India will start as the firm favourites of the 2019 World cup when the men in blue kickstart their campaign against all time favourites South Africa on June 5. India boasts of some impressive top and middle order batsman followed by complexion changing all-rounders like Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar. The pace and spin department may be the best in the tournament which makes the Virat Kohli led side as the top favourite to win the marquee tournament.
Meanwhile, India may face the biggest setback ahead of the tournament as middle order batsman Kedar Jadhav may be sidelined for the world cup. The man from Pune is currently plying his trade for Chennai Super Kings and scored a duck in their last group stage game against Kings XI Punjab where the latter team won by 6 wickets. Jadhav has suffered a shoulder injury and the news was confirmed by CSK coach Stephen Fleming.
“Don’t think we’ll see him again in this tournament for us… it didn’t look that good,” Fleming said during the post match press conference.
CSK set a target of 171 runs for KXIP but KL Rahul’s brilliance of 71 from 36 balls took R Ashwin’s side home with six wickets remaining. Mumbai Indians won the last group stage game of the tournament against Kolkata Knight Riders to seal the number one spot in the points table. They are followed by Chennai Super Kings at number two, Delhi Capitals at number three and Sunrisers Hyderabad at number four, who created history by qualifying for the play-offs with 12 points.
Jadhav’s history of numerous injury
It is certain that the 34-year-old may not feature for CSK in the business end of the tournament. Fleming’s statement is an indication that the injury may be bad which might ousted him from the world cup. It is not the first occasion when he has injured himself. Last year he suffered a hamstring injury in CSK’s inaugural match against Mumbai Indians and was ruled out for rest of the tournament.
Jadhav made his comeback in the Asia cup 2018 and since then has been a part of the national setup in the 50-over format.
Who may replace him ?
If the injury is too bad and Jadhav gets ruled out of the tournament then Rishabh Pant will be the probable contender to replace him. The Delhi batsman has been instrumental for the rise of Delhi Capitals in the ongoing season with 401 runs in 14 matches. Many cricket pundits and fans were surprised when his name was not announced for the world cup.
