Indian bowling a cause of worry for World Cup: Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath

Former India pacer Javagal Srinath has said that India's bowling will be their main cause of worry in the 2015 World Cup, beginning next month in Australia and New Zealand. Srinath represented the country in four World Cups, in 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2003, and picked up 44 wickets in 34 matches at the tournament.

The 45-year-old felt that India had the most powerful batting line-up among all teams, but lacked a leader in the bowling attack. He further added that Dhoni and the support staff needs to find a bowler who is good enough to feature in all the matches.

“India's batting is well set with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina, not to mention MS Dhoni himself,” Srinath wrote in his column for NDTV.

“With Ravindra Jadeja coming down the order and Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar more than competent with the bat, India batting looks the strongest of all the teams in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

“That said, batting hasn't been India's problem in limited-overs cricket. India must sort out its bowling combinations and resources at the earliest. It needs someone to lead the attack and it needs to zero in on the bowlers who Dhoni and the team management believe will play in all the matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015,” he added.

India will need to find their opening bowling combination in the tri-series: Srinath

According to the Mysore Express, Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems the most likely candidate to play in all the games. He also wrote that the tri-nation tournament, which follows the Tests, provides Dhoni a chance to find out who his opening bowlers will be at the mega event.

“At this point, Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems the best bet to do that, unless Ishant Sharma finds his line and length and leads from the front. India's bowling form will be thoroughly tested during the tri-series preceding the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

“Midway through this tri-series, Dhoni should have decided what his first-choice bowling attack will be for the duration of ICC's pinnacle event. There will be some experimentation early on, but by the time the tri-series is over, India should have its best 11 in place, the team it believes will take it all the way to the title,” he wrote.

Great chance for Binny to cement a spot for himself: Srinath

There has been a lot of talk about the selection of Stuart Binny in the 15-man squad for the tournament, but the former right-arm pacer believes that Binny could prove to be a handful in the bouncy pitches of Australia and added that the tri-series is a great opportunity for him to cement a place in the starting XI for the World Cup.

“This is a great opportunity for Stuart Binny to establish himself as an integral member of the India team. Conditions will be somewhat alien for Binny - hard bouncy pitches in a country where he hasn't played before. He has to fight his way into the playing 11 and then cement his place, which the tri-series will allow him to do if he gets to play regularly. If he doesn't feature in the tri-series, it is difficult to see him being an important member of the playing 11 for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015,” Srinath wrote.

Another topic of debate prior to the selection had been whether or not to select Yuvraj Singh in the final 15. Srinath felt that once his name wasn’t included in the 30-man preliminary squad, it was going to be highly unlikely for him to find a berth in the 15-member squad.

“In the last couple of days leading up to the team selection, much of the interest has centred around Yuvraj Singh, the Player of the Tournament when India won the title in 2011.

“Yuvraj will be very disappointed and I am sure there will be a lot of sympathy for him in India, especially after he made three Ranji Trophy centuries on the trot. But it would have been a bolt from the blue if he had been named in the 15. To me, the writing was very clear when he wasn't picked in the long list of 30 probables, given that he hasn't played a One-Day International since December 2013,” Srinath added.