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In India, cricket is not a game, it is a religion, something very integral and natural to Indian culture. Children start playing with the bat and ball from a very young age, often running away from schools and colleges and playing cricket by bunking classes. It seems to have become a way of expressing ourselves, just the way Football is in Europe and South America.
Apart from being plenty of positives to take from that, there are several negatives aspects that one cannot ignore. The most major one being that, since there are millions of ardent cricket followers and lovers, there are plenty who are passionate enough to give it a shot.
These people take to Professional Cricket, but very few, in fact, a negligible percentage of them are actually able to make it even average, let alone making it big.
The likes of Amol Mazumdar, Wasim Jaffer, Ranadeb Bose and Yere Goud, among others, did not get opportunities to actually show their true potential. Many may blame the eras in which they played, as India never had any dearth of talent, with new and more impressive cricketers coming up in each generation.
These players who could either never play in the Indian jersey or could not do much in the very few games they got to play, might have also proven to be extremely effective and impressive if made to perform together. They might have even performed equally well, or just minutely worse, vis-a-vis their National team counterparts.
There are many such players today as well, who have shown immense potential and great temperament, but unfortunately, have not been part of the regular Indian team.
Let us look at one such playing XI that could give good competition to the current National side in ODI Cricket.
#1 Ajinkya Rahane (C)
Rahane was once India's go-to man for building partnerships, playing the anchoring role in the middle order and also smashing a few shots here and there in the latter part of his innings.
He was India's premier number 4 batsman in the 2015 ICC World Cup and had made that position his own. However, he could not justify his occupation of the spot for long, and soon found himself struggling to get into the playing XIs.
In spite of all odds, Rahane has made several comebacks to the National side post the 2015 World Cup, sometimes as an opener and sometimes as a number 4, and this ability of his to bounce back after lows in his career is what makes him a strong contender.
He has shown his excellent captaincy skills in limited overs matches in Zimbabwe and also in the longer format of the game. Having ample International experience and a calm and composed mind, he is the best choice for captaining the side.
#2 Ishan Kishan
The young boy from Jharkhand never made the Indian public or the selectors or any former cricketer speak very highly of him, then why should one consider him for representing a side equivalent to the National side? Because he is immensely talented, because he has shown tremendous improvement in a very very short period of time.
Initially noticed while opening alongside the lustrous and seemingly prodigious Rishabh Pant, Ishan was seen as an orthodox traditional-era type Batsman, who would play grounded and never tend to hit aerial and modern-day cricketing shots.
One would not have expected to see him play for any of the IPL franchises in the near future from then, let alone the Indian Senior Team, but he got picked by Gujarat Lions in the 2016 Season of the IPL. Again, nobody expected him to play, given that Gujarat had quality openers such as Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, but again, he was given opportunities to bat at number 6. He had a forgettable season with just 42 runs in 5 matches, scored at an Average of 8.4 runs and a Strike Rate of 102.4. It was clearly not the then 17-year-old's cup of tea. Then comes the IPL 2017 and as always, oppositions look to go hard at the 18-year-old Ishan Kishan, who did not surrender this time, scoring 277 runs in 11 matches, averaging 27.7 and striking the ball at 134.46 runs per 100 balls.
Kishan announced himself as a future star when he smashed 39 runs off just 16 balls against RCB, getting Virat Kohli on his nerves and a 61* off 40 balls against Mumbai Indians.
In IPL 2018, Ishan Kishan has batted for Mumbai Indians at the most important spot of number 3 and scored 275 runs with a staggering Strike Rate of 149.45. He has now proven that he is no less than Rishabh Pant, having scored 62 off 21 balls against KKR this year and also played responsibly throughout the season, doing complete justice to his number 3 spot.
#3 Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer has been around for a while now and has also been knocking the National Team's doors for quite some time. He has been impressive in the IPL and the domestic circuit and has also shown great capability while playing for India against Sri Lanka, where he replaced Virat Kohli and took his number 3 spot.
He has broadened his horizon as a batsman this year, as he captained his side fairly well and also maintained above average personal performances, batting the way the team needed in every situation. He can be a very promising number 3, if persisted with.
#4 Ambati Rayudu
One cannot find words to describe the extraordinary way in which Ambati Rayudu has batted this IPL. Firstly, getting picked by a side that has a huge reputation to live up to, Secondly, not being sure whether he will get to be part of the playing XIs or not, Thirdly, to come out of the shadow of Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and do what he is good at.
Those are a lot of problems to deal with, at the beginning of the season. The Hyderabadi Batsman had other plans though, getting an opportunity to open the batting, Rayudu took it with open arms and did exceedingly well, eventually making Murali Vijay sit out throughout the season.
Rayudu ended up as CSK's highest run scorer, scoring a career-best 602 runs in the season, at a career-best Strike Rate of 149.75 and at a career-best average of 43. It was a shock to see him getting dropped from the limited overs team against England due to fitness issues and it stirred some controversy too. Nevertheless, Rayudu is a gem for Indian Cricket at the moment and must be used well by the team, looking towards the 2019 World Cup.
#5 Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa has been around for a very very long time - he made his ODI debut in 2006 and was part of the inaugural ICC World T20 2007 squad. He had been known as the walking assassin of the Indian team, who used to just walk in at number 6 or 7 and hammer the bowlers black and blue, but then came the phase when he lost his form. It became very serious as his worth as a batsman kept deteriorating with time, and he even considered quitting the game for good, as told by him.
He has proved to be a remarkable team player, who has always kept his team above his personal self, as one may see in the match against Sri Lanka, when Rohit Sharma scored 264, it was Uthappa who took a single and gave the strike to the big man every time, even though he was himself capable of smashing the ball out of the park.
He reconstructed his own batting style and has turned into this calm and elegant opener, who can play long innings and also smash the ball when required. That required courage and IPL 2014 was a revelation for all spectators and fans, as Uthappa announced his grand comeback to the list of star players and played a massive role in KKR's title win while opening the innings with captain Gautam Gambhir.
The sad part though is that, with all the youngsters such as Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan coming in, there is a long list of reserves for the Indian limited overs side. The unfortunate and most probable outcome is that Uthappa would never be able to play for India again.
#6 Rishabh Pant
Much has been said about this young batting powerhouse, but it never seems enough. When Rishabh Pant plays a big innings, one just cannot look away from his/her television set. He has always been a big hitter of the cricket ball, predominantly strong on the leg side and always looking out for big shots.
In the recently concluded IPL, he announced himself as a complete batsman, who could bat up the order and bat as per the situation. He played a lot of nicely paced innings, unlike his previous style of going against the bowlers from the onset.
Also, he has added a wide array of shots to his repertoire. He can now be called a complete batsman, who is ready for a national call-up. He is also probably the best possible replacement for MS Dhoni in the long run, as he can keep wickets and also hit the ball really hard.
It is unfortunate that he has not received an opportunity to play against England and neither is he expected to.
#7 Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya has proven himself time and again as a quality floater batsman and a genuine spin bowling all-rounder. Right since his IPL debut in 2016, Pandya senior has exhibited the ability to bat in the middle order and play big innings, as well as bat down the order and finish off games.
Not to forget that his left arm orthodox bowling can be lethal too and he has claimed the wickets of some of the best in the business, including the great AB de Villiers, who now seems to have become his bunny.
It will be exciting to see how he prepares ahead of the 2019 World Cup and if he does well enough, he could be seen as a genuine number 6 batsman for India, and that would also give India a genuine sixth bowling option.
#8 Axar Patel
The left arm slow orthodox bowler who made all the buzz in IPL 2014 with stringent lines and lengths, giving batsmen no room to hit. As a 20-year-old boy, Patel performed exceedingly well for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2014.
With 17 wickets to his name, Axar won the 'Emerging Player of the Tournament' Award and earned a spot in the national side. The unfortunate part of his career has been being part of India's World Cup squad for 2015 and yet, not getting a single game to play.
He had been the best replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, someone with a similar skill-set of bowling left-arm off-spin and finishing off the innings, but with the emergence of Hardik Pandya as the team's premier all-rounder and Kedar Jadhav as a good finisher who can also roll over his arms for some spin bowling, Axar's chances reduced dramatically.
As India have now overlooked the experienced pair of Ashwin-Jadeja and are keen to develop the fresh pair of Kuldeep-Chahal, only come out of the world performances from Axar Patel can do him any good. However, with age on his side, Axar still has lots of time to improve his batting abilities, as spin bowling is not something India will solely look to entertain.
#9 Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar has been a sensation, and more importantly, MS Dhoni's find of the season. With time, MS Dhoni has created some extraordinary talent, emanating from the Chennai Super Kings squads, be it Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay, Mohit Sharma or now Deepak Chahar.
Chahar has shown some exceptional skills of swinging the new ball and picking wickets early as well. CSK owes part of it's success to Deepak Chahar and Lungisani Ngidi, who have turned out to be fabulous T20 players. MS Dhoni has again proven his great knack of recognising potential and talent among the uncapped players.
From being a young boy who had been discouraged to play the game by Greg Chappell to the flamboyant swing bowler who can also smash the ball in the last overs, Deepak Chahar has come a long way and can do wonders if played for India regularly.
#10 Mohammed Shami
Amidst all kinds of personal issues, Mohammed Shami has made it to the Test squad and has also made a solid return to the National side, having missed out on International Cricket for a considerable period.
Shami has always been a very useful swing bowler for India who has taken wickets at crucial times. However, he has lost his spot in the side to the very deserving pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya coming in as the pace bowling all-rounder.
He may just not have any five-wicket hauls in ODIs, but with six four-wicket hauls, three of which have come in spin-friendly conditions of the Subcontinent, Shami can certainly prove to be dangerous and lethal with the new ball as well as the old ball, courtesy his ability to reverse swing the ball.
#11 Shardul Thakur
A predominantly out-swing bowler, Shardul has come a very very long way. From being a small town cricket aspirant to the best reserve pace bowler for India, Shardul has now created a niche for himself in the Indian domestic circuit.
He has claimed the wickets of several of the big names in Indian cricket and has risen to become the unassailable fast bowler he today is.
With age by his side and the need for a good fast bowling bench strength ahead of the 2019 World Cup, Shardul is a force to reckon.
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