5 Reasons Why India will be a major title contender at the 2019 ICC World Cup 

The 2019 ICC World Cup to be held in England is just six months away and the top ODI teams are fine-tuning their sides to get the ideal balance for the showpiece event. The eight teams which have made the cut for the premier event are leaving no stone unturned to head into the tournament in good form.

India has undoubtedly been one of the dominant sides in ODI cricket over the last decade. The ‘Men in Blue’ have been held in good stead under the astute captaincy of MS Dhoni and presently under the aggressive leadership of Virat Kohli.

The Indian team has been blessed with a galaxy of world-class cricketers who have donned their role to perfection.

The Kohli brigade is one of the most well-rounded teams in ODI cricket with depth in both batting and bowling. With the retirement of legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, a new era dawned upon Indian cricket and the next crop took over the mantle to make the team a formidable force in ODIs.

India has been the most consistent side in one day cricket since 2010 with an impressive win percentage of over 62.

The South Asian giants were ranked the Number One ODI team for three months from February to May 2018 before England dethroned them from the top of the table.

So going by their recent credentials in white ball cricket, India shall surely go in as one of the pre-tournament favorites to win the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Here are the five major reasons why India shall be a hot favourite to win the 2019 ICC World Cup at England

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#1 Impressive record at major ICC events in the last decade

The Dhoni-led Indian team went onto win the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy by beating hosts England

India’s record at major ICC events in the past decade has been phenomenal. The sub-continent giants became World Champions for the second time after beating Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup grand finale at Wankhede in Mumbai.

The Dhoni-led Indian team went onto win the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy by beating hosts England in the title clash at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The Indians had yet another good showing when they reached the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

India booked a place in the finals of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, only to end up as the losing finalist to arch-rivals Pakistan.

Given their impressive track record in their last outings at major events, India would surely fancy their chances of adding another glittering trophy by winning the upcoming World Cup in England.

#2 Dependable opening pair in Dhawan and Rohit

Indian ODI Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan haven’t let India feel the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order.

In the last five odd ODI seasons, Rohit and Shikhar have been really consistent for India providing the team with ideal starts and setting up a solid platform for the middle order to build on.

Rohit has shown his pedigree to score mammoth double hundreds and ‘Gabbar’ always steps up his game at major tournaments. Both Dhawan and Sharma enjoy the ball coming onto the bat and have runs behind their back in English conditions

The Rohit-Shikhar combination is at par with the best ODI opening pairs like Amla-De Cock, Warner-Finch and Hales-Roy.

The pair has racked up quite a few ODI century partnerships in the last five years. With the ball swinging in English conditions, India also has the luxury of moving Ajinkya Rahane up the order and getting him to negotiate the new ball.

#3 India's skipper Virat Kohli spearheads a compact middle order

Kohli’s breathtaking consistency at scoring match-winning tons and chasing down herculean totals puts him in a league of his own

The Indian middle order is spearheaded by skipper Virat Kohli, who is hailed as arguably the best ODI player in the planet at the moment.

Kohli’s breathtaking consistency at scoring match-winning tons and chasing down herculean totals puts him in a league of his own.

The 'Master of chases' and the prolific century-maker holds the innings together with the technically sound Ajinkya Rahane and the free-flowing Manish Pandey.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul’s elegant stroke play is pleasing to the eye and his stellar run in the 2018 IPL season has done his confidence a world of a good.

Hard hitting batsmen Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni have a proven track record at finishing games so they have their task cut to close out games with their lusty hitting.

Dhoni's presence in the middle order shall surely be a calming influence for the team in tight games or pressure situations.

Meanwhile, Kedhar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik have fared quite well in domestic cricket to push for a strong case for selection. India does bat deep and the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja are certainly capable of producing some quickfire cameos with the willow.

#4 Spin heavy bowling unit

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

At the turn of the decade, Ashwin and Jadeja took over as the spin twins from Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh and cast a web around top batting line-ups on spin-friendly sub-continent conditions.

While Ashwin-Jadeja pair proved their mantle with the spin magic in ODI cricket, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal seem to be the flavour of the season with their string of match-winning spells in ODIs.

The Yadav- Chahal duo has been such an integral part of India's winning campaign in ODIs that seasoned campaigner like Ravichandran Ashwin has been left to the realms of Tests.

Meanwhile all-rounder Axar Patel has done a decent job in ODIs as a support spinner whenever he has made the playing eleven. India has a lot of variety in their spin attack and hence the skipper Virat Kohli seems to be spoilt for choices.

#5 Lethal pace attack

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have formed a deadly new ball pair which makes regular inroads into the opposition by picking up early wickets

The Indian ODI team which for a very long time weren’t considered a strong fast bowling unit have proved many critics wrong with immense firepower in their pace bowling arsenal.

The Indian side has one of the most lethal seam attacks in ODI cricket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have formed a deadly new ball pair which makes regular inroads into the opposition by picking up early wickets.

Both Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have the ability to swing the ball like a banana in seam-friendly conditions. The pace twins are equally menacing at the death overs with their skill at bowling the yorker at will.

The Indian pace attack has a speed merchant in Umesh Yadav who can wreak havoc with his genuine pace.

Mohammad Shami rounds off the pace attack with his ability to make the ball seam both ways. The emergence of Siddharth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur provide the team with the depth in the seam bowling.

In a nutshell, India will have options aplenty in their seam attack as they build up for the 2019 ICC World Cup.