Four Players eye World Cup spots with strong performances in West Indies

The World Cup is coming. All the teams are in the final stages of selecting their top 15 players. The management of all teams wants to confirm who will get a chance in the first 11 among them. The last few matches each team will play before the World Cup will feature only those players who are likely to get a chance at the World Cup.

In addition, the teams will want to see what the team combination can be like in the World Cup by changing the players in every match. But India has been plagued by injuries with their middle-order batting. There is a lot of speculation about whether the injured players will get fit and get a place in the team, or other players will get a chance in the World Cup squad.

After the West Indies series, India will play three more One-Day International (ODI) matches against Australia just before the World Cup 2023. The ODI series against West Indies will take place from Thursday to the 1st of August, with India playing three matches. Following this series, India will play three more ODI matches against Australia before the World Cup. The Indian team’s World Cup journey will commence after these matches.

Many players have the golden opportunity to secure their spots in the final squad based on their performances against West Indies. Today, we will discuss three players who, if they perform well in the West Indies series, have a chance to claim their positions in the World Cup team.

Let’s Know about Four Players are Fighting for World Cup Spots

Surya Kumar Yadav

Only a weeks days left before to start of the World Cup. But still, the team management’s headache remains in fourth place in team India’s middle-order batting line-up. There is no question about the number three position among those who have batted in the middle order for India in the last few years in one-day international cricket. Virat Kohli will bat there. The team management had given Rishabh Panth and Shreyas Iyer opportunities for a long time to think about the World Cup with fourth place.

But both of them have been out of the team due to injuries for a long time. They are currently rehabbing at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Rishabh Panth is reportedly unlikely to recover before the tournament. But Shreyas Iyer is fit now. According to BCCI sources, Shreyas may go with the team on the tour of Ireland. Even so, as he has been out of international cricket for a long time, the question remains about his form. As a result, the selectors are left with a headache for the fourth place.

Surya Kumar Yadav can come in that number four spot. Surya Kumar is the number one batsman in ICC rank in T20I cricket. But he has not yet established himself in ODI cricket. This middle-order batsman from Mumbai has so far scored 433 runs at an average of 24 after playing 23 matches in ODIs for team India. Surya has scored three hundred in T20 cricket. But he has not yet scored a hundred in ODIs. But the most positive aspect for him is his strike rate. Surya Kumar Yadav’s strike rate in ODI cricket is 102.1.

So if Surya Kumar can do something good in one-day cricket with West Indies, he will also be on the selectors’ list before the World Cup. If Shreyas Iyer is in the squad then he will bat at the number four position. In that case, Surya Kumar will easily get a place in the team as a backup middle-order batsman.

Yuzvendra Chahal:

Chahal has been a vital spinner for India in T20 cricket, but his luck hasn’t favored him much in the World Cup. Despite being the primary spinner in the limited-overs format, he couldn’t secure a spot in the World Cup T20 squad in 2021 and missed out on a match in the 2022 World Cup as well. However, if he performs well on the West Indies tour, he might solidify his place in the final team.

Sanju Samson:

Despite being a talented batsman, Sanju Samson has struggled to cement his place in the Indian team and has played only 11 ODIs so far. It remains uncertain if he will be chosen as the wicketkeeper in the upcoming ICC event. A strong performance against West Indies in the ODI series could be his biggest test to claim the top-order batsman’s spot in the final squad, just like Rahul and Ishan Kishan.

Umran Malik:

The young fast bowler, Umran Malik, was expected to be fully prepared for the 2023 World Cup after his impressive performances in the IPL last year. However, his performance for the Indian team hasn’t been entirely successful yet. Being the fastest bowler in the Indian squad, his performances in the West Indies series will be closely monitored, and if he impresses the selectors, he may get a chance to the final squad.

READ: World Cup 2023: Five Players Who Can Come In To The Team

These players have a golden opportunity to secure their spots in the World Cup squad based on their performances in the upcoming series against West Indies and Australia.