IPL 2018: 3 players who can make their Indian team comebacks based on their IPL performances

Every little child playing cricket in India dreams of playing for the national team, but only 11 people represent a nation of more than 1.3 billion people in every match.

These three players were lucky enough to play in national colours at least once but could continue to retain their position in the playing XI.

Prior to the start of IPL, a senior BCCI official stated that going into the 2019 World Cup they want to manage the workload of top 50 players i.e. 23 players in addition to the 27 centrally contracted players.

The official also added that the 23 players will be shortlisted during the Indian Premier League.

With their performances in this IPL, these three players will definitely make it to the list of 50, but they will be aiming to prove their worth in the opportunities provided at various level and would want to play for the nation.

Here are the three players who can play in the national colours soon:

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#3 Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson played his lone T20I international way back in July 2015 against Zimbabwe and has been out of the Indian national squad for a long time.

Samson got that opportunity when senior players like MS Dhoni were rested for the Zimbabwe tour.

It's been more than three years and Samson will look to compete with Rishabh Pant for the wicket-keeper role in limited overs cricket after Dhoni's retirement, which might happen sometime after 2019 WC.

Samson has been in good form in this year's IPL and is the leading run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals.

He scored 279 runs in seven innings with a high score of 92*. He has been the key performer with the bat for Rajasthan Royals and has an average of 46.50 with a strike rate of 147.61.

If given an opportunity in England, Samson would want to prove his worth at No.4 spot.

#2 Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma has filled in for SRH during Bhuvi's absence

Just like Samson, Sandeep Sharma was part of the Indian team which travelled to Zimbabwe. Sharma played two T20Is for India in 2015 and was later sidelined after the return of the senior team members.

Even in the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp, he has played the role of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's backup till now.

But with his exceptional performances, he might retain his spot in the XI even after Bhuvi's return.

In the four matches that he played till now, Sandeep picked up four wickets with an average of 11.00.

His economy rate of 4.40 for 15 overs is the best in the tournament so far. He is containing the run flow, which helps in building the pressure on the batsmen.

With the tour to England coming right after the IPL, Sharma might get a chance to play in England as the conditions suit his style of bowling.

In case he uses the opportunity rightly, Sharma might also make it to the 2019 World Cup in England

#1 Ambati Rayudu

Rayudu has been pivotal in CSK's good form this season

Ambati Rayudu's career had a lot of ups and downs. The 32-year old was the captain of 2004 U-19 World Cup squad, which included the likes of Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa and R.P. Singh, but has represented India in less number of matches than them.

He was granted amnesty by BCCI in 2009 after he took part in the controversial Indian Cricket League for two years.

Later he joined the Mumbai Indians in 2010 and has played a crucial part in three title wins for the defending champions.

Meanwhile, he also played for India between 2013 and 2016 but was not always a regular in the playing XI.

In the three year span, he played 34 ODIs and 6 T20Is. In spite of having a 50+ average in ODI cricket, he was never a regular player in the Indian side.

The reason for that might be that he takes some to settle and has a strike rate of 76.28 in ODIs.

With his performances in this IPL, Rayudu is definitely making a statement that he can score runs quickly right from the start.

His strike rate of 156.11 is much higher than his overall IPL strike rate which is less than 130. He is the orange cap holder with 370 runs in eight innings and can be the answer to India's No.4 conundrum.

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