3 batters whose hopes of making India's 2023 World Cup squad took a hit due to IPL 2023

Whether the Indian Premier League (IPL) should have as big an impact on national selection as it currently does is a topic that is being hotly debated. However, the truth of the matter is that the T20 competition heavily influences proceedings.

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been appointed the captain of the Indian side for the Asian Games 2023, which also features names like Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma and Jitesh Sharma. While these players have done well in domestic cricket as well, the IPL has served as the final stepping stone to the international stage.

The same has been the case for the other two formats as well. Yashasvi Jaiswal recently hammered a century on Test debut after a breakthrough IPL 2023 campaign.

At the same time, of course, having unproductive campaigns in the IPL can prove to be a stumbling block when it comes to being selected in the Indian side. This is especially true in the two white-ball formats, where most of the players picked in one of them are considered for the other one too.

Here are three Indian batters whose hopes of making India's 2023 World Cup squad took a hit due to IPL 2023.

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#3 Rajat Patidar

This is definitely the most unfortunate case on the list. Rajat Patidar, who shone for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022, missed the entirety of the 2023 season with an injury.

In Patidar's absence, RCB struggled to find spin-hitting and consistency in the middle order. The other domestic players at the franchise's disposal, including Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Shahbaz Ahmed and Kedar Jadhav, flattered to deceive.

Prior to IPL 2023, Patidar earned call-ups to a few of India's squads, especially in the ODI format. The 30-year-old's career List A numbers might not be all that impressive, but he has plundered runs in domestic cricket over the last few seasons and has also passed the eye test.

India have struggled to find a reliable No. 4 batter in 50-over cricket. Patidar could've sneaked into the World Cup squad with a prolific IPL season and if he followed it up with a few meaningful displays for the Men in Blue.

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#2 Deepak Hooda

New Zealand v India - 3rd T20

As far as poor individual campaigns go, Deepak Hooda's IPL 2023 season for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) should be right up there with the worst ever.

Hooda amassed only 84 runs in 12 innings at an average of 7.64 and a strike rate of 93.33, with a highest score of 17. Outings at various positions in the batting order didn't help matters as he struggled against both pace and spin, barely managing to put bat to ball on occasion.

Hooda has played 10 ODIs for India, with 153 runs to his name at an average of 25.5. He has never been given a sustained run, but his excellent form last year and the possibility of having a top-order batter with some bowling ability led the selectors to push his case in the format.

After IPL 2023, though, Hooda's World Cup dreams are all but over.

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#1 Shikhar Dhawan

New Zealand v India - 3rd ODI

Another player who struggled with injury in IPL 2023, Shikhar Dhawan had to miss three matches for the Punjab Kings (PBKS). He ended up featuring 11 times for PBKS, scoring 373 runs at an average of 41.44 and a strike rate of 142.91.

Those might not seem like bad numbers, but Dhawan's form tapered off towards the end of the competition. He scored more than 30 runs only once in his last eight innings in IPL 2023, finishing off with scores of 7, 0 and 17.

The 37-year-old's dwindling batting returns coincided with PBKS' struggles as they failed to make the playoffs despite a bright start.

Dhawan is still in the World Cup picture, with the selectors likely to have him on their radar as the backup opener. However, he hasn't been named in the ODI squad for the West Indies tour, and him being picked for the quadrennial event isn't a certainty as of now.