5 Players from India's 2015 World Cup squad who could be dropped for the 2019 World Cup

Kohli has some important decision to make ahed of the 2019 World CUp
Kohli has some important decision to make ahead of the 2019 World Cup

Cricket's most prestigious event is less than a year away. The 12th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup is scheduled to happen in England and Wales next June. Ten teams (India, Australia, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies, and Afghanistan) have qualified for the tournament.

It will be a round-robin format, where all ten teams play each other once and the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals. India will once again go into the tournament as one of the favorites. Virat Kohli, the current Indian captain, will most likely lead the Indian team, which is expected to be a group of experienced players.

Quite a few of the players from the 2011 World Cup winning squad are expected to feature in the tournament next year. Also, some of the players from the 2015 World Cup squad might be dropped for the 2019 World Cup because of poor performances.

On that note, let's take a look at the five players of India's 2015 World Cup squad who could be dropped for the 2019 World Cup.


#5 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin struggled for consistency in ODI's
Ashwin has struggled for consistency in ODI's

Ravichandran Ashwin is a forgotten man in limited-overs cricket these days. Ashwin has picked up 150 and 52 wickets in ODI's and T20I's respectively for India. He has also picked up 13 wickets in the 2015 World Cup. However, he lost his place in the Indian limited-overs team because of some poor performances in 2016 and 2017.

Though the Tamil Nadu off-spinner is India's prime bowler in the Tests, he last played a One Day International on July 2017. The stunning form of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav is keeping him out of the ODI and T20 team.

Also, the rise of another Tamil Nadu off-spinner, Washington Sundar, is making it tough for the 31-year-old to break into the Indian ODI team. With the World Cup less than a year away, expect Ashwin to watch it from the stands or in front of his TV set.

#4 Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja has lot his ODI place to Chahal and Kuldeep
Jadeja has lot his ODI place to Chahal and Kuldeep

Ravindra Jadeja was MS Dhoni's go-to bowler in all three formats of the game. However, things have changed after he hung up his captaincy boots. Jadeja was a consistent performer in ODI's for India and has picked up 155 wickets from 136 games.

He played all of India's games in the 2015 World Cup and has picked up nine wickets in the tournament. However, like Ashwin, he lost his place in the ODI team to Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

The 29-year-old has not played any One Day Internationals in the last few months and his last ODI appearance for India was in July 2017. WIth the spin bowling options that India have at the moment, he is almost certain to miss out the tournament in England and Wales next summer.

#3 Mohammed Shami

Shami's cricketing career is in jeppardy
Shami's cricketing career is in jeopardy

With 17 wickets, Mohammed Shami was the second-highest wicket taker for India in the 2015 World Cup. He was exceptional throughout the tournament and picked up some important wickets. However, his recent form hasn't been great.

Mohammed Shami’s personal life and cricketing career turned upside down when his wife lodged a police complaint accusing him of match-fixing, extra-marital affairs, and domestic violence.

He was poor in the 2018 IPL campaign and lost his place in the Indian ODI team for the tour of England. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Umesh Yadav are in splendid form at the moment and it will be really hard for Shami to make a comeback into the team.

#2 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane was dropped for the England tour
Rahane was dropped for the 2018 England tour

Ajinkya Rahane was India's another important member in the 2015 World Cup. He played all the games for India and scored more than 200 runs in the tournament. The 30-year-old has played 90 ODI's for India and scored almost 3000 runs.

However, his ODI performances have declined in the recent months. He was poor in the IPL 2018 and eventually lost his place in the Indian team for the tour of England. He lacked aggressiveness in the shorter formats of the game and was not consistent with his performances.

With young players like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, and KL Rahul playing well, there is no place for Ajinkya Rahane in the Indian ODI team at the moment. Expect his to miss the 2019 World Cup.

#1 Suresh Raina

Raina last played a ODI
Raina last played an ODI in 2015

Suresh Raina was one of India's star performers in the 2015 World Cup. Raina had played eight games in the tournament and scored 284 runs at an average of 56.80. Raina has played more than 200 One Day Internationals for India and scored more than 5000 runs.

However, the 31-year-old has not played an ODI game in recent times and last played on October 2015. He was far too inconsistent in recent times and did not perform well in the Nidahas T20 tri-series.

He is not expected to make the 2019 World Cup squad as Virat Kohli has a lot of aggressive options in the lower middle-order. Tamil Nadu batsman Dinesh Karthik is in great form at the moment and will most likely play the role.

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