ICC CWC 2019: 3 things which might hurt India's chances in the World Cup

With less than 3 months to go for the ICC World Cup to be held in England this year, it is time for the fans to rate their team's chances in the upcoming championship. Out of the ten teams participating in the glorious competition this year, India is currently ranked second in the ICC ODI ranking, sitting just behind England who lead the table.

India, having won the competition in 1983 and 2011 previously, is expected to win the Cup with certain players like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in red-hot form.

With ODI victories over Australia in their own backyard and New Zealand as well, India would be looking at the probability of repeating their feat of the 2011 edition of the tournament.

While each team will be having their own share of concerns going into the tournament, we look at what problems Team India may face in the World Cup.

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#1 Inconsistent and unreliable middle order

India's middle order has been dismaying in recent times.

The middle order, presently consisting of Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, and Hardik Pandya/Vijay Shankar has failed to steer India to a victory in a crucial chase or to consistently take it to a good total.

Most of the runs have been coming off the bats of Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, with occasional sparks from Shikar Dhawan. While Rayudu has been inconsistent with his scores, MS Dhoni has failed to show his past form again with time.

Kedar Jadhav has been the most helpful amongst the middle order, by providing runs to the team and bowling some overs to break partnerships. Both the all-rounder's Pandya and Shankar also lack the responsibility to lead the batting.

The team needs the middle order proves its heavyweight tag by scoring 150-175 runs every match, helping the team in a winning cause.

#2 Helplessness of the lower order

The lower order has not been useful as far as batting is concerned.

It might not be wrong to say that India currently has one of the worst lower orders when compared to the other teams. Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami - all of them have been disappointing with the bat.

Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been satisfactory and has 476 runs to his name and one half-century He also helped India clinch the Asia Cup after helping Kedar Jadhav to chase the target against Bangladesh.

However, the result could have been different if Kumar hadn't survived for as long as he did, with the other bowlers finding it difficult to even touch the ball. This could cost India heavily in the World Cup if they are ever confronted with a situation where the team has lost 6-7 wickets and require 20-25 runs.

In comparison, the Australian and English lower order has been commendable with the likes of Cummins, Lyon, Hazelwood for Australia and Rashid, Wood and Curran for England chipping in vital runs for the team. This aspect could be vital for any team in any decisive game like the semi-finals or finals.

#3 Extreme reliance on certain players

Kohli and Bumrah have become the spine of the national team.

The Indian National Team has lately become a one-man show with either one particular batsman or bowler contributing to the victory. While it is generally Virat Kohli who consistently provides runs to the team total, the other batsmen have failed to make a decent score.

It was evident in the second ODI against Australia where Kohli hit 123 runs while the whole team was bundled out for a paltry 250 runs. Sometimes it is one of the openers who scores a century while others are not effective. In the bowling department too India is too reliant on Jasprit Bumrah to save the team during the death overs.

The complete team effort which is expected is missing and is a concern for the team. With each team playing 9 league matches in the World Cup, it is necessary to show a team effort to reach the semi-finals.

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While we all hope that India does not face such a crisis in the World Cup, India must look to resolve these issues as soon as possible. The World Cup commences on 30th May with India playing its first match against South Africa on 4th June.