Three World Cup heroes from 2011 who might have played their last World Cup already

With less than 100 days to go for the World Cup 2019, team India looks well balanced and will proudly go into the mega event as one of the favourites along with the host nation - England. National selection committee chairman- MSK Prasad recently disclosed that the management has shortlisted 18 players for the tournament, out of which, 15 are to make the final cut to the World Cup squad this year.

As the deadline to announce the national squads comes closer, let's look at three Indian World Cup heroes from the famous 2011 victory who might have played their last World Cup already.

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#3 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has failed to deliver consistently in the shorter versions of the game.

Ravichandran Ashwin, often considered as one of the best off spinners in the world has represented India in 111 ODIs, claiming 150 scalps at an average of 32.91. Once considered India's finest spinner in all three formats, he was dethroned by the leg spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in the shorter formats.

Ashwin last played an ODI when the Windies toured India in 2017, claiming only 4 wickets from 3 matches. Since then, he has faced a hard time in making a comeback to the team as the younger spinners continue to excel at home as well as abroad. Ashwin had represented India in the 2015 edition of the World Cup and was also a part of the 2011 World Cup winning squad.

Harbhajan Singh was the lead spinner in the latter and so, Ashwin only got to play 2 matches from which he had picked 4 wickets. Now 32, he has suffered from several injuries leading to his ouster from the team on different occasions. Not to mention, he has had a dismal record playing at the English venues, last picking just 1 wicket from 3 matches at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

Considering all the above mentioned factors, Ravichandran Ashwin seems unlikely to return to the shorter formats anytime soon and he might have also already lost his chances of playing a World Cup again.

#2 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina had failed to impress in his last outing against the Englishmen.

Uttar Pradesh cricketer - Suresh Raina has often been touted as one of the best players to have played the shorter formats for the country however, the southpaw has failed to live up to the expectations consistently.

After making a comeback to the ODI team after 3 years, Raina failed to impress both the fans and the management, scoring only 47 off 3 matches on India's tour of England in 2018.

The cricketer has also developed a reputation of not being a great player of the short ball- a weapon that is often used effectively on the English pitches. Raina also plays in the middle order for which the team has already been looking at multiple younger and fitter options like KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav and Shreyas Iyer among others.

Thus in a situation where there seems to a problem of plenty, it seems unlikely that the team management will turn back for Suresh Raina's services. However, the experienced cricketer would be preparing hard for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, since that seems to be his only possible shot at redemption.

#1 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh last made an international appearance almost two years ago.

The name - Yuvraj Singh is still remembered as one of the most important players of the World Cup winning Indian squad of 2011. Battling the life threatening disease of cancer during the tournament, Singh kept his medical concerns aside and delivered stellar performances throughout the competition, consequently winning the title of the man of the series.

He was able to score 362 runs from 9 matches at a brilliant average of 90.50 and also picked 15 wickets in the tournament, making major contributions to the team's performance in almost all the matches. Unfortunately though, it has been 8 years and Yuvraj is not the same cricketer anymore.

Last making an international appearance almost two years ago, he seems unlikely to make another World Cup appearance in his career as the Indian team continues to suffer from the problem of plenty in the middle order - where the cricketer is accustomed to play. The cricketer will be hoping to recreate something like Virat Kohli's heroics in IPL 2016 so to catch the national selectors' eye when he plays for Mumbai Indians this season.