ICC World Cup 2019 | India's predicted XI for the match against Bangladesh
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After a disappointing loss against England which saw the intent of the Indian batting getting questioned, Virat Kohli's men would desperately be looking to set things straight against a spirited Bangladesh side. The Tigers on the other hand, will need a win to stay alive in the tournament.
Openers
KL Rahul: Rahul had the worst game imagineable against England, as he not only hurt his back while fielding, but also ended up scoring a nine-ball duck. He has averaged just 33.75 in this World Cup so far, while he has opened the batting. With Mayank Agarwal drafted into the squad, Rahul will have to perform at all costs against the Tigers to keep his position intact.
Rohit Sharma: With three hundreds and 440 runs to his name in six innings, Rohit could not have asked for a better start to his 2019 World Cup. If anything, Rohit would be looking to bat deeper and maximize his score if he reaches the three-figure mark. Rohit smacked 137 against Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup, and it won't be out of his reach to try and replicate the very same performance against Bangladesh.
Middle-order
Virat Kohli: Eigtht innings, five scores of fifty-plus with no hundreds. Along with Kohli, the whole world is scratching their head thinking how something like this could even remotely be possible. It was not long a ago that Kohli scored a century everytime he walked out to bat. Setting the voodoo of the century aside, Kohli, like always, would be looking to bat deep and put runs on the board in order to give the lower-order a platform to launch.
Rishabh Pant: Rishabh Pant finally got his chance in the biggest stage of Cricket on Sunday against England, scoring a 29-ball 32. With Shankar ruled out of the tournament, Pant would be looking for a performance to assert his authority in the middle order. He would also be aware of the fact that India might drop Rahul back to No.4 while opening with Agarwal, so the Delhi youngster would certainly be hoping for a big score.
MS Dhoni: After two questionable batting performances against Afghanistan and Windies, Dhoni did no good to his reputation with his innings on Sunday. Dhoni has been in the firing line for showing no intent to win the match against England, with former Cricketers and experts alike questioning his approach. While his place in the team is unquestionable, he would certainly be hoping for a better show against the Tigers.
Kedar Jadhav: Just like his partner in crime MS Dhoni, Jadhav was widely criticized for his approach in the game against England, showing no intention to win. With cries for Jadeja to be included in the team getting louder, Jadhav would need to prove his worth in the team. A failure tomorrow might put Jadhav's place in the team under jeopardy.
All-rounder
Hardik Pandya: With solid all-round performances with both bat and ball, Pandya has been one of the key members for India in this World Cup campaign so far. It might be fair to say that Pandya would be disappointed with himself for not taking India across the line against England.
Spinners
Yuzvendra Chahal: Chahal arguably had the worst game of his career on Sunday, conceding 88 runs of his 10 overs against a team which was supposedly bound to struggle against the spinners. One would expect Chahal to not read too much into the outing against England. It will however be definitely interesting to see Chahal's response when he takes the field against the Tigers.
Kuldeep Yadav: Like Chahal, Kuldeep didn't have the best of games against England, though he managed to get the priced scalp of Jason Roy. While Kuldeep has averaged 1.9 wickets per innings in his ODI career so far, he has only managed to take an average of 0.83 wickets per innings in this World Cup so far, and would certainly be looking to add more to the wickets column.
Pacers
Mohammed Shami: Having sat on the bench for India's first four matches, Shami, out of nowhere, has stormed into the team to become India's highest wicket taker of this World Cup. However, despite taking a five-wkt haul against England, questions were raised on his ability to bowl in the death, with him conceding 44 runs off his last three overs. It will definitely be intriguing to see how Shami operates in the death against big-hitters like Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain.
Jasprit Bumrah: In contrast to Shami, Bumrah was oustanding in the death against England, conceding just 21 runs off his last five overs. However, he would be aiming to strike a few early blows in the first 10 overs, having not taken any wicket in the first ten overs in the last two matches.
