ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 : The Real Contenders #1: India

In the series – The Real Contenders, I will take a look at the top six teams which I believe will most probably take the title.

First up, co-hosts and the general favourite of the cricketing world, team India. Squad of 15:

1. Mahender Singh Dhoni: Skipper and glovesman of the Indian brigade, MSD is a hard hitting batsmen, who has shown the ability to play with patience when required. Recent form hasn’t been great, but on flat pitches and small/average sized boundaries, we can expect him to get going. The 2007 WC, his only WC showing was a disaster and everyone in India will hope he does much better. Being a very successful captain means his captaincy is almost always praised, though I have other opinions.

2. Virender Sehwag: The swashbuckling opener comes with a reputation of being destructive, and we all know he can live up to it. Since 2008, Sehwag has averaged 45 in ODIs at a strike rate(SR) of 90+. In the last two years or 29 innings, Sehwag has batted past the first 15 overs only 5 times. India have won the match all five times. Enough to show his worth as a match winner. However, shoulder injury has been persisting since a while now, though he has been declared fully fit for the cup.

3. Sachin Tendulkar: Opening the innings with prolific Sehwag will be the Master blaster from Mumbai. In his illustrious career, he has seen ups and highs but never been able to lay his hands on the big WC trophy. With the Indian team looking good and relatively settled as compared to the last WC, this could be the one for him. There are two concerns that I have regarding this champion batsmen. One being his fitness, since he left the SA series midway. Second being his lack of ODI practice, because since the last Feb, he has played only two ODIs.

4. Gautam Gambhir: A technically stable and determined young man who has proven his mettle in New Zealand, South Africa as well as India. Being an opening batsmen( though, he will/should bat at 3) means he has to provide good starts for the team and he has done just that. In run chases, he average much higher then while batting first. Clearly depicting his ability to handle pressure. Superb player of spin bowling who can step on the gas if and when required. Personally, I feel he should open with Sehwag, but that isn’t likely.

5. Virat Kohli: The 22 year old from Delhi is a very impressive young man. The second highest run scorer in ODIs for 2010 has been scoring match after match. Even though, many bloggers still believe he isn’t a given in the starting XI, I have no doubt he will play. All of India’s matches are day-night games, which makes him even more essential. Reason: Consistency during chasing in night matches. Not to forget, his fielding is absolutely superb, whether at point position or in the deep during the final onslaught.

6. Yuvraj Singh: One of the most talented batsmen India has produced since Tendulkar. Unfortunately though, he hasn’t utilized his talent to the extent he could have and should have. Naturally aggressive and very capable of taking the game to the opposition. In recent times, his batting hasn’t been that destructive, but with some matches against Netherlands and Ireland could easily be the boost he is looking for. His bowling has also been crucial for the team, since the left armer has picked up over 16 wickets in the past year and a half. But, for India to be a dominant force, his bat must do the talking.

7. Yusuf Pathan: The most crucial batting all-rounder that India has in their rank. Yousuf is a dangerous middle or lower order batsmen, who has shown good maturity in recent times. There are good chances that he might get shuffled up or down the order according to the match situation. If he continues to bat the way he is batting currently, could do the job Lance Klusener did back in 1999. His off spin is also very useful for providing crucial breakthroughs for the team. I have earlier stated that he should be picked over Raina in the starting XI.

8. Suresh Raina: I, like the other 20-odd thousand people at Faridabad’s stadium had once witnessed a superb knock of 81* by this lad. Back then he was 19 years old and caught everyones’ eyes. Since then, he has had his fair share of ups and downs. His fielding is as impressive as it was when he arrived, though his batting is currently not in that great form. Only reason he doesn’t feature in the starting XI is because Yuvraj has been more effective with the ball for India.

9. Zaheer Khan: The unofficial bowling captain is one smart guy. Zaheer often uses angles to keep the run-rate down and chip away with wickets. His aim will be pick up early wickets so that Harbhajan and Ashwin are not pressurized in the middle overs. Even more so against teams like South Africa and England(remember Smith and Strauss are his bunnies). Even his presence in the side makes a huge difference to the spirit of team India and fans like myself.

10. Ashish Nehra: The second most successful Indian bowler in last three years in ODIs. Nehra is quintessentially a swing bowler and in fact, among the best swing bowlers India has ever produced. The only issue has been his frequent fitness issues. Of late, he has addressed that and seems fit. One area where he needs to work on is bowling accurate yorkers so as to not get bashed away in the final overs. Having an off series in South Africa might mean that he may be benched if India play only two pacers, which is most likely.

11. Munaf Patel: The McGrath of this Indian team, though he isn’t that talented( in bowling skills or talking skills). A disciplined performer who bowls wicket to wicket and has managed to maintain an economy rate of under 5. Even in the last WC, he bowled well though India was kicked out by Bangladesh. Munaf seems to be a simple bowler with a clear mind. He showcased this in the 2nd ODI against SA, when India grabbed victory out of the jaws of defeat.

12. S Sreesanth: Speedster from Kerela has come in as a replacement for injured Praveen Kumar. I do not doubt his ability, but I believe he is more suited for the longer format of the game. He has played only 15 ODIs in the last three years, picking 23 wickets, but conceded 6.7 runs an over. Getting a game will be tough for him, unless someone gets injured or India is playing a dead-rubber match, but if he does come in, he must not leak away easy runs.

13. Harbhajan Singh: Many bloggers believe that Bhajji is not in the best part of this career, but still he is the highest wicket taker for India in last three years at an average of over 32 and economy of under 4.8 runs an over. India’s dream will be shattered if Bhajji doesn’t pick up wickets regularly against top teams. In World Cups, he has an economy of under 4, but hasn’t picked up too many wickets. So clearly, he needs to improve in that department.

14. Ravichandran Ashwin: In the seven ODIs that he has played, he has been good. In all fairness, 5 of them have been against New Zealand in India, which has helped his statistics for sure. But, he is a young man with a stable head on his shoulders and a sharp googly which turns a long way. I area where he scores better than Piyush Chawla is that he backs his ability and keeps tossing the ball up even if he may get hit once in a while.

15. Piyush Chawla: The 22 year old leggie from UP hasn’t hadn’t played for 30 months when he got selected for the WC squad. A sharp googly that has troubled the likes of KP and Tendulkar needs to used judiciously. Some people regard him highly and feel he should feature in starting XI like SP, but I would go for Ashwin as second spinner. He will come into play if one of the spinners are injured or management decides to go for some variety.

All in all, a good combination of experience and talented youth. Though, they are a few players with niggles and problems with form, but games against Holland and Ireland will help addressing that.

They are considered favourites by most, though I believe Sri Lanka have better chance. Still, they have a good chance of doing well and I would expect them to reach at least the Semis.