CWC 2019: Four Indians who might be playing their last World Cup

The Cricket World Cup 2019 is within touching distance now and all teams are gearing up for the ICC's mega event. Team India reached England on 22nd May to take part in the World Cup. They will play two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh before kicking-off their campaign on July 5 against South Africa.

Team India has selected a balance but very experienced squad for the World Cup 2019. The 15-man squad is the oldest squad ever to represent India in a World Cup with an average age of 29.5 years. So clearly age is not on the side of all of our players as far as the cricketing career goes.

So let's have a look at 4 such Indian players who could be playing in their last World Cup.

---

#4 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan at 33 is one of those who might not be featuring in the next World Cup.

Shikhar Dhawan has been an integral part of this Indian limited overs set-up for years now. Since 2013 Champions Trophy his and Rohit Sharma's opening combination has proved to be one of the best in the world. Both of them compliment each other very well and are going to be crucial in India's 2019 World Cup campaign.

Dhawan is one of the very few Indian cricketers who started very late in international cricket. After years of domestic cricket experience, Dhawan made his ODI debut in 2010 against Australia but couldn't make much of a mark then. It was in 2013 when he made his Test debut against the same opposition that his career took off afterwards.

Since 2013 Dhawan has been quite a force for team India at the top of the order scoring runs consistently. He is a prolific run-scorer in ICC tournaments, top scoring in the 2013 and 2017 Champions Trophy and was leading run-scorer for India in the last World Cup.

But despite all of those accolades, one cannot deny the fact that Dhawan is 33 years of age now. When the next World Cup comes around he would be around 37 and with the amount of competition in the Indian team, it would be very difficult for him to hold on to his place for so long.

Dhawan has already lost the Test spot to young Prithvi Shaw and the way youngsters are coming up it is very unlikely that he would be there till the next World Cup. Having said that, the fitness level that today's cricketer maintains, age has just become a number as long as you keep scoring runs.

#3 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik at 33 years of age probably playing his last World Cup.

Dinesh Karthik is one of those few unlucky wicket-keeper batsmen in India who belongs to the same era of the great MS Dhoni. Making his debut for India before Dhoni, way back in 2004, Karthik has been a part of the Indian team at certain periods of times.

Karthik made it to the World Cup squad despite being overlooked for India's last ODI series against Australia at home. He pipped the young Rishabh Pant to the back-up wicketkeeper spot for the ICC's mega event. In the last couple of years, Karthik has batted at various positions for team India and recently his role has been that of a finisher.

A prolific run-scorer at the domestic cricket Karthik hasn't really flourished at the international level. He has always been in and out of the team and with India being blessed with a magnificent wicketkeeper-batsman like Dhoni, things just got more difficult for him. But due to his class and huge runs in domestic cricket, he has made comebacks into the team as a batsman.

Karthik has played 91 ODIs for Team India so far and has managed to score 1738 runs at an average of 31. He is currently 33 years of age and by the time next World Cup comes he will be 38. With the likes of Pant rising up to the ranks it will be very hard for him to keep playing at international level by then. So this could be the last World Cup for Karthik.

#2 Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav (34) is another player in this Indian team who might not be around in the next World Cup.

Kedar Jadhav made entry into the international arena very lately compared to other Indian cricketers. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on 2014 and since then he has been an impact player for team India. He packs a punch with the bat and is more than effective with the bowl.

In his short international career, Jadhav has played some match-winning knocks for India and won the hearts of many by his attacking approach. As a result, he is now a very essential part of India's playing eleven going into the World Cup. His round arm bowling style comes in handy on many occasions and is an effective partnership breaker.

Jadhav has played 59 ODI matches for India and has scored 1174 runs at an average of 43.48 with two centuries and five half-centuries. He comes to bat mostly at No. 5 or 6 and scores runs quickly at the depth.

Jadhav's career has never got a boost that it deserves because of his injury problems. He falls victim to injuries very often and as a result, is forced to stay out of action. Recently he got injured in the IPL and had to miss the final stages of the tournament. At 34, Jadhav is definitely playing in his first and last World Cup for team India.

#1 MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is nearing his end as an international cricketer and this World Cup should be his last.

MS Dhoni is a legendary cricketer in India who follows unmatchable popularity all around the country. His attitude towards the game is globally loved and appreciated. He has been around in international cricket for 15 long years now and still maintains a fitness like a youngster.

MS made his international debut in 2004 and since then he went on to play 341 ODIs for India scoring over 10000 runs. All throughout his career Dhoni mostly batted at No. 5 or 6 and sometimes even at No. 7 but still, his career average is a staggering 50.72. He is without any doubt one of the greatest match-winners that India has ever produced.

Dhoni will be featuring in his fourth ICC World Cup and second without being the captain of the side. The 37-year-old Jharkhand man is most certainly featuring in his last World Cup. At this age, we should not expect him to go on for a much longer period at the international level. The man knows when he should hang up his boots and will definitely do so on time just like he did in test cricket.

In his last World Cup, Dhoni will be raring to have a crack in England. His form in 2019 has been superb scoring 327 runs in nine matches at an average of 81.75. In the IPL 2019 also he looked in a great touch becoming the highest run-scorer for his team CSK. Everyone expects him to be among the runs given his current form.