4 players who have an outside chance to make it to the Indian team for the 2019 World Cup

#2 Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar

The suspension of Hardik Pandya led to the inclusion of Vijay Shankar in the ODI team and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

In the 5th ODI at Wellington, India were struggling at 18-4 when Shankar joined Rayudu at the crease and provided the much needed stability. He scored a composed 45 off 64 balls and led India to a respectable total which they subsequently defended. After that ODI, Indian coach Ravi Shastri praised Shankar for his temperament.

Shankar did not pick up a single wicket in the 4 ODIs he played in the last month (1 in Australia and 3 in New Zealand). However the wickets in England may just suit his kind of bowling and he could make it to the Indian team as a handy number eight batsman and a swing bowler who could bowl 7 to 8 overs.

Shankar should be a part of the team which plays Australia at home in a fortnight and good performances against the Aussies could lead to his inclusion in the World Cup squad.