The Indian World Cup Squad

Yes, this is a customary post on the Indian word cup squad announcement, albeit a tad late. Just because I have nothing better to do today. As most cricket observers know, cricket has 3 main departments - batting, bowling and fielding. So let's approach India's strengths and weeknesses in these 3 areas.

Batting: I think we're at a really good place as far as the batting is concerned. As it happens with every world cup in recent memory, Sachin comes roaring back to form on the biggest stage. And this probably being his last cup, I really think this tournament is going to belong to him. Add to that good ol' Saurav who's never been in better form. I almost wrote him off with a eulogy a while ago. But to my credit, I did say that with dada, you never know what's around the corner. Rahul was struggling a bit but seems to have found some form. The same goes for Yuvraj returning after an injury. I happened to watch the Chennai innings of Robin Uthappa, and I have to confess that it was some of the cleanest hitting I've seen in recent times. The bloke is just explosive, and I would love to see a few more cameos from him in the world cup. Dhoni has added an element of solidity to his otherwise 'meri maa ki kasam... teri koon pee jaunga' kind of hitting. Dinesh Karthik is one of my favorite batsman on the team now. Not because he's from Chennai, but because he has consistently come through everytime the team has asked questions of him or threw him a challenge. He's very composed and has all the shots, and by all accounts he's a tiger on the field. The only unpredictable person on the list is Sehwag. I wasn't very thrilled when he was picked up for the cup, but I guess it was always on the cards with his reputation. I would rather see Robin and Ganguly open, with Sehwag in the middle. All in all, the batting looks healthy, full of experience and variety and very much in form.

Bowling: With Zaheer Khan roaring back to form, Agarkar's wicket-taking ability and the metronomic Munaf Patel keeping it consistent, the fast bowling seems to be in safe hands. However, none of these bowlers seem to have the ability to run through a line-up, say like the Lankan slinger Lasith Malinga. But atleast we have a trio of solid performers who are without injuries and therapies. Irfan Pathan would have brought tremendous balance to the team in form, but I still think he could prove useful if he can complete 5-6 overs of tidy medium pace and some explosive hitting at the top. Sreesanth has yet to prove his one-day mettle and might not get to play too much unless one of the front-line bowlers get injured. The spin department is manned by thr old warhorses Harbhajan and Kumble. And unless Harbhajan starts leaking runs, I don't think Kumble will get a chance to tweak anything but door knobs. We have some decent part-time options like Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj and ofcourse Ganguly. The bowling looks okay, but can leak runs on an offday.

Fielding: This is probably what's gonna bring us down in the World cup. Imagine a field with 'misfield' Munaf manning long leg, an overweight Sehwag at cover and aging legs like Sachin, Saurav and Rahul around the outfield. I guess you would agree with me when I say that not many teams are going to lose sleep worrying about where they are going to get their singles against India. To their credit, Sachin still has a powerful throw, Rahul is a great slip fielder, and Saurav has come back fitter and faster. We have a few good specimens like Yuvraj, Uthappa and Karthik, and we need to make sure these guys are used well. And behind the wickets, Dhoni is safe though unspectacular. All said and done, we probably have the oldest and worst fielding outfit of all the big teams in the Cup. And when Rahul says our batting and bowling have to make up the few extra runs lost in our fielding, it sends shivers through my spine. A good fielding outfit can not only save runs, but can build up pressure to provide wickets and breakthroughs. This is what we would miss with the exclusion of men like Kaif and Raina.

Probable 11: Ganguly, Uthappa, Sehwag/Pathan/Karthik, Sachin, Yuvraj, Dravid, Dhoni, Agarkar, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Munaf.

As you can see, most of the team selects itself. The only thing up for conjecture is who among Sehwag/Pathan/Karthik will be played on a more regular basis. But I guess this might change with opposition/pitch/form etc. With West Indian pitches expected to be a bit slow and sluggish, one specialist spinner is usually required. But it would be interesting if Sehwag and Pathan are both picked at the expense of Harbhajan and Karthik.

Bottomline: We have a good team. Not a team exploding with brilliance, but a team that has finally taken shape, has come together and is quietly confident of success. Though New Zeland and England are on a high with recent successes against the Aussies, I don't think they have the ability to really challenge the big players in the sort of slow pitches we're likely to encounter in WI. We have the ammunition to counter them. The Aussies are perennial favorites, even more so now that their pride is hurt and people have started writing them off. The Lankans and the Windies promise to be the dark horses of the tournament. And I'm still waiting to see of the Pakistanis can actually send 11 fit players who are also not potheads. The South Africans seem to be the favorites at the moment what with their new #1 ranking, a 'back from the dead' Pollock and a seemingly endless supply of allrounders. My predictions for a semifinal spot would be SA, Australia, India and SL/WI. Ofcourse, I could be way off base. This promises to be the most competitive world cup in years with a lot of solid teams and contenders. Its gonna be one helluva ride! So let the games begin...