-game ODI career and bats at a phenomenal strike rate of 106.89. But its not his unorthodox batting style that excites the most, but his 'below-sea-level' off breaks; as Manjrekar describes on air. You don't see him bowl that often, but when he does, he is remarkably economical and even picks up wickets. This is evident in his average of 29.69 and a cool economy rate of 4.86.
He bowls slow, and he bowls low. And it seems as if no-one can pick him up just yet. If you were following the news recently, you would have read about how he credited Dhoni in changing his life, when he asked him to bowl. Today, he refrains from working on his bowling in the nets, probably skeptical of losing his golden arm.
And he's got this something about him. He comes out of the blue and breaks massive partnerships between top-notch batsman, making them look silly for playing their shots.
For such an instance, one has to look no further than the Asia Cup Final. Underdogs Bangladesh had started their batting superbly, cruising to 120 runs off the first 20 overs. Chahal was carted for a couple of sixes in his over, Kuldeep Yadav was looking a mess and Jadeja had just been swept twice in an over by Liton Das, who was looking in the form of his life. With the fast bowlers through their opening spells - being saved for the death overs - captain Rohit Sharma turned to Kedar Jadhav.
On the fifth ball of his first over, Jadhav tossed one up tantalisingly slow at Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who had to wait and wait and wait for this to come. He wanted to crash this through the covers, but could go no further than Rayudu at cover point. Jadhav had struck and India had an opening. Bangladesh lost their remaining nine wickets for another 102 runs, and India came home on the very last ball.
With his ability to come in and bowl crucial overs in the middle, Kedar Jadhav, who is currently injured, will be the dark horse for India.