The year 2019 will be of much greater importance in the books of Indian cricket. India will be starting 2019 with an ODI series against Australia. Post which, they will contest a T20I series and an ODI series against New Zealand before Australia’s tour of India in February. Thus, before the start of the 2019 World Cup, India will have some decent exposure to settle themselves with an improved playing combination.

Hence, India will be playing a decent number of matches in 2019. Thus, in this article, we will be looking at seven milestones that the Indian players are expected to achieve in the year 2019.

#1 Shikhar Dhawan approaching 5000 runs in ODI cricket

Shikhar Dhawan, the left-handed batsman from Delhi, is now a household name in Indian cricket, especially in the limited overs format. “Gabbar” has been India’s premier opener for past five years. Dhawan, along with Rohit Sharma, has worked wonders for India. Besides that, the Delhite has been the go-to man for India in many ICC tournaments. Having won the Golden Bat two times (Champions Trophy 2013 and 2017), Dhawan will undeniably be India’s one of the key players in 2019 World Cup.

Interestingly, Dhawan is just short of a milestone in ODI cricket. The left-handed veteran is a mere 65 runs away from the 5000-run mark in ODI cricket. Amassing these runs, Dhawan will become the 13th Indian to surpass the 5000-run mark. Besides, reaching the 5000-run mark in the next innings, he will become the fourth fastest player and second-fastest Indian to breach the 5000-run mark. The fastest Indian to score 5000 runs is Virat Kohli who did it in 114 innings. Moreover, the fastest player to reach 5000 ODI runs is Hashim Amla who has done it in 101 innings.

#2 MS Dhoni breaching the 10,000-run mark for India alone

MS Dhoni, India’s former captain, has been under severe criticism in the recent past for his inability to score runs. Although Dhoni hasn’t been at his best in recent times, he has been a worthy addition to the Indian team with his vital contributions behind the stumps. Moreover, he has also been a pilot to Kohli in certain crunch situations.

Recently, MS became the newly minted Indian to the 10000-run club in ODI cricket. He became the 4th Indian and 12th player overall to achieve the feat in ODI cricket. However, to very much our surprise, the Ranchi-born cricketer is yet again on the brink of the 10,000-run mark in ODI cricket. Interestingly, from the 10173 runs that MS has scored in international cricket, 174 have come for Asia-XI in a three-match series against Africa XI in 2007.

Hence, Dhoni is just one run short of scoring 10000 runs for India in ODI cricket. Thus, running one lane down the 22 yards, MS will become the fifth Indian to score 10000 or more runs for India in ODI cricket. Moreover, with Indian having already played its share of ODIs in 2018, Dhoni will be achieving the feat in 2019 only.

#3 Virat Kohli set to score 20,000 international runs

Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, has been on a record-breaking spree in the recent bubble of cricket. Arguably the best batsman at the moment, Kohli has been on altogether a different level when compared to his counterparts. With great deals of consistency, Kohli recently crossed the five-figure mark in ODI cricket making him the fastest batsman to amass 10000 runs in ODI cricket.

2019 will unquestionably bring a massive milestone for Virat Kohli in international cricket. With 18665 international runs to his name, Kohli will be waiting to cross the 20000-run mark in 2019. Although Kohli is 1335 runs away from the milestone, the feat looks very much achievable owing to two significant factors - 1) Virat Kohli and 2) India will be playing as many as three T20Is and four Tests in 2018.

Scoring these runs, the Delhite will become the only third Indian and twelfth player overall to achieve the golden feat. Besides that, scoring these runs in next 62 innings, Virat will become the fastest-ever player to breach the 20000-run mark in international cricket.

#4 Virat Kohli close to hitting 1000 fours in ODI cricket

The milestone of 20,000 international runs is not the only thing that Virat Kohli is expected to achieve in 2019. Kohli has also hit 962 fours in ODI cricket. Thus, he is just 38 hits away from scoring 1000 fours in ODI cricket. Hitting these fours, Kohli will become the only fourth Indian and twelfth player overall to achieve the milestone.

#5 Mohammed Shami set to become fastest Indian to take 100 ODI wickets

Mohammed Shami, a fiery pacer from Bengal, happens to be one of the preferred bowlers for India, especially in the longer formats. Shami has been quite unlucky as he has been in and out of the Indian team when it comes to limited overs cricket. With the advent of Jasprit Bumrah, the Bengal pacer seemed to have lost his foot in ODI and T20I cricket. Nonetheless, in the recent past, Shami has shown some signs of a comeback with some brilliant performances.

Alongside his teammates, Shami is also on the brink of a milestone in ODI cricket. He is just six wickets short of the three-figure mark in ODI cricket. Besides that, he is also in the contention for becoming the fastest Indian to clinch 100 ODI wickets. Thus, scalping six wickets in the coming seven innings, Shami will become the fastest-ever Indian to achieve the feat of 100 ODI wickets.

The only thing that limits his chances is the lack of game time in limited overs cricket for Shami. However, if Shami gets some games in the coming year, the milestone seems approachable for him in 2019.

#6 Virat Kohli cruising to 50 ODI fifties

Another feather that Kohli can add to his cap of milestones is the feat of 50 fifties in ODI cricket. Virat Kohli has scored 38 ODI centuries and 48 ODI fifties. Scoring two more fifties, he will become the only seventh Indian to score 50 or more ODI fifties.

The other six Indians to feature in the list are Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Yuvraj Singh. Thus, with two fifties to score, this happens to be an achievable milestone for Kohli in 2019.

#7 Bhuvneshwar Kumar running towards 100 ODI wickets

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India’s experienced campaigner, has been a regular name in India’s scheme of things in all the formats. Moreover, Bhuvnehwar will unquestionably be India’s frontline seamer in the upcoming quadrennial event in 2019. Going into 2019, Kumar will also be on the verge of a milestone in ODI cricket.

Bhuvneshwar is just one wicket short of achieving the feat of 100 ODI wickets. Scalping this wicket, he will become the 19th Indian (if he does it before Shami) to take 100 or more ODI wickets. Having played 95 ODI games, Kumar has taken 99 wickets at an average of 38.22, strike-rate of 45.98, and an economy of 4.99.

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