5 Players who are the future of the Indian ODI team

The Indian Cricket Team is the #2 ranked ODI team in the world and have had a fair share of successes in the recent past. In the last two World Cups, India has won the trophy once (2011) and had a semi-final appearance in the other (2015). The current team is vastly different from the one who joined MS Dhoni in lifting the trophy in 2011, with only Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni a part of the current setup.

Every team goes through a transition, with a mix of experience and youth a must for the winning formula. It's the duty of the selectors to ease in the influx of the talented youngsters into the team, making room for them to get enough chances to showcase their talent. While many a times, India sends a second string, inexperienced side for matches against lower ranked teams; its important that these youngsters are given ample opportunities. The fact that the India A & India B sides are regularly playing during the absence of domestic season, is a positive sign. While not all, some of the players representing the aforementioned teams make it to the senior Indian team and here are the five players who are expected to be the core of the future Indian team.

#1 Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer is a young and emerging player, who hails from Mumbai and was initially coached by the great Pravin Amre. He made his First Class and List A debut in the 2014-15 season, and has been pretty impressive in the domestic circuit (scoring 5707 runs in 126 innings, averaging at 56.90). This spectacular form led to him being sold for 2.6 Cr to Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2015, and he had an excellent IPL season (439 runs in 14 matches, with a 33.76 average and a strike rate of 128.36), with him being adjudged the Emerging Player of the Tournament.

Excellent IPL and domestic form led him to being called up for the T20I against New Zealand and was followed by an ODI team call-up against Sri Lanka. After a forgettable ODI debut wherein he scored only 9 runs, he followed it up by scoring his best ever score of 88 and was involved with Rohit Sharma in a double century partnership stand. In the next match, he again scored a fifty and ended the three match series as the third highest run getter of the series, with 162 runs @ an average of 54.

Currently the captain of his IPL side, Delhi Capitals and India A, he's a bright prospect to look forward to, in the future.

Statistics - Espncricinfo, Cricbuzz

#2 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh - Heir to MS Dhoni

Born in Uttarakhand and based in Delhi, Rishabh Pant is a player in the making. Still only 21 years of age, he's expected to take the world by storm. He made his First Class and List A debut in the 2015/16 season, and was a member of the Indian contingent at the U-19 World Cup, where they ended up with a runners up medal. He scored 267 runs in 6 matches, including a century against Namibia and a record-breaking 50 against Nepal. He plays for Delhi in the domestic circuit, and in the 2016/17 season, he scored a record 308 runs against Maharashtra in the Ranji trophy; becoming the third Indian to score a triple century.

He has been impressive ever since, and has been known for his clean hitting of the ball and high strike rates. He gained a permanent place in Delhi's domestic circuit and by the end of the 2017/18 season was even named as their captain, albeit for the one-day format of the game. He has scored the fastest century in Ranji trophy (in 48 balls!) as well as the second fastest century in T20 cricket (in 32 balls!!). He also has the highest score by an Indian in the IPL when he scored 128 runs off just 63 balls against a spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack.

He's a deadly hitter of the ball, often leading to comparisons with Chris Gayle and MS Dhoni. His hard hitting as well as long innings temperament make him a useful part of the squad and surely the future star of the Indian cricket team. With both Dinesh Karthik and W Saha well over the age of 30, it's time to hand over the mantle to Pant.

In 2019, he was awarded the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award for the year 2018 and narrowly missed out on the 2019 Indian World Cup squad.

#3 Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw - the kid Sachin Tendulkar destined for the national setup

Prithvi Shaw, the child prodigy who once scored 546 runs in a Harris Shield match (world record at that time!), has quickly risen up the ranks to be a senior Indian international player. He was the captain of the victorious Indian team at the U19 Cricket World Cup, 2018. A regular in the Mumbai setup, he has made his Ranji and Duleep Trophy debuts - scoring a century on debut in each, just like his idol Sachin Tendulkar.

Shaw has a god-gifted prowess of timing the cricket ball - with a low grip, and an extremely bottom-handed technique to go with a flourishing bat-swing reminiscent of a wizard brandishing a wand. An absolute joy when on song, Shaw has a penchant for timing the ball, a cool head on his shoulders, and a back-and-across trigger to aid his back-foot play.

In his test debut against West Indies in October 2018, he scored his maiden century and accumulated a total of 237 runs in two matches (at an average of 118.5) to be rewarded the Man of the Series award. He was scooped up by the Delhi franchisee in the IPL for a whopping 1.2 crores and has been partly responsible for the resurgence of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL.

With the correct guidance, enough chances, as well as a judicious distribution of his workload, he may well be his own batting prodigy, who could make the cricketing world bow down to him in the years to come.

#4 Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill-Another U19 prodigy

Shubman Gill is another talent to emerge out of the U19 setup and has already made his Indian ODI debut in January 2019. He was drafted into India's Under-19 side as the vice-captain for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Shubman scored 372 runs at an average of 124.00 at the 2018 U-19 World Cup, where he batted at number three to play a crucial role in India's record fourth world title and was adjudged the edition's Player of the Tournament.

Gill made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy, batting one-down, and went on to make his first-class debut in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy against Bengal, where he batted as an opener to score his maiden half-century and stepped it up in just the next game with a maiden hundred against Services.

Gill won the BCCI award for the Best Junior Cricketer for consecutive years in 2013-14 and 2014-15, knocking hard on the doors of the U19 team. When picked, Gill starred in India's handsome 3-1 win at home over England in the Youth ODIs, scoring 351 runs in 4 innings and then went on to match up to his high standards in his first tour of England soon after. India whitewashed the hosts 5-0 and Gill top-scored again with 278 runs across 4 innings. His international debut wasn't as glamorous as his other exploits as he could only score a meagre 16 runs from 2 matches.

Gill's bottom-handed technique, made fashionably successful by Virat Kohli among many others, allowed him to play in a similar mould. He scored runs briskly, mixing quick singles and doubles with powerful hits across the ground, and stood out as much for his batting acumen as he did for his fielding prowess.

Bought by KKR in the IPL for an extravagant 1.8 crores, he has been pretty handy supporting their batting lineup and has scored 499 runs in 24 innings at a strike rate of 133. If he keeps going the way he is and realizes his potential - he could well be the top order batsman to flourish in the future.

#5 Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar - the bowler India needs.

Deepak Chahar is a young Rajasthani fast bowler who had the nation in awe with his bowling spells for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 12. A domestic regular for Rajasthan, he was once dismissed by Greg Chappell as a young fast bowler in the Rajasthan Cricket Academy. Chahar proved him wrong by taking 8 wickets on his first class debut to bowl out the Hyderabad team for the lowest total ever, of just 21 runs (Ranji Trophy 2010/11).

In list A cricket, he has taken an impressive 47 wickets in 31 games and has scored over 2000 runs at an astonishing average of 68.88. This made him a regular squad member in the IPL - first with Chennai Super Kings (2011-2015), then Rising Pune Supergiants (2016-2017) and then again Chennai Super Kings (2018 - currently). He didn't get much success initially but Dhoni's trust on him paid off in IPL 12 wherein he got 22 wickets from 17 matches as CSK finished as runners-up in the tournament.

In 2018, injury to Jasprit Bumrah meant that he was elevated to the t20 setup wherein he made his debut against England with largely forgettable figures of 1 wicket for 44 runs. He also made his ODI debut against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup where he returned with 1 wicket for 37 runs from his 4 overs. These two matches have been the only international exposure he has gotten until now. He's been named in the India A squad for the tour of the West Indies.

Although not an extremely fast bowler, Chahar can clock fairly impressive speeds, mostly between 135-140 kph and has the repertoire to be a good white-ball bowler. Apart from his pace bowling, he can also wield the long handle to produce cameos if required. All this makes him a good package and he'll be keen to have a breakthrough season sooner than later as he aims to make it into the national team setup on a permanent basis.