One of the best things about the Indian team at the moment is the fact that it has incredible bench strength as it has very talented players waiting in the wings for an opportunity to play. That creates healthy competition because some of these reserve players are good enough to walk into any side in the world.
The IPL has to be thanked for producing many of these world-class talents who are good enough on their day to be match-winners.
In this list, let us look at 5 promising Indian players who did not play in the Champions Trophy but can be groomed to be the backbone of the side looking ahead at the World Cup 2019.
#1 KL Rahul
One of the most free-flowing batsmen who had all but cemented his place in the side, KL Rahul’s absence from the squad in the Champions Trophy due to a dislocated shoulder was a big blow to the side. Though he has been too injury-prone in the recent past, India would hope that he can get back into the side as fast as possible.
Rahul had made himself a vital member of the top order and captain Virat Kohli has always put ample trust in him. Ever since his century against Australia at Sydney in 2015, Rahul has been a vital member of the Test team because of his technical finesse and brilliance.
But he is more than a handful in limited overs cricket as well as fans got to see in his scintillating knock of 110 in the T20I against the Windies in 2016. His continuous success with the bat in the IPL and his added ability to keep wickets makes him a vital team member.
#2 Ajinkya Rahane
A class batsman with an average of 46.07 at the Test level, one should think that Ajinkya Rahane is good enough to easily walk into any ODI team. But that is far from the truth as despite his technical ability and brilliance, Rahane has been far too inconsistent of late in limited overs cricket.
Things began to get difficult for him even when MS Dhoni was the captain as he felt that Rahane was a good top order batsman but a complete misfit in the middle order. Even in the IPL, Rahane usually bats at the top of the order where his quintessential fluent self is on display.
He failed to get a single game in the Champions Trophy as India felt that Rahane would struggle to rotate the strike and score freely in the middle overs. Yuvraj Singh was preferred instead as India backed him to deliver some lusty blows during the middle stages.
But with Yuvraj not being consistent enough, the jury is still out on him as age is not on his side. Rahane should definitely get more chances looking ahead at the World Cup two years from now.
#3 Rishabh Pant
For the first time since the emergence of MS Dhoni, Indian cricketing circles are abuzz with excitement over a young wicket-keeping batsman. Rishabh Pant, despite his young age, has been in the reckoning for some time now because of his exemplary performances at the U-19 level.
But it was his brilliant IPL season that made his selection a matter of time to the extent that many considered him unlucky to have missed out on a place in the Champions Trophy squad this year. He scored 366 runs from 14 matches this season including a brilliant century that showed the world the talent he possesses.
Pant is already being touted as Dhoni’s natural replacement and his being picked for the West Indies tour is a good sign which confirms that things are moving in the right direction for the young talented stumper.
#4 Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey’s injury at the last moment going into the Champions Trophy came as a big blow to the team management which goes to show how much the team has come to depend on a player who has only played 12 ODIs.
But Pandey could have well been slotted in if he was in the squad, either in the place of Kedar Jadhav or Yuvraj Singh. His unbeaten 104 in an ODI against Australia last year showed what he was capable of doing – properly playing the finisher’s role and winning matches on his own.
The role is not alien to Pandey who has been a mainstay of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ middle order for a few seasons now and plays a vital role for the team. If he performs as per his ability, the mantle of playing the role of the finisher will rest upon the duo of Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya.
#5 Yuzvendra Chahal
Despite having played very few matches in the blue jersey, Yuzvendra Chahal is already considered to be an accomplished T20 bowler because of his great performances for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Despite his good performances in the T20I series against England which included his spell of 6 for 25 at Bengaluru in February, Chahal has featured in only 3 ODIs in a low profile series against Zimbabwe.
Unfortunately, he is considered to be a specialist only for the T20 format but his remarkable control, good economy and ability to pick wickets will surely come in handy in ODI cricket. With the indifferent form of Ashwin in ODIs, Chahal should be the one to be groomed going forward.
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