World Cup 2019: 5 Indian players who could have been selected in the standby list

The 15-member Indian squad for the World Cup 2019 was selected on 15th of April. There were no major surprises in the selection. However, fans were expecting Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu to be included in the 15 but it wasn’t the case. On Wednesday, 17 April the team management announced that 5 players – Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayadu would be the standby players for the mega event.

The problem of plenty is always a good headache to have. In the past, India has always struggled to find the right combination of players. But now India has a very good bunch of all-rounders, spinners, and fast bowlers. Batting was not a problem anyway. Indian team is in a good space at the moment with many players fighting it out for the limited positions available in the team.

We provide you the list of 5 players who could have also been picked as the standby players

1. Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav could have been included in the standby list. The speedster can generate a lot of pace with the new ball and is capable enough to rattle the top order. He has a good presentation of the seam and can also reverse the ball in dry conditions. He is a gun fielder with a very strong throwing arm.

He has 106 wickets in 75 ODI matches which is a very good record, but he has to work on his economy rate which is 6.01rpo. Umesh was the leading wicket-taker for India in the previous edition of the World Cup taking 18 scalps. He last played an ODI game against Windies in Vizag in October 2018.

2. Siddarth Kaul

This speedster from Punjab was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the final over by his then skipper Virat Kohli against South Africa in Malaysia, where India won the under-19 World cup in 2008. Kaul is a thinking bowler who has a very good knuckle ball and has a very deceptive slower ball too. He made his International debut against Ireland in a Twenty 20 International and he took one wicket for 4 runs in his two overs in that match which is a good start to his international career.

He is usually the go-to man for his franchise SRH in the death overs as he has the temperament and variations to do so. Although he has not played too many matches for India he has a decent IPL track record with 49 wickets in 44 games.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin

The tall off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has always been a good performer for Team India. He has always been a better Test match bowler but his record in ODI is not too bad either. He has taken 150 wickets in 111 matches with an economy rate of under 5 RPO which is a very good record to have.

He was dropped from the team as the management was inclined towards playing the wrist spinners in the team. He is a very capable batsman down the order as well and can be termed as the spinning all-rounder. He has a good pair of hands in the slips as well. His current form in IPL is very good both with bat and ball and he can be called into the team in case any of the first choice spinners get injured. He also has the experience of playing two ODI World cups for the country.

4. Ajinkya Rahane

The short-statured guy from Mumbai has always been in and out of the Indian ODI scheme of things. He has shown glimpses of his ability but has not been consistent in the ODI format. He is a quality player who can open the innings and can bat even in the middle order as well. He is a very fine fielder.

He has been moved up and down the batting order too frequently in the Indian team and that could be the reason why he averages around 35.26 which is very less for a player of his ability. His strike rate is 78.63 and has scored three centuries for Indian in his ODI career so far.

He played a gem of an innings against South Africa in the 2015 edition of the World Cup where he scored 79 runs of just 60 balls against a strong bowling attack consisting of Steyn, Morkel, and Tahir. India won the match by 130 runs. His ability to play the swinging ball could have made him the ideal choice for a standby top order batsman.

5. Shreyas Iyer

He is another Mumbaikar who is currently leading the franchise Delhi Capitals in IPL. In his young days, he was being compared to Virender Sehwag due to his batting style and mannerism. Shreyas has played 6 ODI for the Indian team and has managed to score two half-centuries. He averages 42 and has a healthy strike rate of 96.33. He is a solid middle-order batsman who runs very fast between the wickets and is a treat to watch when he is in full flow. Just like the current crop of Indian players, he is a terrific fielder.

Shreyas has always been a very good performer in India’s A tour to England, Australia, South Africa, etc with bat and his experience of playing in the English conditions may come out to be handy if the team requires a replacement due to some unforeseen circumstances.

~Written by Anshul Arora