Playing in the 50-over World Cup is a dream for any cricketer. When a player starts to play the game, one of the ultimate objectives is to feature in the competition. However, a nation can only send 15 cricketers and the event happens once in four long years. Some players miss out on the opportunity but later have got chance as a replacement player. On that note, in this article, we take a look at four Indians who got selected as replacement players in the recent 50-over World Cups.
In India, getting into the squad is extremely difficult. To play at the World Cup is a massive challenge and a few players have got a chance after initially getting sidelined. We take a look at four such cricketers in this piece.
1) S Sreesanth – Praveen Kumar (2011 World Cup)
S Sreesanth is one of the Indians who got selected as replacement players in the recent 50-over World Cups. The Kerala pacer was important in India winning the 2007 T20 World Cup. Since then, he had been in and around the Indian Team but after some time, he lost his place. Praveen Kumar had gotten a chance to play in the event but he had to miss out due to an elbow injury. S Sreesanth was named as the replacement. The player even played in the finals and became part of the history books.
2) Mohit Sharma – Ishant Sharma (2015 World Cup)
After his terrific stint in IPL, Mohit Sharma was drafted into Team India. Soon, after doing well in the shorter format, the player was given a chance in the ODI’s, as well. Although the initial plan was to take Ishant Sharma to the World Cup in Australia, after his injury, Mohit replaced him. He was part of the pace attack that also comprised Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
3) Rishabh Pant – Shikhar Dhawan (2019 World Cup)
Rishabh Pant is also one of the Indians who got selected as replacement players in the recent 50-over World Cups. Many experts wanted Pant to be included in the squad for the mega event. However, that was not possible. However, after Shikhar Dhawan injured himself, Pant came in as the replacement. The player even featured in the semi-final loss against New Zealand. For the upcoming World Cup in India, Pant will play a crucial role.
4) Mayank Agarwal – Vijay Shankar (2019 World Cup)
Vijay Shankar was a surprise inclusion for the 2019 World Cup squad. He had put up a few impressive displays and hence had got the ticket to England. However, an injury in the nets forced him to leave the tournament. The selectors picked Mayank Agarwal as his replacement. The player has not played too many ODIs since then. It needs to be seen if he would get any chances soon.
