World Cup 2019: India's strongest playing XI

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The biggest sporting extravaganza of cricket, the ICC World Cup, is all set to commence in a week's time in England and Wales. The teams have made it to England and the group stage of the tournament is underway, with India being the only team to not have played a match so far.

This edition of the tournament shall be played in a round-robin and knockout format, with all the 10 teams locking horns with each other in the league stage. This makes it imperative for the teams to have a stable and balanced squad, covering all the bases.

India start off as favourites to win the cup, along with hosts England. The Men in Blue have been in a great run of form in the past 18 months, having suffered only 2 bilateral series losses. The team has an optimum mix of all the elements, with the players being in rich vein of form, which certainly makes India a force to reckon.

Let us have a look at the strongest line up that India can field for the World Cup.

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Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan arguably form the best opening pair in the tournament. The two have been instrumental in India's phenomenal run in limited overs cricket since 2013.

While Shikhar likes to unleash himself on the bowlers right from the word go, Rohit takes a bit of time to settle in and then accelerates, with a penchant for daddy hundreds. The contradictory approach makes the two complement each other quite well. The right-left combination makes their pair even more dangerous.

Sharma and Dhawan have ample of experience of the English conditions, and notably the two emerged as the top run-getters in the Champions Trophy played here in 2017. The two boast of the ability to provide a strong start to India irrespective of the surface or circumstances.

Dhawan comes with an added reputation of playing a completely different brand of cricket in ICC tournaments, which gives a significant boost to India.

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