ICC World Cup 2019: Ajit Agarkar predicts India's playing XI for the opening game

What's the story?

Former Indian cricketer Ajit Agarkar predicted an Indian XI, which according to him, should be played against South Africa in India's inaugural game of 2019 World Cup. Agarkar, in an interview with ESPNCricinfo, named the eleven players whom he would like to field in India's first encounter at the much-awaited World Cup.

In case you didn't know…

Despite the fact that the Indian team now isn't going to play any international game before the World Cup, the middle order of the team still looks unsettled. The middle order woes of the Indian team aren't sorted yet and the team has still not been able to find the right man for the number 4 spot.

The Indian team has played a total of 12 players at the 4th position but unfortunately, none of them could cement their place. Going into the World Cup, this can land India in trouble on several occasions as the middle order is the backbone of a team.

The heart of the matter

Different experts and pundits from all over the world have expressed their opinions over India's middle order woes. The former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar too had his take over India's playing XI. The 41-year had some shocking inclusions in his team.

Agarkar, first of all, started with the top order and said that the top 3 remains the same with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. He then talked about the number 4 spot where he surprisingly didn't take the name of Ambati Rayudu but chose to play Vijay Shankar.

Shankar has proved his mettle in the past few months by playing some really scintillating knocks in very tough conditions and thus, Ajit Agarkar decided to have Shankar at the number 4 spot. While speaking about Shankar he said:

“I have a little surprise with No. 4. It is Vijay Shankar. He has shown glimpses of what he can do at the top of the order. Rayudu has been batting there for a while, but in my opinion, Shankar has a more all-around game to fit in that position. Plus, he gives Virat Kohli an option of a few overs if needed.”

As the first choice seamer, the Mumbai-born quite expectedly selected Jasprit Bumrah and then chose Mohammed Shami as Bumrah's counterpart with the new ball and during death overs. Another surprise inclusion in his team was of Umesh Yadav who was selected in the place of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. He selected Yuzvendra Chahal as one spinner and Hardik Pandya as the 5th bowler.

His India playing XI for World Cup 2019: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami.

What's next?

The 12th edition of the much-awaited World Cup will kick off on 30th May 2019. The tournament will be hosted by England and Wales. The Indian team, which is busy in playing IPL at the moment, will play its warm-up matches on 25th and 28th May respectively. The two matches will be followed by India's first game of the WC 2019 that will take place on 5th June 2019 against South Africa.