World Cup 2019: Team-wise one bad pick of the tournament

The 2019 World Cup is here! It’s just a week away and all teams have landed in the United Kingdom (UK) for the cricket’s biggest event. Come the 30th of May, the fight for the most coveted trophy in cricket, the World Cup will begin. 10 teams, 48 games in all and one trophy. All the 10 teams had announced provisional squads a month back which they could change until May 22. A few teams did tweak their squads a little before finalising their 15. Meanwhile, the others have stuck to their squads and have made no changes at all. Every team has tried to fit in their best players but there are a few notable absentees from various teams. Hence, as we build towards the World Cup, let’s take a look at one bad pick from each team in this tournament. Afghanistan – Hamid Hassan Hamid Hassan. (Photo Source: Twitter) A couple of weeks before announcing their squad for the 2019 World Cup, the Afghanistan selectors shocked the world when they took away the captaincy from Asghar Afghan. They handed the reins over to Gulbadin Naib. There was another surprise when the selectors revealed the 15-man squad for the World Cup. Hamid Hassan who last played an ODI (before the recent one against Scotland) three years back was included in the squad. While he has some good numbers in ODI cricket, he might be rusty going into the tournament. He’s played all of two ODIs since the last World Cup and a total of 11 international games. Hassan is certainly short of match practice and could turn out be a costly pick for Afghanistan in the tournament. Australia – Kane Richardson Kane Richardson (Photo Source: Twitter) One Richardson’s loss turned out to be another Richardson’s gain. In the lead-up to the World Cup, Jhye Richardson had become a regular face in Australia’s limited-overs teams. He regularly featured in the playing XI as well and had done enough to earn a ticket to England. However, a dislocated shoulder ruled him out after he was named in the provisional squad. Australia went ahead and named Kane Richardson as Jhye’s replacement. However, Kane Richardson has constantly been in and out of the Australian limited-overs set-up. He has never played more than seven ODIs in a calendar year. In the two games he played in the UAE, the fast bowler didn’t look threatening at all and returned with the figures of 1/61 and 1/37 in 10 and 7 overs respecitively. With the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Billy Stanlake available, Kane’s selection did raise a few eyebrows. He is definitely not a great pick in the defending champions’ 15-man squad. India – Vijay Shankar Vijay Shankar. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) India’s No. 4 conundrum which started four years back after the 2015 World Cup is still a problem. Multiple players were tried at the spot but none of them could seal it. Ambati Rayudu played at No. 4 in almost every game in the lead up to the World Cup. However, inconsistency in the lead up to the squad selection led to his axing. Vijay Shankar was picked ahead of the Hyderabad batsman. Also, Shankar is tipped to bat at No. 4 . He certainly adds a lot of variety in the side. However, he hasn’t played a lot of international cricket (9 ODIs and 9 T20Is). Moreover, he has never batted at a crucial position while donning the blue jersey at the highest level. The big question is can Shankar live up to the hype and keep the selectors’ faith? He did bat at No. 3 and 4 for the most part of the IPL but didn’t have great results. The all-rounder could be the weak link in India’s line-up. England – James Vince James Vince of England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images) There’s absolutely no doubt that England is one of the strongest teams in this World Cup. They are tipped as strong contenders for the title as well. They’ve played some fabulous cricket over the last few years and have become the No. 1 ranked ODI side on that merit. It’s tough to pick a weak link or a bad choice player in the England squad. But if there has to be one, it is James Vince. The Hampshire skipper may have come off a blazing domestic One-Day Cup but he’s failed to make his opportunities count. His age-old problem of not converting starts still persists. Vince has batted in eight innings and has got starts in seven of those. However, he has just one fifty to his name in ODI cricket. Even in the recently concluded Pakistan series, he got starts in the three matches he played but could never kick on. Hence, he is a back-up opener but not having been around this England ODI team makes him a bad pick of sorts. Pakistan – Wahab Riaz Wahab Riaz of Pakistan. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images) The Pakistan selectors sprung a huge surprise when they decided to recall Wahab Riaz. He was not even in the 17-man squad that went to England for the ODI series. In fact, the left-arm pacer hasn’t even played an ODI since the Champions Trophy in 2017. Wahab Riaz does have a good record in World Cups. However, his record in England is poor. He has taken four wickets in seven games at an average of 96.25. Moreover, with Junaid Khan and Usman Shinwari doing well, Riaz’s selection is completely out of the blue. He hasn’t been in the scheme of things for a while now and despite that, he’s been picked. Only time will tell if this step from Pakistan will reap rich rewards. Bangladesh – Abu Jayed Abu Jayed. (Photo Source: Twitter) He may have picked up a fifer in just his second ODI, but Abu Jayed seems to be a burden in the Bangladesh bowling attack. His inclusion in the World Cup squad ahead of Taskin Ahmed came under severe criticism. Jayed did shut his critics with a performance of 5/58 but the pressure in the World Cup is going to be huge. The pitches are going to be flat with hardly any movement and bowlers will need to step up. Jayed seems to bowl in the 120s and 130s (kmph) and that may help the batsmen feast and rack up some easy runs. Jayed’s inclusion was a bad one as Taskin Ahmed was waiting in the wings and he has the experience of handling the pressure in the World Cup having done well previously. Windies – Darren Bravo Darren Bravo. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) There’s no doubt about Darren Bravo’s ability. He’s been around West Indies cricket for a long time now and has played over 100 ODIs. However, he hasn’t quite got that consistency. Barring 2010, he has never averaged over 40 in a calendar year. What’s worse is that his strike-rate isn’t too impressive either. He tends to suck momentum out of the innings. Bravo played three innings in 2018 and his highest strike-rate was 62 in an innings. His career strike-rate of 70.04 tells a story as well. While the left-handed batsman is an experienced campaigner but with a star-studded batting line-up, Windies can’t afford to lose momentum midway through the innings on those flat England wickets. South Africa – Chris Morris Chris Morris of South Africa. (Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images) Injuries are a part and parcel of the game and Anrich Nortje who has been impressive in his short career so far had his World Cup dream come to an end due to a fractured thumb. Chris Morris has been picked as his replacement. Morris is a utility cricketer and can chip in well in all three departments. However, it’s his inconsistency which was also evident in the IPL that is the big problem. The 32-year-old pacer can produce good spells but has a tendency of leaking a lot of runs as well. Moreover, Morris hasn’t played an ODI since February 2018. Hence, in South Africa’s 15-man World Cup squad, Morris seems to be the only casualty pick. New Zealand – Colin de Grandhomme Colin de Grandhomme of New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) New Zealand have always tended to do well in ICC tournaments. Even this time, they seem to have a well-balanced squad. If you have to pick out one bad pick amongst the 15, it would be Colin de Grandhomme. The 32-year-old all-rounder has promised a lot but hasn’t been able to live up to expectations. He hasn’t quite delivered with both bat and ball. In 20 innings he’s played since the 2015 World Cup, he has scored just one ODI fifty and averages 29.07. He can chip in with useful overs but on those England roads, he can go for plenty. Moreover, De Grandhomme isn’t in the best of forms either. He didn’t have a great start to the IPL which pushed him to the bench. Hence, De Grandhomme does look like a weak link in New Zealand’s World Cup 15. Sri Lanka – Jeffrey Vandersay Jeffrey Vandersay of Sri Lanka. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images) In this World Cup, we are going to see a lot of players who haven’t played ODI cricket for a while. Sri Lanka have called back quite a few players who haven’t been around for the last couple of years. Their 15-man squad had the most number of surprises with the inclusion of Jeffrey Vandersay being one of them. The leg-spinner last played an ODI back in October 2017 and has been included at the expense of mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya who has been one of Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker in the format over the last couple of years. His action was reported but he did clear all the tests as well. Hence, Vandersay is a certainly a bad pick especially when it came at the expense of Sri Lanka’s lead spinner and third highest wicket-taker in ODIs since the 2015 World Cup.

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