Only a few spots seem to still be up for grabs in the India and Australia squads for the World Cup. Which of these names will make it?
Deivarayan Muthu28-Feb-2019KL RahulDuring IPL 2018, Rahul perfected the lofted drive and proudly tweeted to his childhood coach…
Coach, you proud of this?
“Head still and Elbows high!”
Just like you taught me. Forever Grateful to my coach Samuel Jayaraj. pic.twitter.com/Tap5EtUGLc— K L Rahul (@klrahul11) April 28, 2018
Then, a certain Murphy S Law took a special liking to Rahul: anything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. The inswingers messed up his mind, which in turn scrambled his judgment against the outswingers. He found different ways to get out, as India batting coach Sanjay Bangar put it. Then came the suspension for his comments on an Indian talk show.However, in the Bengaluru T20I, he showed he still had regal lofted drive and the ability to get on top of an attack. More of this – or even bigger knocks in the ODI series – could lock him in as India’s back-up opener for the World Cup.Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni congratulate each other•AFPRishabh PantHe’s got the X-factor and can swipe mighty sixes despite contorting his body into weird shapes. He is indeed a special talent and he now believes he has the temperament to back it up.Pant offers the chance of a left-right combination in the middle order, and is set to get more batting time here than he had got in New Zealand. He managed only 76 in five T20I innings in New Zealand and at home against Australia. With Dinesh Karthik, the finisher, breathing down his neck, the onus is on Pant to fire – like he can – in the ODIs.Vijay Shankar pushes one through the covers•Getty ImagesVijay ShankarBatting: check. Fielding: check. Bowling: work in progress. Vijay showed excellent tactical nous, batting outside the crease and countering the swing of Trent Boult and Co. in the Wellington ODI. India were 18 for 4 when Vijay walked in, but he helped rescue the side to a match-winning total of 252.Vijay also has a reputation of being a gun fielder for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, but the big question is, can Virat Kohli cobble out ten overs from him?In the second T20I, he bowled the relatively pressure-free overs and came away with 2 for 38 from his four overs. He largely bowled at around 125kph, but he showed he had some variations. Case in point: the slower legspinner that got rid of D’Arcy Short. He can also bowl the offcutter, having started his first-class career as an offspinner before switching to medium-pace.Nathan Coulter-Nile enjoyed an excellent first outing on the tour of India•Getty ImagesNathan Coulter-NileIn November 2014, Coulter-Nile suffered a hamstring injury, which ended his hopes of playing the 2015 World Cup. He remains injury-prone – and more recently there was miscommunication with the selectors over his fitness status – but suddenly he is now a senior quick in the squad on tour in India. Despite a history of back problems and dodgy hamstrings, Coulter-Nile continues to hit splice-jarring lengths like he did in the Visakhapatnam T20I. And oh, he can muscle the ball in the lower order, lending depth to the batting line-up. But can he last the entire tour of Asia and maintain his form?Peter Handscomb plays on the leg side•Getty ImagesPeter HandscombAmong the best players of spin in Australia, Handscomb has a penchant for venturing down the track and upsetting the lengths of spinners. Remember Ranchi 2017?Handscomb was ignored for Australia’s tour of the UAE last year, but the shoes have switched feet – and so have the gloves. He won back his place by hitting form in the 50-over JLT Cup and the 20-over Big Bash League. In the T20I series in India, he was given the additional responsibility of keeping wicket ahead of Alex Carey. And he provided the calm foil to Glenn Maxwell’s dash in the middle order. Watch out, though, Peter, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are coming for you.Usman Khawaja puts away a pull•Getty ImagesUsman KhawajaKhawaja was among the wholesale changes Australia made for their ODIs at home against India. He fared reasonably well, making 114 runs in three innings, but his strike rate of 75.54 was lower than what the likes of Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Handscomb and Maxwell managed. It’s likely that the middle order will revolve around the contrasting methods of Handscomb and Maxwell. So, what can Khawaja bring at No.3? Top-order insurance in light of Aaron Finch’s horrid form.
