5 Indian batsmen who might miss out on 2019 World Cup 

Moving towards the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, all teams are gearing up and setting up cricketing tours, preparing schedules in order to give good exposure to their players, leading towards the big tournament. India, as we know, are playing England at the latter's home turf and so far, has done exceptionally well, beating the hosts 2-1 in T20Is and are leading 1-0 in the 3 match ODI series.

What one sees in India's current ODI side is a bunch of players who are nearly-certain to be part of India's squad for the 2019 World Cup, which is less than a year away. However, there are a few players who are hopeful of a call-up to the World Cup but might not be able to make it. Here are five such batsmen:

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#1 Yuvraj Singh

India's veteran all-rounder and once a standard number four batsman without whom Indians couldn't imagine the national side, Yuvraj Singh is now far from the player he used to be. He seems to have lost the ability to play long innings and his timing of the cricket ball, too, seems to have been lost.

He has made the confession several times that he wants to play for India one last time in the 2019 World Cup, but looking at the way he has been batting in the last few months, he doesn't seem to be one of the probables for any Indian side in the near future.

Scoring just 65 runs in a total of eight IPL games this year, that too with and average of 10.83 and at a strike rate of less than 90, is indicative of the disheartening fact that this has been, undoubtedly, his worst ever season of IPL.

While he did hit sixes and fours, mostly just one in each innings, before getting dismissed cheaply, his highest score this season was a mere 20.

He surprised many with a 72* off 36 against Pakistan in a T20I in early 2013 in Ahmedabad, following a lack-lustrous 34 off 26 on his comeback after battling Cancer, against New Zealand in a T20I. However, he could not take that form and momentum to the succeeding matches, and similarly, after an out of the world match winning 77* off 35 balls against Australia at Rajkot, while chasing 202 in 20 overs in late 2013, he failed to take his form ahead and score well.

He got opportunities in the 2014 and 2016 World T20s as well, but he was unsuccessful in performing up to his own standards.

The last and final opportunity was given to him when he was chosen to replace KL Rahul in the Champions Trophy 2017 squad, where again, he won a lot of hearts after smashing 53 off just 32 balls in the very first match against Pakistan, but then failed to make a mark in any of the remaining matches. Yuvraj has to come to terms with the fact that it is over for him in International Cricket.

#2 Robin Uthappa

Uthappa playing for India against Sri Lanka in 2014

Robin Uthappa has been around for a very very long time - he made his ODI debut in 2006 and was part of the inaugural ICC World T20 2007 squad. He had been known as the walking assassin of the Indian team, who used to just walk in at number 5 or 7 and hammer the bowlers black and blue, but then came the phase when he lost his form. It became very serious as his worth as a batsman kept deteriorating with time, and he even considered quitting the game for good, as told by him.

He has proved to be a remarkable team player, who has always kept his team above his personal self, as one may see in the match against Sri Lanka, when Rohit Sharma scored 264, it was Uthappa who took a single and gave the strike to the big man every time, even though he was himself capable of smashing the ball out of the park.

He reconstructed his own batting style and has turned into this calm and elegant opener, who can play long innings and also smash the ball when required. That required courage and IPL 2014 was a revelation for all spectators and fans, as Uthappa announced his grand comeback to the list of star players and played a massive role in KKR's title win, while opening the innings with captain Gautam Gambhir.

The sad part though, is that, with all the youngsters such as Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan coming in, there is a long list of reserves for the Indian limited overs side. The unfortunate and most probable outcome is that Uthappa would never be able to play for India again.

#3 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, the man of achievements, the man who has made numerous contributions for India, that too on the most crucial of times. He smashed 75 off 54 balls in World T20 2007 final to take India over the line and a 97 on the night of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final, both being historic matches with historic results for India.

If MS Dhoni has been the mind and force behind India's trophy collection, then Gambhir has been the batting powerhouse, who has risen to the occasion every time his team needed him, more often than not, in the big finals.

However, all the achievements, be it in International Cricket, or as a captain of his former IPL team KKR, now seem irrelevant as age seems to have gotten the better of him. He sat out this season of IPL after a poor run as a captain and batsman in the first few matches.

He has not been consistent in the domestic circuit either, and now that the selectors are looking at new younger prospects such as Ishan Kishan and Prithvi Shaw, it is pretty obvious that his run with the side has ended.

#4 Dinesh Karthik

The new Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is one man who has always been in and around the India squad. Having been in the National circuit since 2004, he has had issues with maintaining the kind of form that is expected out of a wicketkeeper-batsman.

He and Parthiv Patel had been the wicketkeeping choices of the Indian side after Rahul Dravid opted not to keep wickets anymore, but the two failed to be at the top of their game on several occasions, leading to the advent of Dhoni, who never really failed to make an impact on the game, and took to the team as fish takes to water.

Karthik was smart enough to realize that now he had to make it to the side as a pure batsman, as Dhoni was the first choice wicketkeeper. Karthik did manage to make comebacks on multiple occasions, including the 2013 Champions Trophy, but always vanished soon after.

It was this year in 2018 that he made a comeback to the side and announced himself as a floater, someone who could bat at any position and still contribute. He smashed a staggering 29 off 8 balls to take India over the line in the Nidahas Trophy final, coming in to bat at 7 and hitting a six off the last ball. He continued his sublime form in the IPL too, where he played some good innings at number 4 and some fabulous cameos, finishing the innings at number 5.

He has shown immense potential, resilience, hardwork and determination, but the unfortunate part, however, remains that the World Cup squad will be a 15 man squad, and with Dhoni as the wicketkeeper, and KL Rahul as another wicketkeeping option, there is almost zero chance that India would go with DK.

#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane

The man who was always looked at as India's premier number 4 batsman and who actually performed very well for the team in the 2015 World Cup, Rahane's career has hit a new low, as he is struggling to find form in all the formats of the game. Although he is a very important part of the Indian Test side, he has not been in good touch there too.

As far as limited overs cricket is concerned, Rahane has lost his way and is unable to perform whether he is opening or batting at 4. His IPL, too, was a forgettable one and his abilities to cope up with the pace of the game is being seriously questioned.

Being technically strong, Rahane always had an edge over other batsmen while being selected for any XI, but with KL Rahul's entry, who can adapt to any format of the game and perform and the likes of Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer, who have a proven track record in limited-overs cricket, Rahane's future as an ODI batsman looks bleak.