Four middle-order batsmen who should be in India's squad for World Cup 2019

The ICC Cricket World Cup is the biggest carnival of the Cricket and the next World Cup is set to take place next year. A total of ten teams will participate in the next World Cup and all the teams are preparing to lift the most prestigious title of Cricket. The World Cup is less than nine months away and England will host the mega event for the fifth time.

Meanwhile, the host country England has not won the World Cup yet and they will be aiming to clinch their maiden World Cup on home soil. England hosted the World Cup last time in 1999 and Australia won the title. Currently, England is the number one ranked ODI team in the world and they have a bright chance to lift the World Cup trophy.

Likewise, India is the 2nd ranked ODI team in the world and certainly one of the favorites to win the title. As a matter of fact, India won their (maiden World Cup title in England when Kapil Dev led India to victory in 1983. Subsequently, India also won the Champions Trophy on the English soil in 2013 and reached the Champions Trophy final last year. Thus, Team India is expected to do well in the World Cup next year.

India has a formidable batting line up. The top-order looks awe-inspiring with players like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and skipper Virat Kohli. Here we discuss four middle-order Indian batsmen who should be in the World Cup squad next year-

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Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is an experienced player who is a proficient batsman in the limited overs Cricket. He has played in England numerous times and has a good idea about the English pitches. In fact, Karthik played first two Test matches against England recently but failed to score a big knock. But he is a completely different player in the ODI format and he can be a dependable middle-order batsman for the Indian team in the World Cup.

Presently, Karthik is playing the Asia Cup for India. He featured in the starting eleven against Hong Kong and Pakistan. He played a handy knock against Hong Kong and remained not out against Pakistan. He is anticipated to play an essential role in the remaining matches of the Asia Cup.

Karthik came to spotlight earlier this year in the Nidahas Trophy when he played a stunning knock in the final. He scored 29 runs in just 8 balls against Bangladesh and his last over heroic knock helped India to win the tri-nation tournament.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul

KL Rahul has been a regular member of the Indian team in every format and his participation in the ICC world cup 2019 is a near certainty. However, he did not feature in the first two games of the Asia Cup. His ordinary performance in the Test series against England could be responsible for his exclusion from the starting eleven. Though his performance was noteworthy in the limited overs Cricket in England, where he scored his second T20 century.

The 26-year old batsman generally opens the batting, but he plays as a middle-order batsman in the ODI format. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma open the Indian innings in the ODI Cricket and Virat Kohli bats in the number three position. Therefore, he does not get the chance to play as a top-order batsman in the ODI Cricket.

KL Rahul's form was extraordinary in the IPL this year and he scored plenty of runs for the Kings XI Punjab. In fact, he played 14 IPL matches this year and scored 659 runs at an average of 54. If he becomes a consistent performer in ODI Cricket then he can be a valuable asset for Indian batting in the World Cup.

Rishabh Pant

Pant scored his maiden test century recently on the tour to England

Rishabh Pant is one of the best young players in India and he could be a key batsman for Men in Blue in the World Cup. He made his Test debut in England recently in August 2019 and he played last three Test matches of the five-match test series against England. However, the Delhi youngster has not made his ODI debut for India.

Pant scored an impressive century in the fifth Test match against England. He is an attacking batsman and has a reliable technique to back his aggressive strokes. The 20-year-old southpaw is widely considered as a long-term prospect for the role of wicketkeeper-batsman for Indian cricket team. This is crucial as MS Dhoni is entering into the twilight of his career.

He generally bats at the middle-order in the domestic Cricket and IPL. He had a memorable IPL this year where he became the second highest run-scorer of the tournament. He scored 684 runs in the IPL this year at an average of 52.

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has been part of India's limited-overs squad for the last couple of years, but he was also dropped in the past for his inconsistent performance. The batsman hailing from Karnataka has been unable to cement a spot in the Indian batting order. The Indian selectors picked him for the Asia Cup recently after his spectacular performances in the Quadrangular series where he remained unbeaten in the whole tournament.

The Asia cup will be immensely crucial for Pandey as this might be his last chance to nail down a spot in the national team as plenty of younger prospects are waiting in the wings, hungry to make their mark.

The 29-year old is a dependable middle-order batsman who is a good stroke-maker. The Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman is also an impressive fielder which is an added asset for the team. He has a good temperament and is adept at playing big knocks. He has played 22 ODI games for India and he has scored 432 runs at an average of 39.