5 Cricketers who need to rediscover themselves

Cricket is a game of consistency, and one needs to keep on improving their game if they are to play for a long time for their country. This is applicable even to the best of the batsman because of the fact that a purple patch for a player won't last long.

Virat Kohli has been an exception as he is the only player in the recent memory to have not gone out of form in any form of the game at any point of time barring a few instances, but he always makes it up in the next outing. With all that has been said, not all the players can be Kohli and will have a period where they will even to struggle to meet bat with the ball.

Here are the five batsmen who need to rediscover the missing touch that once made them a dangerous commodity

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#5 Hashim Amla

The Mighty Hash has been not his old self in recent times.

One of the pillars of the South African batting line-up, Amla has been off-color this year. He has been marred by a run of low scores, and frequent injuries. This can be attributed to the fact that he now plays too much T20 cricket compared to his earlier days.

Hashim Amla has been a rock solid batsman for the Proteas in the past decade or so, but in recent times, it seems that he has lost his mojo in all the formats of the game. He was on track to shatter many of ODI records created by the likes of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, but with a string of low scores, it could be difficult for him unless we see the old Hash back to his full force.

Hashim Amla has been in a purple patch for almost his entire career now, which makes this string of poor scores to suggest he may need to rediscover himself as he is an important cog in their teams batting, and in their quest for a maiden World Cup triumph.

#4 Glenn Maxwell

When Glenn Maxwell entered the scene, he automatically became one of the sought out players because of his power hitting. He became a household name in the cricketing fraternity when he was a million dollar buy in 2013 IPL.

Maxwell was regular for Australia in ODI and T20 international teams and has produced some breathtaking performances in the past. In fact, he is one of the few players from Australia to score centuries in all the formats of the game. He was always looked at as a game changer in the middle overs who can up the ante. But he was never consistent with the bat.

The "Big Show" as he often referred to as has never really set the stage on fire at least in the international arena barring a few heroics. With Australia being a depleted side with the absence of Warner and Smith, Maxi needs to step up the game and reclaim his attacking instinct back.

#3 Martin Guptill

Will he be back with a bang?

A lot of comparisons can be made on the careers of Martin Guptill and Rohit Sharma. They both have become stalwarts in the limited over cricket and have multiple records to their name in the same. They are yet to make a mark as far as Test cricket is concerned.

But Rohit Sharma has surged past Guptill due to latter's frequent injuries. He has not represented the Kiwis since March and will have to bring his 'A' game when he comes back from his latest injury. He has been the best batsman in the black caps batting set up along with the skipper Kane Williamson and senior most player Ross Taylor.

Martin Guptill coming back in full force and in some rich vein of form is the need of the hour for the New Zeland side in the upcoming World Cup. After all, he does have the highest score by an individual in World Cup history.

#4 Ajinkya Rahane

His time may be running out

He was touted as India's best batsman following his incredible run of form, particularly outside Asia. He along with his skipper Virat Kohli were expected to carry the Indian batting order forward but things are not going well for 'Jinks' over the past couple of seasons.

He has been on a rough patch and an indifferent form ever since the home series against New Zealand in 2016. Earlier he was criticized for not being a better player at home but now even his overseas record in recent times has been a major cause of worry for the #1 Test team in the world.

So its high time that he finds his feet back in Australia where he had a good series in 2014 and will look to continue his legacy of being called as one of the better touring batsmen in the Indian Test team. Subsequently, he has also lost his ODI place and World Cup seems to be a distant dream but all is not lost for Ajinkya Rahane.

#1 MS Dhoni

MS needs to get his Midas

touch back

MS Dhoni is probably is in the last phase of his cricketing career. He has a phenomenal record across the formats for the order he bats and for a wicketkeeper. The reason why a lot of things has been said about his form is the expectations he has created with his past performances.

His prowess as a finished has diminished significantly and he has not been scoring runs at a pace that he used to do in the past. But still, he is a very important member of this ODI set up till the World Cup, a vital cog which binds the team together along with Virat Kohli.

MS Dhoni's experience, cool and calm demeanor cannot be taken for granted but at the same, he needs to perform well, and contribute with the bat along with the valuable advises he gives to the entire team.