India’s sudden halt in World Cup 2019 could see a complete overhaul

With India crashing out of the ICC World Cup on Wednesday by losing to a determined New Zealand by 18 runs in the first semi-final at Old Trafford, questions were bound to be raised. One of the major concerns for India in this World Cup has been their middle order and over-reliance on the top three.

With the World T20 coming up in Australia next year, few ageing heads are expected to roll as India would focus on a team rebuilding. While ace wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni set to retire soon, the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav might also have seen their best.

The selection committee headed by former India wicket-keeper MSK Prasad will be in charge till the next elections of the Board of Control for Cricket in India are held. It is expected that the current panel will oversee the transition phase with the focus more on the shortest phase over the next 14 months.

The middle-over had too many also-ran players

The middle order remained a top concern for the Indian team management and with injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar in the middle of the tournament, the Men in Blue were left with little option but fill their middle order with many wicket-keeper-batsmen like Karthik and Rishabh Pant besides Dhoni.

The middle order came under massive pressure once the cream was removed in the match against the Kiwis in the semi-final and a return seemed impossible till Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni added 116 runs for the seventh wicket. The Indian batting kept on hoping that one or the other in the top three would score a hundred to bail the team out each day.

It was phenomenal that Rohit Sharma slammed five centuries while Dhawan and KL Rahul one each to keep India energised in the hunt for the third trophy. But one bad day and that too in the knock-out left the Indian fans with a bitter taste in the mouth. India has a big pool of talents to choose from to make a blueprint for the long haul. The only question is how quickly will they get into action?