3 reasons why India are not favorites to win the 2019 World Cup

#2 Top-heavy batting line-up and fragile middle-order

Shikhar, Rohit, and Virat do the bulk of scoring when India wins.

When India won the 2011 World Cup, they had a strong middle-order comprising of Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj, and Dhoni. However, in recent times, India's middle order is one of the weakest among top cricketing nations.

No Indian batsman has looked like fitting in the No.4 slot. India has tried Rahane, Yuvraj, Pandey, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya in last 18 months but none of them have shown promise. After Suresh Raina's shoddy performances in England, India might have to worry about No.5 slot as well.

The problems are in plenty but India still has 15-20 ODIS before the World Cup which is enough to groom a batsman. However, it is difficult to see that a problem which has not been fixed for 3 years will be sorted out in 10 months. Banking on the top 3 to deliver the goods always is not the hallmark of a team who are termed as World Cup favorites.