5 Indian players to watch out for in 2015 World Cup

With the Cricket World Cup even less than a month away, the excitement around it is bordering pretty close to the word insane. Though AB de Villiers’ South Africa and Michael Clarke’s Australia remain firm favorites to claim the trophy, you cannot count out the consistency of the perennial semifinalists in New Zealand and the unpredictability of the West Indies & Pakistan. Sri Lanka, who have played more ICC finals than fathomable since 2007, meanwhile, must be well aware that this is their last real chance for a while to win the coveted trophy and the trio of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan will be motivated like never before. And then we have India.You can say that the Indian batting lineup is shambolic abroad and hardly ever click collectively. You can say they do not have any sort of bowling quality in Australia. But you cannot, simply cannot, count the Indians out or take them lightly even for a nano-second as they will take the game away from you in a canter.Today, we look at 5 players who have the ability to carry India to World Cup victory:This article has been done with inputs from Bala Ji

#1 Virat Kohli

No prizes for guessing. No prizes at all for that matter. Very few in the world, after all, have matched his brilliance since the last World Cup.

In 2011, Virat Kohli was a bubbly youngster in the side who was perhaps not as important to the team plans as say a Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh or Virender Sehwag. But he played his part utterly and exceedingly well, especially in the finals, where he came in to bat upon the dismissal of Tendulkar.

Come 2015, however, the whole team hinges on the performance of this young protege. And to his credit, he seldom fails to deliver in the 50-over format.

Kohli’s fantastic run of form in ODIs perhaps started against England in 2011 at Cardiff, where he scored a blistering century in the illustrious company of Rahul Dravid. Though India went on to lose that game owing to their poor bowling attack, Kohli remained the star of that contest.

The centuries kept on coming at a mind-boggling speed, the conversions even more staggering. However, the innings that perhaps defined his career was a 133-run blitzkrieg against Sri Lanka at Hobart a few months later where India chased down 320 in less than 40 overs to keep their chances of a final spot in the CB series alive, followed by the innings of a lifetime against Pakistan in Dhaka. Needing 330 runs for victory, Kohli struck a magnificent 183 as India won the game with more than 2 overs to spare.

India’s chances are as good as gone if Kohli doesn’t make it big this World Cup, plain and simple. Kohli himself will be well aware of this fact and the way his legacy is building up right now, a World Cup victory will put him right up there with the greatest players of the game.

Kohli’s ODI record since 3 April, 2011:

Innings	Not Out	Runs	Average	Highest Score	Strike Rate	100s	50s
89	13	4267	56.14	183	94.73	16	20

#2 MS Dhoni

You can hate this guy as much as you like, you can criticize his captaincy as much as you please, you can call his finishing methods preposterous but at the end of the day, you simply have to admit he gets the job done.

MS Dhoni’s legacy has hardly much to achieve anymore. Dhoni has won the World Cup, the World T20, the Champions Trophy, secured the No.1 ranking in the longest format and, most importantly, played the innings of a lifetime in the final of the 2011 World Cup.

However, things have gone extremely awry in the last 4 years and for someone who has seen the highs of Mount Everest, the depths of Hades will most certainly not be a fair way to bow out which is why the 2015 World Cup, most likely his last as captain, will be of immense importance to the man himself.

For some people, he is the best finisher since Michael Bevan, for some he is the best finisher of all-time and statistics seem to back up the latter claim.

Dhoni averages a staggering 72.91 in 25 innings in winning causes, staying not out in more than half of these and, most importantly, striking them at 107, something Bevan was perhaps incapable of doing.

And oh, he averages a paltry 131 in winning causes in Australia.

Dhoni’s ODI record since 3 April, 2011:

Innings	Not Out	Runs	Average	Highest Score	Strike Rate	100s	50s
55	22	2196	66.54	139*	93.16	2	18

Point to note: Dhoni has a strike rate of 107 in victories and 93.16 overall. Though a strike rate of 93.16 is not bad by any stretch of the imagination (same as Kohli for that matter), the fact that his strike rate dips overall is because when he comes in to bat in such matches, India are more often than not tottering or meandering along not so well. To expect him to break AB de Villiers’ fastest century at times like these is, well, stupid.

#3 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma seems to be the cricketer we now all love to hate, but that takes nothing away from his phenomenal batting.

Rohit, for all purposes, is India’s trump card this World Cup. The day he decides to show up, the opponent will have no clue in the world as to what hit them. Labelled as a player who is selfish and plays for his position in the team, his new-found determination to carry on after scoring a century makes his detractors run for cover. And the speed by which he catches up once he is set can give AB de Villiers, Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle a run for their money.

The problem of being as talented as Rohit is that he plays peaches with so much comfort that it hardly comes to notice. What does, however, is that he throws it away at crucial junctures.

Admit it, the sight of Rohit screaming and showing disappointment following his dismissal in the 1st innings of the 4th Test Match was one of the most pleasing sights for any cricket fan. Among other allegations, he is also labelled as being “not bothered” and emotions such as these will lay to rest such baseless qualms as well.

Since 3 April, 2011, Rohit has the best average among openers all over the world (15 innings), better than the usual suspects such as Hashim Amla, Ian Bell, Shane Watson, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Aaron Finch and David Warner.

And for those of the opinion he scores runs at a snail’s pace, his strike rate is similar to Hashim Amla and the dynamic duo of David Warner and Aaron Finch. Try calling these players slow paced.

And finally to end the debate, he has hit more sixes than Warner and Finch combined, in less than half the innings collectively played by both the Australians.

Rohit’s ODI record as an opener since 3 April, 2011”

Innings	Not Out	Runs	Average	Highest Score	Strike Rate	100s	50s
39	4	1894	54.11	264	85.77	4	11

#4 Suresh Raina

The dark horse of Indian cricket. Nonchalance personified. He comes to bat, gets the job done and walks back to the pavilion as if it was just another day at the office. When Suresh Raina gets going, he is better than the best In India and comparable to the best in the world. You simply cannot stop him, which is why he is perhaps the best T20 player in the country.

Having said that, his ODI performances are not that bad, either. What Raina brings to the table is quick running between the wickets, rotating the strike without a fuss and striking one boundary an over when the situation so demands. In addition, he’s also India’s best catcher and, along with Jadeja, the best fielder in the inner-ring as well. When you then consider the fact that he bowls economic spells when required along with being the golden arm, you have an air-tight case of dependency.

Raina is in the midst of a purple patch at the moment, having won the Man-of-the-Series award in the ODIs in England and scored three half-centuries on the trot back home. Even in the first ODI against Australia recently, he, along with Rohit Sharma, steered India’s sinking ship, something he has done on timeless occasions in the past.

The equation is simple; once the foundation is laid, Raina has to come in to convert a decent score into a match-winning one, take a wicket or two by rolling his arm over when needed and save 10-15 runs in the field per match. If he manages to pull these off, India might prove to be a tougher nut to crack than expected.

Innings	Not Out	Runs	Average	Highest Score	Strike Rate	100s	50s
81	14	2390	35.67	100	96.99	1	17

#5 R Ashwin/Axar Patel/Ravindra Jadeja

Regardless of what is considered to be the norm in Australia, it is the spinners, and spinners alone, whose performances will decide how India fare in the gala event this year. Simply put, to hope that our seamers will come to the party is as optimistic as a coyote’s chance of catching a roadrunner.

Instead of playing as per the norm, the Indians should go into the World Cup with two spinners if not three. Barring the savvy, but one-dimensional, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, none of our seam bowlers inspire much confidence. More so if the Australia Test series and the two ODIs in the tri-series played so far are anything to go by.

The equation is as simple as elementary mathematics – play to your strengths rather than playing fast bowlers and expecting Glenn McGrath to bowl in Umesh Yadav’s mask. Indeed, fast bowlers are more effective than spinners over the history of the World Cup, but the fast bowlers should be world-class as well, unlike the current generation.

Coming to the spinners, Axar Patel doesn’t seem like he can get anything wrong at the moment, emerging as the pick of the bowlers even after being entrusted with death bowling duties. Ravichandran Ashwin, for all purposes, is India’s best spinner of the ball and, on pitches such as the SCG, will certainly prove to be more than a handful.

In fact, if the pitches in the Test matches are anything to go by, almost all of the drop-ins have shown signs of zip and bounce. Ravindra Jadeja, provided he is fit, is as accurate as they come, nagging away consistently and forcing batsmen to take uneasy risks. After all, no other bowler since Anil Kumble has held the No.1 slot except him.

The message is clear – play those who are in form and who will win you games rather than playing the pacers game after game, hoping that one day Jesus will walk on the face of the Earth again.

#6 Clearing the air: Why pacers have been excluded

The aforementioned slide, which was perhaps critical of the Indian pacers, may not have gone down well with a certain section of the reader. Let us analyse the Commonwealth Bank Series in 2007 and 2011 and the very recent two ODIs Down Under.

Why is New Zealand not being analysed?

The way the knockouts are slated to go, India’s chances of playing in New Zealand after the group stages are extremely slim. Having said so, their bowling performance on the last trip to New Zealand was not that awe inspiring, either.

Wins in CB Series 2007/08

4th Match: Australia vs India at the MCGIndia win by 5 wickets: A match where Sreesanth and a young Ishant Sharma took 7 wickets between them to blow the Australians away for a paltry 159. India were in a spot of bother at 5-102, but Dhoni and Rohit held their nerve to clinch victory.

8th Match vs Sri Lanka at Adelaide

India win by two wickets: Only three wickets were accounted for by the Indian bowlers in this game. Playing 4 seamers, they came to the party yet again, bowling decent, economic spells. Yuvraj and Dhoni, for the nth time, steered India to the shores of victory.

11th Match: India vs Sri Lanka at Hobart

India win by 7 wickets: The 4-pronged seam attack did the trick yet again as Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma took 4 wickets apiece and Sri Lanka could manage only 179. A job easily achieved by the top order.

1st Final: Australia vs India at Sydney

India win by 6 wickets: Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla turn the game, going for merely 71 in their 20 overs and taking 2 wickets collectively. The Australians are restricted to 239 and Tendulkar’s brilliance wins India the game.

2nd Final: Australia vs India at Woolloongabba. Brisbane

India win by 9 runs: Tendulkar helps India reach 258 from their 50 overs courtesy of a well compiled half-century. A chaseble total by today’s standards, but the seamers come to the party yet again, snaring 8 wickets between them to hand India a rare ODI victory in Australia.

Conclusion: Every single match in this series, each one of them barring the first final was won by a stupendous display of pace bowling. The pacers were breathing fire every game and eventually won us the series.

CB Series 2011-12

2nd Match: India vs Sri Lanka at Perth

India win by 4 wickets: Sri Lanka were rolling along at 100-2 before Ashwin and Jadeja turn the match on its head in the middle overs, collectively finishing up with figures of 20-1-73-4. The Lankans are restricted to 233, easily chased down by the batsmen.

4th Match: Australia vs India at Adelaide

India win by 4 wickets: A shoddy display of bowling as a whole meant Australia scored a mammoth 269. Gautam Gambhir, however, turned on the heat with a well compiled 92 before MS Dhoni finished off the match in a way only he can.

11th Match: India vs Sri Lanka at Hobart

India win by 7 wickets: Another pathetic display by the pacers with all three of them going at 7 runs an over. Things were pulled back by Ashiwn and Jadeja even as the Sri Lankans compiled 320-odd runs. Virat Kohli, with adequate support from other batsmen, won the game within 40 overs to gain the bonus point.

Conclusion: All three matches were won by the performance of the spinners and batsmen. The pacers were absolutely pathetic in the victories as well as the losses.

Final Conclusion: The Indian pacers were shabby in the first two ODIs in the current series as well, with Axar emerging as the pick of the bowlers. If the fast bowlers bowl well, they will win you games. If they don’t, your chances of winning are quite slim, but whatever chances there are, they are due to the batsmen and spinners. If the current form is anything to go by, they’re nowhere near the 2007-08 crop, which is why to expect them to turn over a new leaf all of a sudden is simply unrealistic.