After playing the hectic IPL, team India is taking part in the mega-tournament in England and Wales.
India won the 2011 World Cup which was played at home, but they failed to defend the crown in the 2015 World Cup in Australia. India ended their campaign as a semi-finalist in that year’s tournament.
In this year’s World Cup, India is playing nine matches, one against every opponent.
So here is the perfect 11 that India should go with. This is the 11 which has the ideal batting and bowling structure.
India will start their World Cup run in Southampton against the mighty Proteas today.
So, the perfect 11 for India in this ICC tournament:
Openers
Shikhar Dhawan
Currently, he may not be consistent. But we can’t forget that he was the leading scorer for India in the last Champions trophy edition. Dhawan is known as the man for ICC Events. He is the experienced opener that India has right now.
Rohit Sharma
The man whose career has been changed by opening the innings. He provides good support to his partner to Shikhar Dhawan. Hit Man had a decent IPL, he would like to continue his joy of winning in this year’s World Cup too.
Middle order
Virat Kohli
He is a world-class player at number three for India. Skipper Kohli is a key batsman in the Indian team. India needs him to fire at in this tournament.
Kohli didn’t have good ODI series against England when India toured this nation last year. But he had a very good Test series, which he overcame his drought of 2014 tour. This will give Kohli good confidence which is needed for him to do well in this World Cup.
KL Rahul
Finally, India found their answers to number four conundrum. Rahul batted exceptionally well in the second warm game against Bangladesh. His fighting century sealed the number four spot. Now Rahul should continue his form in the matches that matter the most.
MS Dhoni
This will be MS Dhoni’s last World Cup, so he will want to end his tremendous run on a high note.
Dhoni showed some good form on the overseas tours of Australia and New Zealand, but he will need to be consistent enough for India as he will be the most experienced player of this young team. Dhoni’s form will hold the key for India’s success because he will have to anchor the innings.
He will be the player to watch out for in this World Cup and his blazing knock against Bangladesh in the second warm game was very encouraging to see.
(AP Photo/David Rowland)
Kedar Jadhav
The good news for the Indian cricket fans is that Kedar Jadhav is fit for today’s game against South Africa. Jadhav was injured in the IPL and because of that, he missed the warm-up matches. But now Kedar is fit and raring to go.
He is a key player when it comes playing against a good quality side like South Africa. His bowling does the trick.
He is known to be a man with a golden arm because he breaks the partnerships when teams require the most and when he bats he is a treat to watch. Due to the range of shots, Kedar can be a perfect partner to Hardik Pandya in the depth overs.
Hardik Pandya
At the moment he is a quality all-rounder for India. Even though he is coming back from an injury his form in the IPL was very good to see.
Bhuneshwar Kumar
A very useful contributor as a batsman in the team. He has shown this many times, but the major concern is Bhuvi’s bowling form. He wasn’t at his best in the IPL 2019.
He leaked runs at the death overs and he wasn’t that effective in the middle orders either. But due to his experience Bhuvi should be in the playing 11.
Kuldeep Yadav
The left-arm wrist spinner has impressed all with his performances and he will be Virat Kohli’s go-to spinner. Kuldeep has bowled decently, but his current form is not that great. He had an ordinary IPL and the batsmen took a liking to his bowling this season.
But Kuldeep can overcome it like a champion bowler. He also had good limited over series against England when India toured the last time.
Mohd Shami
His redemption in white ball cricket has been a treat to watch. His form in the international series and in the IPL is a big plus for India going into this World Cup.
Mohd Shami is fitter, more accurate and more hungry than before. He is the bowler to watch out for in this tournament.
Jasprit Bumrah
He is known as depth over specialist for India. His Yorkers, slower deliveries and other variations can confuse the batsmen in last overs when they are trying to score maximum runs.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Another spinner who will definitely get a nod to feature in the playing 11. With Kuldeep Yadav, Chahal is another go-to man who has a lot of responsibilities in the middle overs. The KulCha duo will be again in action for the World Cup.
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