IPL 2019: 5 players who could be a surprise entry into the World Cup squad

#1 Ajinkya Rahane

Australia v India - Game 3

If anyone ever makes a list of the most underrated cricketers in Indian cricket, then Ajinkya Rahane will definitely be in the top three. Rahane is a superb player of pace and spin and he has been doing it for the team in Test cricket for years now.

Ajinkya is primarily an opener in the limited-overs cricket and has batted most of the times in that position for Team India but over the years we have seen him bat comfortably at other positions also. In 87 matches that he has played so far, he has scored 2962 runs at an average of 35.26. He also averages almost the same batting at No. 4.

The conditions in England will be seamer friendly and given the record of Rahane in England it looks like a possibility of him being selected in the squad. He averaged 38.89 in the 9 ODIs that he has played in England. He has coped with the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad previously in those conditions, so his selection in the team will provide more security against the seam attack.

But to get selected in the team, Ajinkya Rahane has to do exceptionally well in the IPL 2019. In his absence in the ODIs, the likes of KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik and even Rishabh Pant seem to have won the trust of the selectors. So Rahane needs to outclass all of them in this IPL to book a ticket to England for the World Cup.