With India’s ICC trophy hopes shattered in the World Test Championship final, All eyes have shifted towards the much anticipated ODI World later this year, as a home team India will have a realistic chance of winning the World Cup after 12 long years, as it could be the last ODI World Cup for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja they would be keen produce some magical performance for the Indian team.
As many fans believe the ODI World Cup this year will be the best chance for the Indian Team to end their ICC title drought, it has already hit an obstacle by injuries to main players like Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer.
Indian team failed to win a single ICC trophy post-Champions Trophy victory in 2013 under the leadership of MS Dhoni Pertinently, India failed to cross the hurdle in the knockout stages despite doing well in the league stages. Here are 5 players who might be axed from the Indian team for the 2023 ODI World Cup following their poor performance in IPL 2023.
1. Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar is one of those players who will be fighting for a spot in the squad, but his recent injury concerns and form would be a worrying factor, as the Indian team management would look beyond him for the third all-rounder spot in the team.
The 23-year-old has had a modest season for SRH in IPL 2023, In seven games he scored only 60 runs and claimed three wickets at an average of 48.67, Washington Sundar was a disappointment before injury curtailed his season.
With Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya likely to make it into the squad as the specialist all-rounders, Washington Sundar will face stiff competition from the inform Axar Patel, who has done exceptionally well for India in all three formats of the game.
2. Deepak Hooda
India all-rounder Deepak Hooda had a terrific outing in IPL 2022 which earned him a place in the Indian squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and has impressed everyone with his versatility to bat in different positions in the Indian team, as many believed that a good IPL season 2023, he can break into the ODI World Cup squad as can be vital to team success with both bat and ball.
Deepak Hooda was expected to shoulder the responsibility of LSG’s middle order in IPL 2023 given his experience with the Indian team in recent times but the LSG all-rounder flopped big time for his team, as he completely out of form throughout the tournament as he scored only 84 runs in 12 games for his side at an average of 7.63 letting his team down in IPL 2023.
3. Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi has not lived up to expectations from him in the Indian Premier League. He made his international debut just before IPL 2023 as many expected him to carry the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s middle order, which was not the case as he struggled to get going the in the league.
With Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar unavailable due to injuries, The Maharashtra opener could have produced his case strong to make it into the ODI setup, if he had done well in the IPL 2023. The No. 3 batter, who played 13 games in the season, scored just 273 runs with a poor average of 22.7 and it will be interesting to see whether India picks for the T20 series against West Indies.
4. Umran Malik
Umran Malik made his debut for India in T20I and ODI cricket. He has so far picked 13 and 11 wickets respectively in the white-ball formats following his phenomenal performance in IPL 2022 and the youngster won the Emerging Player of the Season award in IPL 2022 for taking 22 wickets in 14 matches.
The Youngster was benched following his poor performance with the ball for the major part of the season as many believed that he could make it into the ODI Squad for World Cup In eight matches, he has claimed only five wickets at an average of 43.40 and a higher economy rate of 10.85 and it is highly unlikely that youngster would make into the Indian team after his poor show with the ball in IPL 2023.
5. Shahbaz Ahmed
Shahbaz Ahmed made his debut for India against South Africa last year, as the Bengal all-rounder was seen as a potential candidate for the Indian team in the future, but the 28-year-old had a disastrous campaign for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2023, as he failed to produce a single match-winning performance for his team, which eventually led him to be out of playing 11 in 2023 season.
The Left-handed all-rounder impressed everyone during his stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022, as he performed exceptionally well alongside Dinesh Karthik in middle overs to grab the eye of the selectors to make it into the Indian squad, but the poor 2023 season would put him on backfoot to make into the Indian squad for upcoming series.