India have been one of the best teams in the world over the last few years in limited overs format. They have been lagging behind the world number one ranked England side and have done extremely well against all the opponents during that time. The ICC tournaments invariably has the Indian team as the favourites for some time now due to their consistent performances over the years and the two-time champions were the semi-finalists the last time in 2015. The Indian team has always been a batting heavy team but now armed with a potent bowling attack as well they are one of the teams to watch out for. 

By Giri Subramanian (25th May, 2019)

Strengths:

Indian batting has always been their strength and this time as well they come with arguably the best top 3 in limited overs cricket in the world. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have 24208 ODI runs between them with 79 tons. They will once again play a crucial role in India’s progress in this competition. Contrary to the previous World Cups where the Indian batting dominated, India come well equipped with some very dependable bowling stars as well this time. Jasprit Bumrah is ranked the best bowler in the ODI format and rightfully so. He has been brilliant for India and has been a crucial cog in the Indian side in all 3 formats in recent times. The spin twins of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have changed the landscape of Indian bowling in the middle overs with their attacking leg-spin. India also have Bhuvneshwar Kumar who can be good in these conditions and Mohammed Shami who has been brilliant since his return to white ball cricket. Hardik Pandya as the all-rounder also adds a new dimension to the team and has been in brilliant form recently.


Weaknesses:

Despite having such a star-filled top 3 in their batting line-up, India does struggle with their middle-order in ODIs. They have in recent times tried various options and have failed to nail down the right combination which means middle order is one of the weaknesses for this Indian team going into the World Cup. Vijay Shankar for all the talent he has is a newbie who has just played 9 ODIs so far and Kedar Jadhav who is making a comeback after injury might be a little rusty. MS Dhoni who has been the lynch pin of the Indian batting over the years has not been his own self recently and the positions 4,5,6 is a major worry for India going into an important tournament like the World Cup. The pressure on the top 3 is enormous as they cannot afford to have a poor tournament.


Players to watch:

The Indian top 3 will once again be the once to watch out for this tournament. All three of them have been in good touch and have done great things in ODI cricket over the years. They will once again will be crucial for India’s chances. Jasprit Bumrah also will be another player to watch out for as he enters this tournament as the best bowler in this format. On these wickets in England where there seems to be lots of runs, his bowling and wicket taking ability will be crucial in restricting the opposition to reasonable totals.


Prediction:

India have been one of the best teams in the ODI format over the years and are for sure expected to make the final four of the competition even this time around. Even though there are minor weaknesses in the squad the overall quality of the side means that India are the favourites to not only reach the finals but also to win the competition.


Indian Squad:

Shikhar Dhawan
Rohit Sharma (VC)
Virat Kohli (C)
Vijay Shankar
Kedar Jadhav
MS Dhoni (WK)
Hardik Pandya
Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammed Shami
Yuzvendra Chahal
Jasprit Bumrah
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Ravindra Jadeja
Dinesh Karthik (WK)
KL Rahul

Discuss!