Published: Feb 11, 2011, 11:28 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 10, 2014, 11:39 AM (IST)
By Sourya Bose
All of cricket-crazy India would be dreaming that on April 2, 2011 Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lift the cricket World Cup at the new-look Wankhede Stadium. In about less than four weeks from now, the 10th ICC World Cup will begin in the sub-continent much, creating a carnival atmosphere in the sub continent.
But before that begins there are serious discussions, permutations and combinations going on between colleagues, friends, neighbours etc. as to why Rohit Sharma was dropped and why have a spinner too many?
The team, more or less, selected itself. The contention was with regard to the fourth seamer and the third spinner.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s decent performance won him a World Cup berth. But large sections of cricket fans in India are puzzled by the selection of Piyush Chawla. I see this as a very strategic. Chawla has not played for India since July 2008, which actually may be a blessing in disguise for us. As India plays a lot of one-day cricket, it becomes easy for the opposition teams to “Decode” a bowler. This is where Chawla might have the edge.
He can add a totally different dimension to our bowling with his leg spin. He is also a decent bat at No 8 and scored a Ranji Trophy hundred recently. His ability to slog in a situation where 28 runs are required off 19 balls can come in handy. Add to the fact that he bats left-handed and has fair bit of international exposure to go with.
Coming to the fast bowlers, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra select themselves. It’s the fourth bowler’s choice, which has attracted Part Two of the selection debate. With Munaf Patel sealing his place with his four-for the other night, the writing was on the wall for the Kerala speedster.
In terms of genuine all-rounders, we don’t have any. But there are a few bits and pieces variety in Yousuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh. Then there is Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag who can both contribute as bowlers.
The batsmen select themselves and I don’t feel there is any need for discussion on this front. From a personal point of view I would have definitely picked Rohit Sharma in the 15, as that would have given Mahendra Singh Dhoni more options, especially if gets injured during the course of a match.
The tournament opener is against the fast-improving Bangladesh, which gave us heartaches in the last World Cup. Not sure on what basis the itinerary drawn, but out of the last five major ICC events (2007 onwards) including the T20 World Cup, our first match has been with our eastern neighbours at least 3 times including the coming WorldCup. (Opener in 2007 World Cup, Opener in the T20 World Cup in England).
Superstition or fact, call it whatever you have to but as an Indian I seriously hope history does not repeat this time. Whatever it is, come February 19 we will all forget past performances and wish for a thumping Indian victory to kick-start the World Cup campaign, as this would be India’s best chance to add some more silverware in its cupboard.
Selecting a team is a thankless job, but if we see Dhoni hold aloft the World Cup on April 2, many will appreciate the team selection. Let us all stand firmly together with the 15 our national selectors have picked and hope for the best.
Good Luck, Team India!
(The passion for cricket is there in Bangalore-based Sourya Bose’s genes as both his parents are avid cricket fans. Cricket is the only game Sourya loved and played as a kid which progressively became the biggest passion of his life)
