World Cup 2019: Team India's first choice playing XI

3. Virat Kohli (C)

Skipper Virat Kohli kick-started the previous two World Cups with hundreds but failed to capitalize on it as the tournament progressed. His record in the greatest cricketing tournament has not been up to the mark, especially by his own standard. But a cricketer with over 40 centuries in the format and over 10,000 runs in no time is a significant threat to any opposition.

He will command a lot of respect from the opponents and it won’t be easy for them to contain him. Kohli is not a form player as he is always in the mindset and preparedness to go out there and win matches for his team. He might consider briefly to sacrifice his number 3 position to accommodate someone like a KL Rahul just to fill the number 4 void.

But that in case, Vijay Shankar who starts there fails to impress. However, a team should have its best batsman at the best position and Kohli has to carry the burden at number 3.