IPL 2018: 5 players looking forward to the IPL to cement their place in the Indian team

Indian Premier League is merely a few days away and this year's season is going to be more exciting than ever as all the teams have been reshuffled for the first time since the first season in 2008. The IPL has always been a stage for young players to showcase their talent and book a berth in the international squad. On the other hand, there are some players who see IPL as a stage to make a comeback to the Indian team.

World Cup 2019 is just a year away and the selectors must be keeping a close eye on the upcoming tournament to hand pick players who need to be prepared before the tournament kicks off in England next year. The number 4 position and Kedar Jadhav's spot in the Indian ODI team have always been a topic of discussion among the cricket critics and there have been many players who have been tested at the two positions in the past few months.

Here are a few of those players who have been experimented with in the past few months and will look to cement their place in the Indian team by performing in the IPL.

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#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane who was part of the ODI and Test teams for South Africa tour has already cemented his place in the Test squad but his position in the ODI squad still isn't clear. Rahane who had performed consistently for India in the Australia series last year was benched in the following series which became a topic of discussion among cricket fans in India.

In a statement, Rohit Sharma said that Rahane was being seen as a backup opener for India but Rahane silenced all the talking when he scored a brilliant 79 batting at number 4 in the first ODI of South Africa tour. He didn't impress much in the rest of the ODIs, yet he became a potential option to fill the number-4 void in the ODI team.

Rahane is the newly appointed captain of Rajasthan Royals after Steve Smith was sacked following the ball tampering incident. The skipper must be looking forward to leading from the front and make a statement with the bat too.

#4 Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar, the talented bowling all-rounder from Tamil Nadu has been the latest spinning sensation of India. Sundar first impressed everybody with his bowling in the last IPL season. Although he took just 8 wickets in 11 matches he impressed everybody with his bowling ability to bowl in pressure situations and save crucial runs for his team.

Sundar received his maiden international call-up in the Sri Lanka series last year on the back of his impressive TNPL season. He replaced Kedar Jadhav who was out due to injury but failed to impress on his ODI debut.

He got his first breakthrough in the recently concluded Nidahas Trophy Tri-series where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the series. He clinched 8 wickets in 5 matches at an impressive economy of 5.70.

If he improves upon his batting, he can form a potent replacement option for Kedar Jadhav in the Indian ODI team. Sundar will be playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming season and must be looking forward to cementing his place in the Indian limited-overs squad.

#3 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey, the talented Karnataka batsman who usually bats up the order has to play in the middle order these days. The top three batting positions have already been locked up by Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli respectively and the only vulnerable spot for him to play in the ODIs is the number 4 spot.

Pandey has been a regular in the Indian T20I team and has proved his mettle in the shortest format of the game. He has not been given many chances in ODIs lately and can be often seen warming the benches in the 50 over format.

If India goes with a full-time batsman instead of Kedar Jadhav on England tour, then Pandey will be the foremost choice to bat at number 5 as the number 4 position will in on probability be occupied. Pandey, who was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 11 crore this year, must be looking forward to getting runs playing in the middle order.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, one of India's finest wicket-keeper batsman was off the radar of the Indian selectors for quite long, but he has finally made a successful comeback in the Indian team. Karthik has all but booked his place in the Indian T20 team after making most of the chances he has been given.

Although he has been promoted down the order many a time and does not get many balls to play, yet he has made valuable contributions to the team batting down the order. Karthik raised many eyebrows when he was appointed as the new captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders but silenced all the talking with his thunderous batting display in the final of the Nidahas Trophy match.

He scored 29 runs off just 8 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 2 fours and snatched the match out of Bangladesh's hands from a point where India had a bleak chance of winning.

Still, Karthik is yet to cement his place in the ODI squad where he forms a potent option to fill the number 4 void which has been a topic of discussion for quite long. The Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper will look to prove himself once again in the league and must be eyeing the ODI berth for the England series to be held after the IPL.

#1 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina, the Indian batting all-rounder finally made his comeback to the international squad after more than two years. Raina was drafted in the T20I squad for South Africa tour on the back of a successful stint in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Raina made a strong comeback scoring crucial runs for India in the second and the third match of the T20I series. He was esthetic in the field and even rolled his arm in one of the matches where he was awarded Man of the Match for his all-round performance.

In the Nidahas Trophy too, he made a strong statement scoring crucial runs for the team. Raina must be eyeing Kedar Jadhav's spot in the Indian ODI squad who is often drafted in the playing XI mainly due to the 10 overs that he bowls in the middle overs.

Raina, who was retained by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the auction this year, will be looking forward to performing in the league and cement his place not only in the T20I squad but the ODI squad too.