3 Indian middle order batsmen who haven't played an ODI recently but are worth a shot

The Indian ODI side has been in excellent form in recent times. Alongside England, they seem to be the best ODI side going around in the world. Since the start of 2016, they have lost just two bilateral series (one in January 2016 in Australia and the other in July 2018 in England). The Virat Kohli-led side has found a way to be consistent and successful.

India have a dominant top three in white-ball cricket. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma form one of the potent opening pairs and have been very consistent. Meanwhile, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli has taken his game to another level and has been insanely consistent at No. 3. The bowling attack also looks settled and seems to be pretty strong.

However, the middle-order has been a little cause of concern for the ‘Men in Blue’. They haven’t found a permanent No. 4 and as many as 11 players at that slot. Apart from MS Dhoni, India have found it difficult to find players in the middle-order who have performed consistently. With less than four months to go for the World Cup, India don’t have a lot of time to fix their middle-order conundrum. Hence, here are three players who haven’t played an ODI in recent times but they can be tried in the middle-order.

Here are three Indian batsmen who didn’t play an ODI recently but can be tried in the middle order:

#3 Ajinkya Rahane

The last time Ajinkya Rahane played an ODI was almost a year back in South Africa. He was India’s designated No. 4 for that series. He scored 140 runs in five innings in that series. In fact, he was also India’s No. 4 during the last World Cup in 2015. However, his inconsistency has led to his exclusion.

But he has been in good form in recent times. He struck an excellent ton in the Deodhar Trophy in October last year. He also struck a couple of good half-centuries playing for India ‘A’ against England Lions recently. Hence, he has been in good form. Despite these runs coming at the top of the order, Rahane has shown he can adapt in the middle and play according to what the team wants.