Aishani expects Dinesh Karthik to get into India's World Cup squad

Besides the fact that he brings in years of experience with him, Dinesh Karthik has also done well recently to earn himself a second look for the squad.

Dinesh Karthik is a good second choice for a wicketkeeper-batsman for India at the World Cup.

It is safe to say that at this stage of the run-up to the World Cup, the team has pretty much picked itself.

The first three positions are more or less fixed - with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan as the opening pair and Virat Kohli batting at three.

I would rather see MS Dhoni come in at number four and take his time to settle in and contribute than relegate him to just being a finisher for tight matches. It is his time to be the explosive batsman he is and the team should allow that.

However, if the number four spot is open to other contenders, then I’d go with Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav or Rishabh Pant as my options. Besides the fact that he brings in years of experience with him, Dinesh Karthik has also done well recently to earn himself a second look for the squad. Take the Nidahas trophy for instance. Karthik has shown that he can rotate strike well and fill in as a finisher too. We probably shouldn’t be expecting anyone to match Dhoni’s wizardry behind the stumps, but he is a good second choice for a wicketkeeper-batsman for our side. Ambati Rayudu has started to find form in the IPL and with a strike rate of 79, he could be valuable to the Indian middle order.

Rishab Pant is an explosive player but lacks experience and consistency. I wonder if Kohli could experiment with him by making him open.

Kedar Jadhav trumps the others with his ability to hit the big shots, pick up wickets and be economical with the ball.

Another all-rounder I am interested in is Vijay Shankar but somehow my go-to would be Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya. Jadeja’s wicket-taking and fielding prowess are big pluses. Pandya works well in crunch situations and is capable of clearing the ropes when the scoreboard demands it. These players will offer some balance to the team with specialists on either end of the spectrum.

Our bowling line-up is probably the only thing one can be sure of ahead of the squad announcement. Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami have a good spin-seam-pace balance between them. With the temperamental English conditions and the dry pitches, they could give our bowling arsenal an edge.