Will Vijay Shankar make it to the final World Cup Squad?

The decision to brand Vijay Shankar as India's No.4 for the World Cup is starting to look more and more dubious by the day with the lack of runs from the '3-Dimensional' player and some notable performances by others who could (and should) be the possible candidates for that No.4 slot. The biggest bone of contention if any for Shankar has been the lack of runs or any sort of impact from him during the complete IPL season.

If we run through his stats this season we have Vijay averaging less than 20 in 13 innings (when he batted mostly at no.4) and just one wicket to his credit. To add to this he doesn't have that many noteworthy performances in his limited ODI career either. Compare that to recent contenders in the form of Shubhman Gill, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane and it does raise concerns because all of them boast of a much better resume and fit the role of a No.4 in a much better way.

Shubhman Gill has shown that he can spend time in the middle and score big. He's shown he can hit it out of the ground as well when needed. Manish Pandey, on the other hand, has been the standout batsman in recent times for Sunrisers despite the side having players like Kane Williamson and David Warner in their ranks.

Pandey has been in prolific form

In the same breath, Ajinkya Rahane has looked a completely different beast ever since he lost the captaincy to Steve Smith. Although there haven't been that many big scores to stand with the hundred that he scored but he does appear to be in pretty good form. Moreover, batting at No.4 is a role he has played and done well in the past.

There has been talk about Vijay bringing some sort of balance to the side with his medium pace and Jadhav's injury does throw a spanner in the works. For Vijay to make the cut it is only going to happen in the scenario where the team needs a 6th bowler.

A lot will depend on Kedar Jadhav's fitness

So with that assertion, we arrive at two scenarios. In the first, if Kedar Jadhav (India's No.6 as well as a potent 6th bowler) doesn't recover from his injury then Vijay walks into the side with KL Rahul or Manish Pandey (Kedar Jadhav's probable replacement) batting at No.4.

In the second, If Kedar Jadhav is fit then it becomes tough to bat Vijay at 4 and it's a toss-up between KL Rahul and Manish Pandey for that slot. So in many ways, Vijay Shankar with his performances (or lack of it) has left his selection in the hands of fate rather than sealing the deal with his performances in the IPL.