Hardik Pandya seemed confident about lifting the World Cup. Can he make his dream come true? Image Source: MI official twitter account. |
With the cash-rich Indian Premier League ending on a high, it is now time to get ourselves ready for World Cup 2019. The IPL final was no less than a typical Bollywood blockbuster with Mumbai Indians lifting the trophy for the fourth time and creating a record. However, the stage is much bigger now and winning is all it takes. This IPL has been brilliant for a few and disappointing for some.
Let us now have a look of the form of players in IPL who are included in the World Cup squad. The good thing for India is that all the players are fit.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit will go into the World Cup with great confidence after leading his team to the title. However, he wasn't seen in a great form during IPL. He was only able to record two half-centuries and had an average below his class. Coming to open the batting this season, he averaged with only 28.92 scoring 405 runs in 15 matches. However, Rohit does have the habit of performing at big stages, especially in London where his career as an opener took off.
Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan was one of the players who ended up in the top 5 run-scorer in IPL with 521 runs in 16 matches. He smashed five 50-plus scores with a strike rate of 135.67 and a healthy average of 34.73. He even recorded his highest IPL total of 97* runs with the most number of boundaries this season (64). With his performance, he helped Delhi Capitals to reach Qualifiers.
KL Rahul
Rahul is the top run-scorer among the team this season with 593 runs and is only behind orange cap owner David Warner by 99 runs. He has continued his form from last season and gained himself a ticket to London. With his exceptional stroke-playing ability and exclusive timing, he has recorded one century and six half-centuries. He had the third-best average of 53.90 in top-10 run-scorer. In England, where pace bowlers do well and the ball comes on to the bat nicely, Rahul will be a great asset to team India.
Virat Kohli
Kohli has made it a habit to get in the middle and score runs irrespective of how his team performs. Royal Challengers Bangalore had one of their worst runs in IPL, but Kohli rose up as a top-scorer in the team. He hit 464 runs in 14 matches with one century and two half-centuries. It was again in this season that the team was dependent on him and AB de Villiers to perform. And as always Kohli did not disappoint. One good thing about RCB not qualifying for playoffs was that the Indian skipper got adequate rest before the major event.
Vijay Shankar
The BCCI made the tough call of selecting Shankar over Ambati Rayudu for the World Cup for the all-around skills he offers. However, his form with the bat was not up to the mark. Playing all 15 games and while batting in 14 of them he failed to register a 40-plus score. He also has a poor average of 20.33 with 244 runs. He even bowled just 8 overs conceding 70 runs and picking up one wicket. Going into his first World Cup he has a lot to prove.
Kedar Jadhav
Jadhav's injury might see him out of the squad. He has been monitored daily and his progress until May 22 (the last date to submit 15-members squad) will decide his future. He had an average performance with the bat this season. Having batted in 12 out of the 14 innings he played, he scored 162 runs at a poor average of 18 and a below-100 strike rate. With Chennai Super Kings having numerous bowling options, he was not needed to do the job. However, we know how effective he is in breaking partnerships and chipping quick overs.
According to sources, if Jadhav fails to recover, BCCI is looking out at Rayudu and Axar Patel as replacements.
Dinesh Karthik
Karthik's selection in the squad also raised a few eyebrows, as he was included ahead of Rishabh Pant. It is very clear that Karthik is in for his experience. He, like few, did not have a great IPL. He could not even register his name as one of the top-5 run-scorer amongst his teammates. He managed to only score 253 runs off the 13 innings he batted. He smashed two 50-plus scores which include his highest score of 97*. One thing to be noted is that he mostly used to bat at No.5 with fewer balls to face.
MS Dhoni
One thing that Indian fans will be more than happy is the form of the most experienced player and former captain, MS Dhoni. Coming to bat down the order, Dhoni smashed 416 off 12 innings with three half-centuries. Being unbeaten most of the time, he has the best average of the season, 83.20. Dhoni was seen in his prime form as a finisher, scoring crucial runs in the final overs. With some lightning fast stumping, Dhoni proved that he is still the best in the business when it comes to wicket-keeping. His experience and captaincy skills will be India's most valuable virtue in the biggest cricketing tournament.
Hardik Pandya
With a lot of water under the bridge, Hardik had a dream comeback on field. He was seen in an exceptional touch since the first game. He has the second-best strike-rate of 191.42 after Andre Russell(204.81) this season. Coming to bat at No.6 he smashed 402 runs facing less than 100 balls including a 91 where he almost won the game for Mumbai Indians chasing 233. He was decent with his bowling as well picking 14 wickets in the season. His form adds all-round value to the team.
Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja might not have been among the wickets in this years IPL but has the fourth-best bowling average of 6.35. He managed to pick up 15 wickets conceding 343 runs. Dhoni used him wisely in middle overs to control the run-rate. Not getting to bat more, Jadeja could only score 106 runs in 9 innings. The major advantage he has over the other spinners is his outstanding fielding.
Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep had a rough IPL this time which could be mainly because of workload pressure. Lack of the wicket-taking ability saw him out after the first nine games where he only scalped 4 wickets. He was also seen in tears when Moeen Ali mauled him at 26 runs in an over. This also portrays the importance of MS Dhoni's guidance from behind the stumps. We have seen Kuldeep flourish in Dhoni's presence and the stage can't get any bigger than the World Cup.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Unlike Kuldeep, Chahal performed well without Dhoni's assistance. He was the leading wicket-taker for Royal Challengers Bangalore with 18 wickets. Kohli used him every time he saw a partnership building and Chahal did not disappoint his captain. He bowled at a fair economy of 7.82 with one 4-wicket haul.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar given the new role of captaincy for most of the games performed average with the ball. He managed to pick up 13 wickets from 15 matches at a fairly good economy of 7.81. However, these numbers do not justify his performance in the 50-over format where he is death over specialist.
Mohammed Shammi
Shammi rose to fame in the limited overs format post his comeback in it. He was the star bowler for Kings XI Punjab with 19 wickets in 14 matches. Although his economy of 8.68 was slightly high than average, he proved to be the wicket-taking option for his team. With the conditions in England complimenting pacers, Shammi will have a strong suit.
Jasprit Bumrah
He has been so consistent with the ball that people have stopped talking about it. It was Bumrah who kept Mumbai Indians alive in so many matches with his tight spell. Take the final for example where he bowled an unbelievable spell of 4-0-14-2 defending only 150 on board. Overall he stood fifth in the ranking of most wicket-takers with 19 wickets from 16 games at a magnificent average of 6.63. He also stands second in the list of most dot balls with 169(28 overs) of his balls going unscored. Bumrah is undoubtedly India's key bowler this World Cup.
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