7 Indians for whom the New Zealand series is crucial to find a place in the World Cup squad

The World Cup is less than 5 months away. The participating teams are at different stages of experimenting various permutations and combinations to arrive at the most balanced squad before the World Cup. While most of the teams have identified the core of the team, the search is still on for the remaining spots.

India is no different to this trend. One can safely say that about 10 Indian players are almost assured of a place in the World Cup squad barring last minute injuries. However, there are still some spots up for grabs. The Indians are scheduled to play a total of 10 ODIs before the World Cup, 5 against New Zealand in New Zealand and 5 against Australia at home.

While the series against Australia at home would be more or less practice games just before the World Cup with the complete likely squad, the current series of 5 ODIs against the Kiwis assumes paramount importance for a few players to impress upon the selectors and the team management one last time.

We look at such seven players who are fighting for a place in the World Cup squad with the bifurcation of 3 players who are in with an outside chance and 4 players who are in with a real chance.

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Three players with an outside chance:

#3 Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill - An exciting young prospect

Shubman Gill would not have got his opportunity so early but for KL Rahul’s moment of brain fade. The injuries to Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal has hastened Shubman Gill’s entry into the Indian squad. But after his stupendous performances in the under 19 level and for India A team, Gill certainly deserves a place in the senior team. In fact, the selectors are looking at him both as a reserve opener and as a reserve middle-order batsman.

In India A’s tour of New Zealand in December’18, Gill made scores of 25, 37 and 62. He followed that up with Ranji scores of 268, 148, 69 not out and 91 representing Punjab. Gill is the man in form and an exciting young prospect. But it remains to be seen whether he will get his chance in the New Zealand series. It is highly unlikely that he will be in the team for the first 3 ODIs.

Shubman Gill would try to impress upon the selectors in the limited opportunity he might get in the New Zealand series. But he is certainly an exciting prospect for Team India in the long run.

#2 Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj - Has the pace and accuracy to unsettle batsmen

The absence of Jasprit Bumrah has created the opportunity for Mohammed Siraj to press his claim for the World Cup. Siraj made his debut in the second match of the Australia series at Adelaide. He had a forgettable outing on his debut and ended up conceding 76 runs in his 10 overs without claiming any wicket.

Siraj made his presence felt in India A’s tour of New Zealand with 7 wickets in 3 matches. He was a consistent performer for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2018. He has impressed one and all with his pace, accuracy and death bowling skills.

In the current Indian squad, the fourth seamer’s spot for the World Cup is very much vacant. Siraj has an outside chance to make it to the World Cup squad provided he gets his opportunity to prove himself.

#1 Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar - The much-needed seam-bowling all-rounder

It is a real tribute to Vijay Shankar that he has been considered as a like-for-like replacement for Hardik Pandya. Compared to Pandya, Shankar is more of a batting all-rounder who can contribute with his medium pace bowling. On his debut against Australia in Melbourne, Shankar had economical figures, having conceded 23 runs in his 6 overs.

On India A’s tour of New Zealand, Vijay Shankar had impressive scores of 42, 59, 87 not out, 71 and 62. On the current tour of New Zealand with the senior team, Shankar will certainly get his opportunity in the first few matches to prove his value. It is now up to him to impress upon the selectors ahead of the World Cup. If selected, Shankar would bring in a lot of value addition to the Indian squad for the World Cup.

Four players who are in with a real chance:

#4 Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed - The pace bowling option with a difference

Khaleel Ahmed had an impressive debut in the Asia Cup when he took 3 wickets in his first International match against Hong Kong. He continued his good form in the home series against the West Indies with 7 wickets in 4 matches. However, he had a poor start in Australia when he went for plenty in the first ODI at Sydney and was dropped thereafter.

As such, in the Indian squad for the World Cup, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are certainties. Mohammed Shami, with his performances in the Australian ODI series, has almost booked his place in the World Cup squad. Hardik Pandya will be the seam-bowling all-rounder.

For the reserve seamer's place, Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed are the only real contenders. Out of the two, Khaleel is way ahead in the contest and his left-arm medium pace style would lend more variety to the Indian squad.

In the current New Zealand tour, Khaleel might get his share of opportunities to consolidate his position in the team. It would be a real challenge for him to bowl to the New Zealand batsmen on their home turf on batting-friendly conditions. A decent performance in the current series would enhance his chances of being in the World Cup squad.

#3 Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja - No more an automatic selection

Before the ODI series against Australia, Ravindra Jadeja was a near certainty for the World Cup. The absence of Hardik Pandya gave more opportunity for Jadeja to establish his place in the team as the second all-rounder after Pandya. But 3 factors went against Jadeja in the Australian series.

The first and foremost was his own performance. Jadeja took a mere 2 wickets in his 29 overs after conceding 150 runs. But he made his presence felt on the field with the run-out of Usman Khawaja in the second ODI. In batting, he didn’t get enough opportunities to prove himself.

Jadeja’s rival Yuzvendra Chahal took 6 wickets in the decider at Melbourne and emphasized the need to have two wrist-spin options in the squad, if not in the playing XI.

The emergence of Vijay Shankar as an all-around option, though of a different kind, has made Jadeja’s position in the squad a little bit tentative. At some point in time, the selectors might start looking at Vijay Shankar as a better option on English conditions.

Fortunately for Jadeja, his destiny is still left in his own hands with the continued absence of Hardik Pandya. Jadeja will once again get his opportunities in New Zealand. It would be imperative for Jadeja to grab such opportunities to cement his place in the squad ahead of the World Cup.

#2 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu - A make or break tour

Ambati Rayudu, like Jadeja, was almost assured of a place in the squad for the World Cup before the Australia series. His failure in the first two ODIs against Australia and the suggestion from vice-captain Rohit Sharma that MS Dhoni would be a better option at No 4, has turned Rayudu’s world upside down.

To make matters worse, Rayudu has been reported for suspect bowling action in the two overs that he bowled in the first ODI at Sydney. That makes Rayudu a one-dimensional player who can not perform the role of a sixth bowler.

MS Dhoni’s success at No 4 in Melbourne would entice the team management to continue with that choice while batting first or chasing a reasonably small total. That would make Ambati Rayudu redundant in the present batting line up as he will not be best suited to bat down the order below No 4. In such a scenario, a finisher like a Kedar Jadhav or a Dinesh Karthik would be a better option than Rayudu.

However, in one of the recent interactions, captain Kohli has suggested that MS Dhoni’s batting position may vary between 4 or 5 depending upon the match situation which throws another lifeline for Rayudu.

If Rayudu gets to bat at No 4 on batting-friendly conditions in New Zealand, the onus will be on him to remind the team management of his significance in the present Indian batting line up. The tour of New Zealand will make or break Rayudu.

#1 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik - Always under probation right through his career

Dinesh Karthik is the designated finisher in the current Indian team. He has played some blinders in the last one year which has resulted in some of India’s incredible wins. Even in the second ODI against Australia at Adelaide, he scored 25 not out off 14 balls to finish off the match in the last over.

As a result of his innumerable cameos in the recent past, Karthik has created an impression that he is capable of coming good only in the last 5 overs when the target is in sight. In the first ODI at Sydney, when the situation demanded a longer inning, Karthik failed to get going. A score of 50 or more in a winning cause in the New Zealand series would do Karthik’s confidence a world of good.

The selectors are still keeping the Rishabh Pant option for the World Cup. This has put Karthik under additional pressure to perform. Besides, with the presence of MS Dhoni as the wicket-keeper batsman, Karthik has to justify his position in the team as a specialist batsman every time he goes out to bat.

Right through his career, Karthik has been under enormous pressure to deliver due to lack of opportunities and to hold onto his place in the limited opportunity he got. The New Zealand series will be no different for Karthik. With Pant breathing down his neck, Karthik will have to come up with one or two match-winning innings to book his berth for the World Cup.

To sum up, the New Zealand series, in the context of the World Cup, would be crucial not only for the Indian team as a whole but also for a few individual players. The additional pressure to hold on to their place or to press hard their claim would either formulate them to perform or perish.