Team India World Cup 2011: Piyush Chawla over Pragyan Ojha?

In the picture but out of the team: Rohit Sharma and Pragyan Ojha

The team selection for the World Cup 2011 was completed today and the selection committee has come up with a 15 member squad with 4 man pace attack, three spinners and no spare wicket keeper. Chairman of selectors K.Srikanth has called it the best possible team for the cup considering that we will play in the subcontinent.

The squad looks balanced overall with Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir at the top. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh making the bulk of the middle order. In the lower middle order, you can expect to see Yusuf Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The pace battery looks a bit depleted perhaps with only 4 options. Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan. Another point of controversy maybe the inclusion of three spinners in the team. Relatively ill-experienced R.Ashwin will most probably be second in command to Harbhajan Singh. In addition to these two, Piyush Chawla, the leg spinner who has played some games for India in the past, has been picked as a surprise.

Piyush Chawla – On cloud 9

This bothers me the most. First of all, there seems to be no requirement for a third spinner in a team that boasts of quality part-timers such as Sehwag and Yuvraj. To be fair, they have a decent bowling record and are very much capable of pitching in the necessary ten overs. Moreover, there is Yusuf Pathan who has been picked in the capacity of a genuine all-rounder. What is his role to be if we will play two full time spinners?

Besides this issue, there is an issue of policy in the team selection. Piyush Chawla’s selection has no other ground other than the general conception of a leg-spinner as a wicket taking bowler. If his domestic performance has been considered then it is a very vulnerable decision since any player needs to be proven on the International stage before packing his bags for a stage as big as the World Cup.

On the other hand, Pragyan Ojha has been sidelined completely. This left arm spinner who has been so consistent in the past agaisnt quality opposition is in many ways a tried and tested option. Pragyan Ojha adds much more to the table with his versatility being a left arm spinner complementing Harbhajan on the other end. Pragyan Ojha has played more matches than Ashwin with success and a couple of match winning performances including a four wicket haul. He has an economy rate that is much better than Ashwin’s at 4.31.

Even if R. Ashwin was preffered over Ojha for some reason, it is acceptable to an extent; since Ashwin can contribute a bit with the bat and is a full-time spinner. But the selection of Piyush Chawla over Ojha as the third spinner is appaling. Chawla has not played international cricket for quite a while now.

Munaf Patel secured his place with a fine spell of bowling in the last game against SA

Another key omission form the team is that of Rohit Sharma. Among other youngsters like Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, only Sharma has been unable to convince the selectors of his potential. Though I strongly feel that this will be falsified very soon in the future as Sharma is a much more technically sound batsman than the two. His omission however is acceptable for his inability to convert potential into runs. His time will come.

The media meanwhile has gone on to sing Sreesanth’s case. It is only appropriate that he has been kept out. The boy does not have the mentality as well as the weaponry required for the shorter format of the game. Ishant Sharma’s exclusion is more surprising to me than his. May be we could have kept an extra bowler in the team insted of a third spinner.

In case the team wanted a spare keeper and not a third spinner my choice would have been to either go for Rohit Sharma (who can keep as well) or to pick Dinesh Kartchick ahead of Parthiv Patel. Though Parthiv Patel is a talented batsman but he must play in the top order which is too full even for consideration. Dinesh Kartchick is a much better finisher and collector of runs than him in the middle overs of the game.

All the decision have however been made and all mulling over the past is useless. One can hope that the Chairman of Selectors is correct and this lot will do their best for India.