3 players who can cement their place in India ODI XI before World Cup 2019

The biggest event in World Cricket- the 50 over World Cup, is less than 8 months away and the Indian team is far from settled.

As suggested by Rohit Sharma during the recently concluded Asia Cup, a number of places in the playing XI are up for grabs. Two batting slots at number 4 and number 6, the all-rounder’s slot at number 7 and a back up fast bowler slot is still available with none of the incumbent players nailing down their places in the squad.

India still has to play some one-dayers against West Indies and Australia before the World Cup begins in England in May. These one-dayers would be the last opportunity for India’s World Cup hopefuls to stake their claim for India’s squad for 2019 World Cup in England.

Let us take a look at some of the players that can cement their places in India’s ODI team with impressive performances in the upcoming ODI matches.

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#3. Rishabh Pant

India's middle order woes are far from being solved. A number of batsmen have been tried at the number 4,5 slots but no one has impressed enough to nail down his place in the middle order.

The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, K.L Rahul, Ambati Rayudu have not been consistent enough in the 50-over format. Also, none of these four can claim to be a big hitter of the cricket ball.

This is where the hard-hitting skills of Rishabh Pant come in. Pant has been in sensational form of late in Test cricket, striking the ball at a fair clip. His clean hitting ability may come in handy lower down the order, especially considering the fact that India does not have many big hitters in the middle order.

The fact that he is a left-handed batsman only makes his case stronger as current Indian side is dominated by right-handed batsmen.

#2. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has had a roller-coaster last two months in international cricket. After being dropped in favour of an inexperienced Kuldeep Yadav as the second spinner in the team during the Lords Test, Jadeja made a fantastic comeback in the last Test against England at The Oval. His all-around skills saw him register a 7-wicket haul and made a vital contribution with the bat to notch up 86 runs in times of adversity.

Later on, he was drafted into the ODI squad for the Asia Cup 218 as a replacement for the injured Axar Patel. He picked up 7 wickets from 4 matches at an impressive economy rate.

In the first test against the West Indies, Jadeja showed excellent composure to craft his maiden Test ton. With some excellent recent performances, he has brought himself into the reckoning for the World Cup and will challenge Hardik Pandya for the all-rounder’s slot in the ODI side at the World Cup.

#1. Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav has made a strong case for himself by registering a terrific 10-wicket haul against the West Indies at Hyderabad. In fact, he has been bowling well for quite some time now.

Umesh was mighty impressive for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He has improved his control with the ball and has shown the ability to pick up early wickets.

In India's upcoming series against ODI West Indies, Umesh will get another opportunity to ply his trade. He was included in the 15-member squad after a groin injury to Shardul Thakur ruled him out of the contention. In the absence of the frontline seamers, he would love to count on this opportunity to showcase his talent in the 50-over format against the West Indies.

In the seaming conditions of England, if India decides to play 3 seamers in the playing XI, Umesh may just get the nod ahead of Mohammed Shami