The ICC World Cup 2019 will begin at the end of May in England and Wales. Each country will want to fine-tune and finalise the contingent that goes to England for the tournament. In each country, cricket veterans are giving their opinions on what will be the best squad for their respective countries. Of course, all of them want their nation to win the World Cup and bring the trophy home. Here in India, Harbajhan Singh had aired his views on which players should board the flight for England. After him, two more veterans have given their opinions on who should be included in the squad.
Sanjay Manjerekar has predicted his squad for the World Cup and said that people should not be surprised if Umesh Yadav is one of those chosen as a pace bowler. Umesh Yadav did very well in the domestic cricket and has been included in the squad that will play Australia when they come down to India. A couple of good performances there and there after in the IPL is sure to ensure him a place in the team.
Umesh Yadav could not catch the eye of the selectors and the Indian team management in the Internationals that he played last year. But his form has turned around in the domestic season and in the IPL. In IPL 2018 he played a vital role in the fortunes of Royal Challengers Bangalore. On the basis of that performance, he was selected for the tour of England. But he did not live up to the expectations. Although Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuveneshwar Kumar are certain to be the three fast bowlers in the squad, Umesh Yadav has a chance to be the fourth fast bowler. Hardik Pandya will go with the team as an all-rounder and that should not prevent the selectors from including Umesh Yadav in the contingent.
The Indian ex-skipper, Mohammed Azharuddin feels that Rishab Pant should be on the flight in the place of Ambati Rayadu. Azharuddin feels that Pant’s attacking style of batting makes him a perfect candidate for the number four spot as compared to Ambati Rayadu. Neither Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja is in Azharuddin's list of the players. In the playing eleven that Azharuddin has selected, he has chosen Kuldeep Yadav or Yazuvendra Chahal as the two spinners and has not included Umesh Yadav.
It looks like the tussle for the number four position in the batting line up is not going to be resolved soon. It looks certain that any two of the three among Rishab Pant, Ambati Rayadu and Dinesh Kartik will accompany the team. The two will be rotated in the matches in the World Cup depending on their performance.
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