ICC World Cup 2019: Combined XI of players not selected for the tournament
The ICC World Cup 2019 is just about to begin in five weeks from now in England and Wales, and cricket fans all around the world are waiting for it eagerly. It's every cricketer's ambition to lift the most coveted trophy in world cricket, and every participating nation will surely give their all to succeed in the tournament.
All 10 qualified nations have announced their 15-member squads for the World Cup. Every team has gone for its best possible players to play in the competition. The selected players will be eager to perform in the World Cup and would want to uphold their places in the team.
But it was a hard time for the selectors in choosing the players, as their sheer numbers were surplus to the places in the squad. We have made an XI out of players who have missed out on making it to their respective sides for the World Cup 2019.
Note: All teams are allowed to revise their squads until 23rd May.
1. Reeza Hendricks - South Africa
The 36-year-old Hashim Amla, who has struggled for runs in recent times, has been selected in South Africa's 15-man squad. The player to miss out due to Amla's selection is Reeza Hendricks.
The 29-year-old Hendricks had made a case for replacing Amla after registering a great start to his ODI career. Hendricks has been a destructive T20 opener for South Africa and he also scored a ton on his ODI debut, against Sri Lanka at Pallakele.
Amla’s recent form doesn't inspire much confidence, and Hendricks can be forgiven for thinking he was unlucky to miss out.
2. Ambati Rayudu - India
The omission of Ambati Rayudu from the Indian team was contentious. Before the Australian series he was considered as the solution for India's middle-order conundrum, but three poor batting performances made the management drop him from the team.
Meanwhile, the rise of Vijay Shankar as a batsman and Rayudu's poor run of form during the ongoing IPL also influenced the selectors to choose Shankar over Rayudu.
Considered as a "3-dimensional" player, Shankar will be batting at the No. 4 position initially, as stated by the selectors. It was a disheartening moment for all Rayudu fans as he missed out on making to the the World Cup team for what could have been his last chance.