The 3 missing pieces that India need to find to win World Cup 2015

I am not ruling out the possibility of Rohit doing a ‘no-hit’ again, but even if he does, knowing Indian management and Dhoni’s way of thinking, India would go in search for another opener rather than trying Pujara. So I hope he at the least, he gets into the playing XI by the time World Cup begins.

Pujara in List-A matches:

The final missing piece of the puzzle is Praveen Kumar. A first class swing bowler who has shown that he is capable of dismissing quality batsmen in supportive conditions is not even picked in a second choice bowling line-up set to play against a much weaker team (Zimbabwe).

I do not agree with the point of view that since Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a similar type of bowler, PK will not be missed. Can anyone guarantee that Bhuvi can get us breakthroughs game in game out?

Besides missing out on his good days, a bowler can have off days too. To whom does the captain turn to at that point of time? Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Shami Ahmed are the options Dhoni will have. None of them are proven bowlers yet, to be trusted upon to lead the attack.

Surely, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin cannot be expected to get the breakthroughs on less supportive pitches once the batsmen get settled. They could only do the supporting role if pacers make inroads earlier in the game, and it is also unfair to expect anything more from them.

Rather think of it this way. Assuming that the pitch aids swing, which it will most probably, instead of testing opposition with one probing spell from Bhuvi, say for 6 overs, why should we not double the dose by adding PK’s quota of 6 overs too? More good deliveries, more chances of getting the batsmen out.

Praveen Kumar

Statistics of Praveen, Ishant and Ashwin in Australia:

Instead of going out on hope that Bhuvi will take care of the early breakthroughs, why can’t we go in with certainty or say an increased possibility of getting wickets?

These are the 3 main flaws that need to be rectified for India to win the World Cup 2015. The playing eleven should look like (based on current form): Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwary/ Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin/Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Umesh Yadav,(Rohit Sharma).

If Tiwary and Rayudu fail to make use of their chances at number 4, Rohit Sharma can get a look in at no.5, pushing Dhoni to no.4 as Rohit can take on fast bowlers better than Tiwary and Rayudu, thereby enabling Dhoni to bat at no.4.

With respect to the bowling options, since Umesh Yadav is the only half decent bowler we have at death, he needs to be persisted with despite his inconsistency up front. Varun Aaron is another option for India at death but being extremely injury prone, he can wait. With the quality that Jadeja provides in the spin department these days, I would not play Ashwin if the pitch doesn’t offer anything to the spinners.

A good plan is a plan with flexibility – something that Dhoni needs to add to his repertoire. So the choice between Ashwin and Ishant depends on the pitch. Ishant is not a liability if Dhoni uses him wisely i.e., not giving him the ball at death. His stats indicate that he has done well in one day internationals after his comeback to the team in 2011.

Ishant in 2013:

I understand that even after doing all these, death bowling will still be an issue. But instead of worrying about something we cannot rectify, let’s do our best to put forward the best step we possibly can. If we lose even then, we could come back with heads held high, having given the best shot we possibly could.