People who would have put their heads together to come up with their own Squad for the forthcoming world cup, would have got most of their predictions spot on, as close to 11 players pick themselves for the squad. Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Raina, Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, R Ashwin, Nehra and Kohli should have been in the minds of Indian fans, as these guys had a fantastic 2010.
Gambhir and Kohli in particular, showed tremendous consistency in 2010 and undoubtedly these two lead the batting team hands down. Yuvraj is picked, taking into consideration his vast ODI experience. He could be considered for Dhoni, as what Bevan was for Steve Waugh. Raina and Dhoni are middle order for us, especially during the crucial run chases that India would face in world cup 2011. Their on-field and off-field partnership would go a long way in successfully chasing our dream. Sehwag and Sachin would ensure that we always have a steady start for late onslaught, be it setting the target or chasing down one.
Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan, Ashwin were sure picks in the minds of people too, as these are the front line bowlers in the squad. Ashwin's performance at IPL has earned him a place as frontline spinner along with Bhajji. His run-containing abilities and wicket-taking abilities were for everyone to see during the IPL. During the Newzealand ODI series too, he was consistent. He sure would have learned lot of tricks of Offspin bowling, having shared the dressing room with Muthaiah Muralidharan during IPL. Ofcourse Bhajji could be considered as a Bowling all rounder.
I am not sure as to who was pipped out due to Yusuf pathan's inclusion. Is it Rohit Sharma or Ravindra Jadeja ? I feel Rohit Sharma could not be fitted in the squad as impact of Yusuf would be more for the opponents than a Rohit Sharma. I guess Piyush Chawla sidekicked Ravindra Jadeja out. Both turn the ball away from a right hand batsmen and during the grooming phase, both did not shine too much with the bat. Piyush Chawla's heroics in two finals against aussies in 2008 commonwealth bank series in Australia comes to our mind now. Rohit Sharma and Jadeja would be very upset, knowing that they are not part of the squad.
Ishant and Sreesanth, frontline bowlers in the Indian test side, would be shattered having missed the bus. Sreesanth always hits the negative side of thought process, cause he never projected that he is maturing in international cricket. He does pick wickets, but then Praveen kumar silently sneaked into the squad for his street smartness. Ishant is raw and erratic, but then Munaf is a wicket taker and his man of the match performance against RSA in last ODI in South africa only ensured that he is in form and can be considered as third seamer along with Praveen in playing eleven, after Zaheer and Nehra.
Question pops up in our minds whether its a good mix of experience and youngsters ? In Batting department - Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni have prior world cup experience whereas Gambhir, Raina, Yusuf, Kohli play their first big cup and can be categorised as youngsters. In bowling department - Zaheer, Nehra, Bhajji are the three bowlers with prior world cup experience. Praveen, Munaf, Ashwin, Chawla can be proud of their place in the squad as they have truly earned it. '7 experienced and 8 youngsters' Truly selectors have injected young blood more.
I am more of a person who would put myself into Selector's shoes as to convince people who raise questions. Having said that, I am not able to understand why there is no back-up wicket keeper at all in the side. Would Robin Uthappa have answered that question. I can only think of him instead of Piyush Chawla. But subcontinent conditions would have pushed the think tank to go in for three spinners. It does make sense that way. In the previous world cups, there was atleast another player, who could be a make-shift keeper.
Is our Indian squad an average fielding side or excellent fielding side ? Raina, Kohli, Yusuf and Piyush are exceptional on field. Yuvraj, Bhajji, Ashwin and Gambhir are good outfielders. Zaheer and Nehra has to be quick in the boundary lines. Munaf and Praveen kumar should not get lost once they complete the six balls of an over. Sachin and Sehwag are the seniors who need to be hidden in the field. Having said that, we would find these two inside the dressing room mostly when we bowl. We have the capacity to win matches solely by our fielding efforts. We may not be consistent there like Aussies or South africans, but then lets keep our fingers crossed.
Having made a thorough analysis of the squad, I wish somehow Rohit Sharma gets a RAC booking confirmed in the last minute. :-)
Regards,
Prashy.
P.S : Please read and post comments, which would encourage me to come up with more.
