ICC World Cup 2019: 3 players unlikely to grab the No. 4 spot for India
The most prestigious tournament in cricket - World Cup 2019 - is approaching, and all the teams are making last-minute preparations. The squads have mostly been finalized in the selectors' minds, and the players are anxious to know if they have made it to the plane to England or not.
While IPL 2019 has taken over the World Cup fever for a bit, Indian fans were reminded of the tournament again when the chief selector MSK Prasad announced that he will be declaring India's squad on 15th April 2019.
India have tried out a lot of players in recent times and while their core squad had been decided quite a while ago, there remains a lot of anticipation as to who would occupy the doubtful seats, especially that of the number 4 spot in the team (assuming MS Dhoni bats at five).
This spot is one that India has been unable to fill since Yuvraj Singh's departure, and there still remains a lot of uncertainty around it. The strongest contender for the spot seems to be Vijay Shankar.
However, let us have a look at 3 players who have likely missed their chance and are not expected to grab the No. 4 seat:
#3 Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant stamped his authority on international cricket with some stunning centuries in England and Australia in the Test format. He was given some chances in ODIs and T20Is too so that he could go to the World Cup as India's No. 4, but it would be fair to say that he has not utilized his chances well.
Pant has played only 4 ODI innings and has an average of just about 20 runs. He has failed to stay at the crease long enough or take the game deep enough, and his shot selection is quite questionable. Pant has made it a habit of giving away his wicket; it doesn't seem like he can be relied upon if the team has a batting collapse.
Also, Dinesh Karthik is a proven and better finisher than Pant. Since the Nidahas Trophy final, Karthik has been in tremendous form and is likely to go to England as the backup wicketkeeper.
With age on his side, Pant should look to make amends and with better performances, he could play the T20 World Cup in 2020.