World Cup 2019: 3 underrated players who could help India lift the trophy

The biggest cricketing event of the year, 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup is here and the top 10 cricketing nations are geared up to take on each other over the next two months. This edition of the World Cup will be different from its previous editions as it will be a 10-team tournament with all the teams playing each other and ultimately the top four making it to the semi-finals.

Team India along with England are two of the favorites to win the World Cup as these two nations have formidable squads going into the tournament. As far as the Indian team is concerned, their squad is looking well balanced in almost all the departments. However, they will be widely dependent on their top-order batsman - Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. While Jasprit Bumrah and spin twins - Kuldeep and Chahal are key for them in the bowling department.

However, there are also some underrated players in the squad who could help the Indian team lift the Cup. These players have always been a consistent performer for the team but have never got the limelight they deserved. So here, we will take a look at three such players who could help team India win the World Cup.

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#3 Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav

The attacking middle-order batsman, Kedar Jadhav has delivered consistent performance for the Indian team for the last couple of years. Jadhav, who is considered as a batsman by trade has also performed well with the ball as a part-time bowler. His ability to score quick runs and to pick up wickets at crucial moments makes him a very useful player for any team.

In his ODI career, the 34-year-old has scored 1174 runs at an impressive average of 43.48 and an excellent strike rate of 102.53. While bowling, he has picked 27 wickets from 36 innings. Despite his impressive showing in ODI cricket, he has never got the appreciation he deserves.

Considering his destructive batting and tight bowling in the middle overs, he could prove to be a great asset in Virat Kohli's side aim to lift the trophy.

#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul

The stylish opening batsman from Karnataka, KL Rahul is currently one of the most talented players in the Indian cricket fraternity. Rahul is in the list of very few Indian batsmen to have scored a century in all three formats. The 27-year-old has been very underrated as an ODI player as he has not got enough opportunities to showcase his talent in the format.

Rahul is in tremendous form at the moment as he had an amazing IPL 2019 and he also scored a century in the warm-up game against Bangladesh while batting at number four. With that, he has almost cemented his place as the number four batsman in the team. The right-hander could prove to be a match-winner for the Indian team at the World Cup if he could carry on his form in the tournament.

It will be fascinating to watch if Rahul will be able to utilize the opportunity at number four in the tournament.

#1 Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja

The experienced spin-bowling all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja has been very successful for the team with both bat and ball across all three formats. Despite his consistent performance, he never got due credit.

Jadeja was a regular part of the Indian ODI side till 2017. But with the arrival of wrist spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to the Indian side, he got dropped from the squad despite some decent performances. After being away from the ODIs for more than a year, Jadeja made his comeback to the ODI side at the 2018 Asia Cup and has been a part of the team since then.

The 30-year-old is also a part of the Indian team for the this year's World Cup but it will be interesting to see in how many matches he will be able to make it to the playing eleven. With Kuldeep almost certain to play as the frontline spinner in the tournament, there will be a toss-up between Jadeja and Chahal for the second spinner's spot.

Jadeja's wicket-taking ability might not be as good as Chahal but his batting and exceptional fielding give him an edge over the wrist spinner. Other than this, he has also performed well on the English pitches in the past as he has taken 27 wickets from 17 matches in England and Wales.

Considering his bowling experience and quick-fire batting lower down the order, he could help the Indian team lift the trophy for the third time with his all-round brilliance.