Why a well-balanced India are favourites to win their third World Cup
A two-month long cricketing extravaganza kicks off from the 30th of May with the 2019 ICC World Cup. India go into the campaign as favourites along with the hosts and Virat Kohli's men will look to go the extra mile in the competition in a country where they haven't had much success.
The Indian side looks well balanced going into the World Cup campaign after a relatively good IPL season. Shikhar Dhawan's tally of 521 runs for the Delhi Capitals will prove to be a confidence booster for the southpaw. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli hold the key for the Indian side and people will have huge expectations from the three players. The skipper, the No.1-ranked batsman in the ODI batting ranks along with the vice-captain, ranked No.2 has eyes set on the silverware.
The Indian side is the most capped side with 1573 overall appearances and also the fourth youngest side in the tournament. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's experience is a huge plus for the Men in Blue. The Ranchi-born wicket-keeper batsman is coming off from a relatively good IPL season - Dhoni was the highest run-getter for the Chennai Super Kings with 416 runs from 15 matches.
The likes of Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar provide profundity to the roster with three- dimensional skills up their sleeves. Hardik is looking upbeat and more confident than ever, thanks to some superlative performances with the willow and with the ball as well. Hardik scored 404 runs in 17 matches and also picked up 14 wickets. He was instrumental in guiding the Mumbai Indians to their fourth title.
The duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will look to make amends with the ball for the Men in Blue - Kuldeep Yadav had a rather forgettable season with the Knight Riders. The chinaman scalped just 4 wickets in 9 matches with an economy rate of 8.66.
The trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are coming off from exceptional stints with their respective franchises, their performances in the IPL have been superlative of late.
Team India has covered all the departments and has the right ammunition to clinch their third title.
India's roster for the ICC CWC 2019: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, B Kumar,Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja
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