3 Problems India need to address before the 2019 WC

The Indian team is on cloud nine at the moment by clinching the first ever ODI series on South African soil. Even though the hosts were poor in batting, their bowlers exposed the inexperienced Indian middle order in the last three games. Though the brilliance of top three (Shikhar and Virat in particular) more than made up for the rest but it cannot be denied that India should have reached 300 in the last three games.

Dhoni is no longer the finisher he was back in the days and the rotation of Iyer, Manish, Jadhav and Karthik for the remaining slot is also a major issue. Along with that, India needs to find a pool of 4-5 good fast bowlers before the WC.

Let us take a look at what are the other issues that need to be addressed:

#3 Role of Hardik Pandya

Pandya hops from asset to liability in the blink of an eye

Is he the batsman who bowls or the bowler who bats?

This question must be on the mind of the coach as so far in the One Day series he has scored 26 runs at an average of 8.67 and taken 3 wickets at 59. So clearly by his numbers, he is nowhere near the player he was when he burst onto the scene first.But with that said, he pulls off a glorious performance once in a while (like he did in the 5th ODI) which makes him the X factor of the side. There is little doubt over his ability but at the same time consistency has eluded him to be considered in the mold of Ben Stokes, Shakib and other modern day greats.

If he is the future finisher, then he needs to provide decent finishes rather than playing loose shots and gifting his wicket away. Also if Kohli sees him as the third seamer, then he should work more on his bowling and give his side 7-8 good overs.

#2 Fast Bowlers' Fatigue

India's pacers could suffer from burnout

At the moment, Bumrah and Bhuvi are one of the best bowling pairs in the world. The fact that they can be equally effective in the death overs has made them indispensable.

But the workload at which they are operating could pose major fitness concerns. Both of them have played almost all matches in the tour and look tired as it reflected in their bowling in the last two ODIs. India do have exciting talent at the disposal in the form of Unadkat, Thakur, Shami and Yadav. These guys need to have more match time to become battle ready come World Cup.

Injuries are common to any fast bowler so it is very important to give others time to settle in the team.

#1 Middle Order conundrum

Middle order is the biggest headache for India to contend with at the moment

Since World Cup 2015, India's top order has scored 60% of total runs which is the most for any team in that period.

At the same time constant chopping and changing of the middle order has deprived either of the batsmen to settle down in the team. With Dhoni and Pandya at Number 6 and 7, India is yet to find its ideal anchors at 4 and 5 with many options been tried out with none very convincing. Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik and Ajinkya Rahane, being the latest, are the ones who will look to cement the remaining two slots.

Come World Cup, any opposition will have a clear idea to restrict India's batting if they get through the top order. So, it is imperative that those who get opportunities make it count and seal the spots.