Cricket World Cup 2011 : The 15 chosen men for India

With the World Cup around the corner, attention now turns to the 15 who will be entrusted with the responsibility of bringing back the cup. There is still a long way to go before the squad is announced; the unnecessary formalities such as a 30 probable list with long forgotten names making the cut leading to endless debates on news channels as to whom among the 30 should make the final 15. But I feel Indian team has a settled look and the job of choosing the final 15 can be done right now except for a few contentious spots.The combination: 7 batsmen 7 bowlers and 1 keeper or 7 batsmen 1 keeper 6 bowlers and 1 all-rounder is the most important choice to start out with. There are 2 reasons why I feel it has to be the former rather than the latter.

1. India doesn’t have an all-rounder who fits the bill for Indian pitches. Yusuf Pathan is a proven performer in IPL but he hasn’t done enough to justify his selection for the big event. His batting has been patchy at best and his vulnerability against the short ball is well known and most captains will know his weakness and though it is not bouncy pitches we will be encountering here, his performance in the last IPL was much shoddier than the first one proving my point. Ravindra Jadeja is a much better bowler but the less said about his batting the better. So combination number 2 it is.

2. The easiest choice of all-wicket keeper-MSD and Captain

3. The 7 batsmen-most names pick themselves. Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir (back to his best in the current series), Raina (seems to have lost his touch a little but has a lot of expectations riding on his young shoulders), Yuvraj (not quite up to his imperious best but on his day can win a match single handedly. Provides the much needed strength in the middle order and much depends on him for India’s performance in the death overs. He can convert a 270 total into a 330 in a matter of few deliveries).

Now for the last 2 spots. Virat Kohli with his exceptional performance in the last 4 matches seems to have done enough to warrant a place in the final 15. The last spot could come down to a tossup between Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay. Given the makeup of the squad with 3 openers already, logic suggests it should be Sharma but Vijay seems to have impressed few higher-ups with this performances as and when required (whenever he has been called up he has delivered the goods). And the disciplinary issues which haunted Rohit’s exclusion from the team could come back to haunt him. Unless he does something exceptional in the remaining 2 ODI’s against New Zealand, it could the Chennai opener who finds his way to the 15.

4. Now to the 7 bowlers-Another choice to be made here. 4 pacers and 3 spinners or a 5-2 combination? Given India’s current team-makeup over the past few months, Dhoni has preferred a 3 pacer 1 spinner combination in almost every match and relied on part-timers for the 5th bowling option. Driven by the same logic, I would opt for a 5-2 combination.

Here again few names pick themselves. Zaheer, Praveen and Harbhajan. All 3 are a sure shot presence. The other spinner is an extremely difficult choice to make, given that both Ojha and Ashwin have impressed in the chances given to them and Harbhajan is going to be playing every match unless he isn’t fit or it’s a rank turner, the one to miss out has a right to feel extremely unlucky. I would opt for Ashwin as he seems to have that wicket taking ability and is a slightly better batsman, though it is yet to be tested at an international level. Dhoni’s tactics in CSK employing him as an option in the Powerplays suggest that he could edge out the unlucky Ojha.

Now for the pacers. Nehra has been extremely consistent since his comeback both fitness wise and performance wise. The choice for the 4th pacer is a tussle between Munaf, Sreesanth and Ishant. Munaf is the most economical of all but isn’t much of a wicket taker. And his attitude has been called into question by most experts. In the current series his performances have been excellent with not many on field mistakes. Sreesanth is the most attacking of the three but his economy rate is extremely poor and on Indian pitches which are bound to favor the batsmen, his lack of control is a great disadvantage. Ishant seems to be a bit of both but has been troubled by lack of control in the recent past. Test matches are a different ball game but when it comes to ODI’s he still does have a lot to prove on batsmen friendly wickets where Munaf with his control seems to be a much better option. Munaf’s attitude seems to have undergone a change (I know many will disagree with me on this but everyone is entitled to his/her personal opinion) and he would be my choice for the 4th pacer. Many would be wondering why I haven’t talked about another pacer here.This is where I feel the selectors could take a slight risk. India lack an all rounder but the closest India got to one was Irfan Pathan. Even now I feel Irfan could perform the role of the 5th bowler in the middle overs with the keeper up to the stumps bowling wicket to wicket. His batting skills were never in the question, and his lack of swing and pace could be overcome by the keeper up to the stumps and allowing him to operate in the middle overs. That said, this is my personal opinion and I don’t believe Dhoni has any such plans in his mind to recall the younger Pathan. What will happen is that the elder Pathan could make his way to the squad (logically this makes sense as on Indian tracks an extra spinning option would be a better bet. Just that Yusuf hasn’t done anything to justify this selection. So too Irfan and so let’s trust Dhoni on this)

So the final 15:

M.S.Dhoni (C ), Virender Sehwag (VC ), God (couldn’t resist this ? ), Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, R. Ashwin, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan

Let the discussions begin.