India Need Not Worry Much About Their Middle Order: Kumar Sangakkara

Former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara believes India have enough firepower and time to find players that fit the most in the middle -order by the time 2019 World Cup arrives.

Meanwhile, the men in blues have struggled due to their wobbly middle-order in the recent past. They have tried various permutation and combinations but is yet to settle it.

India have their core group prey much sorted with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan likely to be the two openers, followed by captain Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni likely at No. 6. There have been occasions when Dhoni has come up the order and even batted at 4, but it is very unlikely that he will do that on a regular basis.

“I think they’ve got a very settled squad. They’ve got the senior pro group sorted, MS Dhoni has been outstanding, Virat Kohli has been brilliant,” Kumar Sangakkara told ESPNcricinfo. “Then you have Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma at the top. I just think they need to find that one person for the No. 4 position,” he added.

Hardik Pandya will be crucial

Kumar Sangakkara feels the young, dynamic all-rounder can be pivotal for India in the mega event. Hardik Pandya may be the frontrunner for that slot, but Ravindra Jadeja’s positive return in the Asia Cup has thrown up another problem of plenty for India.

“Hardik Pandya will be very crucial for them in that allrounder’s role. Plus, they have a brilliant bowling attack. So they will be very confident heading into the World Cup,” he said.

“It’s about settling down and not making too many changes because sometimes it affects players, affects their confidence. So settle on a side, and they have enough options for that come the World Cup, they’ll have to pick one of them, so they need to buckle down and pick the best of the lot,” Kumar Sangakkara signed off.