ICC World Cup 2019: India have the balance but do they have the firepower?

The very first look at the Indian World Cup squad shows the number of match-winners that the team have - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah to name a few. One has to admire the all-round ability of the team. India have some amazing fast bowlers, world-class spinners and the top-two ranked ODI batsmen in Virat and Rohit.

It is no surprise that the team are being touted as one of the favourites for the World Cup. The best part is that the team will get ample opportunities to nail its combination because of the tournament's format. Having said that, let's break down the team further and analyze what works and what doesn't for this unit to see how they will fare at the World Cup.

Strengths

As mentioned earlier, the biggest strength of the team is the number of matchwinners that are present in the squad. Arguably some of the best ODI batsmen and bowlers, who can turn a game on its head, are part of India's World Cup team.The one thing that is glaringly obvious with this Indian unit is their balance and their capability to do well in all conditions.

Weaknesses

A weakness that could have been hidden in other conditions might just be too glaring in English conditions. There's a certain lack of firepower in the middle order as compared to other teams. Despite some great starts, India have been unable to post the 350 plus scores regularly. MS Dhoni at No.5 and Kedar Jadhav at No.6 are not your everyday power hitters and India would rely heavily on Hardik Pandya to boost the score in the last few overs.

The most important cog on the wheel of Indian hopes

Trump Cards

For India, you know Rohit and Virat would come to the party. There are plenty of reliable players in the team, but the trump cards on such batsmen-friendly decks are going to be the bowlers. India with its spin duo of Chahal and Kuldeep would try to make as many breakthroughs as they can in the middle overs to prevent those towering 350 plus scores. These two, if they can weave their magic, could be the difference between India winning the World Cup and falling short.

Squad

Virat Kohli(C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni(WK), Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal

Prediction

India are expected to reach the semi-finals at least. Can they go beyond that? A lot of it depends on the matchday and on how well their spinners fare in the tournament.

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