ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 34: WI vs IND – India Predicted Playing XI

Team India was the last to enter into the mega event and played their first game almost about a week after the opener kicked off. While that seemed to be an advantage at that point in time, they will have to make up for it in the next few days. The Men in Blue played just 5 games thus far which is lesser than any other team. Thus, they will be playing their remaining four matches in the next ten days.

It will start off with the game against Windies as India looks to seal a semi-final spot. In a scenario like this one, it is important to manage the injuries as the side cannot afford anyone to get hurt in the upcoming matches. However, it remains to be a huge question if the management will look to rotate a few players before the important knockout stages.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for India

Openers (KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma)

Team India doesn’t have many alternatives for the opening spot unless they want to open the innings with Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are fit individuals and should pull themselves through for the rest of the tournament. In the last game against Afghanistan, things haven’t panned out as they would have expected.

While the Indian vice-captain was dismissed for just one run, Rahul took 53 balls to score 30 runs. However, that shouldn’t be a concern as both of them have been in great form and are complementing each other well. It is important for them to get the side off to a good start and negate the swing factor early on.

Middle Order (Virat Kohli (c), MS Dhoni (wk))

On three consecutive instances now, Virat Kohli has got past his fifty and seems to be in excellent touch. He has been leading the way through the middle order and a lot will rely on him if the openers had to depart early. The Indian skipper is definitely due for a big hundred and should get to his 42nd ODI ton sooner rather than later.

MS Dhoni has been slight a bit of concern if he gets to walk out early in the innings. The wicket-keeper batsman has looked to take the game too deep but that hasn’t really worked for him. Not that he is out of form, nothing against his capability, but the intent doesn’t seem to be there. Dhoni should look to play with a lot more freedom as he did in the warm-up game against Bangladesh where he scored a brilliant century.

All Rounders (Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar)

Kedar Jadhav might have received some criticism for his approach against Afghanistan. But it was his half-century that ultimately made the difference. That knock should definitely keep him in good spirits as he will look to carry forward the momentum. He can be handy with the ball as well whenever required.

Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar will be the other two all-rounders in the side. Both of them couldn’t make it big with the bat in the last match but will look to make amends in the upcoming game. Pandya was great with the ball while the services of Vijay weren’t required.

Bowlers (Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal)

While the clouds of uncertainty continue to float around Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s fitness, Mohammed Shami has made the spot in the team his own after his performance in the last match. The pacer picked up a brilliant hat-trick, only the second for an Indian in a World Cup game. Jasprit Bumrah will share the fast bowling responsibilities with him and both of them have been terrific at the death.

Yuzvendra Chahal is doing a fine job with the ball and picked up two wickets in the last match. Kuldeep Yadav, though, is still a concern because he is yet to get back to his best. The chinaman went wicketless in the last match and the oppositions seem a lot more comfortable facing him in recent times.