5 captains who can guide their teams to World Cup in 2019

Although the World Cup happens every four years, it is very important to identify the core group of players who will lead the team's campaign in the prestigious tournament much before it begins. The skipper of the team is an important aspect in terms of preparations. He is the starting dot with whom the team combination begins to take shape in the span of four years.

It is common for teams to persist with their skippers for a longer time in order to keep the team intact before the tournament. However, if the captain fails to perform or nears the twilight in his career, replacements are looked at to lead the team in the World Cup.

Even in the World Cup next year, quite a few experienced players will lead their side for the first time in the tournament. The likes of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and many others will don the skipper's hat for a maiden time in the World Cup.

Here's a look at 5 captains who can guide their teams to World Cup triumph next year:

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#5 Faf du Plessis

The South African skipper has done wonders for the Proteas in ODIs. In 17 games, South Africa have won 15 under Faf's captaincy. It is a fabulous record to boast about though it is a very small sample size to judge his stint as a skipper.

After AB de Villiers relinquished his job, du Plessis was an obvious choice to lead the side. His experience in all the three formats now sees him as the perfect man to take South African cricket forward. However, it will be a different ball game when he leads Proteas in the World Cup for the first time in his career.

It will be necessary for him to perform with the bat and lead the team from the front. It will be a daunting task in hand for Faf to help his side rise above the tag of 'Chokers' and give their best shot in the tournament next year.

#4. Kane Williamson

In Williamson resides a batsman who has still kept the old-school batting alive. In modern times, when players follow 'see the ball, hit the ball' approach, Williamson's batting is still governed by building innings gradually and play the anchor's role. His calm demeanor also reflects in his style of captaincy. He has witnessed enough success with Kiwis in his stint as a captain since 2016.

After Brendon McCullum called time on his career, Kane was officially announced as the skipper for the BlackCaps in all the three formats. His ability to control the game at his own pace has been the key to success for Kiwis prominent run in all the three formats.

During the World Cup, it will be essential for the 28-year old to trust his troops and get the best out of them to hand New Zealand a special win in England.

#3. Sarfraz Ahmed

It's never easy to captain Pakistan's national side. It is, therefore important to appreciate Sarfraz for the commendable job that he has done for Pakistan so far in white-ball cricket. His ability to judge situations and make appropriate decisions have helped Pakistan's cause in the recent past.

Sarfraz already finds himself in the history books despite only being captain for a brief period. He has already won the ICC Champions Trophy, the first Pakistan skipper to do so and his tactics coupled with the trust he had in his players saw him become a popular figure in the country.

With World Cup almost upon us, he will have to be at the top of the game. He will be under pressure not only as the captain but also with questions looming over his performance with the bat.

#2. Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan was under the firing lane after England's early exit from the World Cup in 2015. A team that has always allowed Test cricket to flourish ahead of any other format, began to pay more importance to ODIs ever since that awful experience in the World Cup. The change in approach and the policy of 'Horses for Courses' seems to have worked for England in the past couple of years.

The side has emerged as one of the toughest opponents to beat in the white-ball cricket. Their last home series win over India was just an assertion of England's changed fortunes ever since 2015.

There's no denying the fact that the hosts will be the firm favorites to lift the cup as the captain would want to keep doing the good work and not falter at the big stage. The home team was even termed as favorites to win the Champions Trophy last year but they couldn't cross the Pakistan challenge in the semi-final.

Morgan would want to ensure that the tournament happens to be one for the history books and his side is able to put an end to their World Cup drought in their cricketing history.

#1. Virat Kohli

One of the finest batsman of this era, Virat Kohli like many other great players in the yesteryears hasn't done enough justice to his role as a skipper of India. Already a legend in the ODI format, Kohli is on course to break all the records and create new milestones for himself. His attitude to win also reflects in his style of captaincy wherein he tends to attack in most cases.

He led the side in India's 5-1 convincing victory over the Proteas in their own backyard. With World Cup on the cards, Virat would be aware of the challenges not only as a batsman but also as a skipper.

He would love to add the elusive trophy to his cabinet and brush aside the disappointment of the loss of the Champions Trophy Final against Pakistan in 2017.