My INDIA 15 for the Cricket ODI World Cup 2011

Keeping in Mind Sub continent and Home Advantage and Conditions here’s my India 15 for the Cricket ODI World Cup 2011 that begins next month in the subcontinent…am assuming that all my selections are really ‘fit to play’ without any doubt

….The BCCI Selection Committee meets on Monday to decide the Final INDIA 15 from the 30 Probables they had announced on December 18,2010…Irfan Pathan and Rahul Dravid had not found a place in these…My one single regret is that India yet lacks a genuine world class all rounder like we had in Kapil Dev and South Africa have in Jacques Kallis….there are contenders though for this…Yusf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh to name two….but consistency is what is lacking to declare them as genuine world class all rounders

In Green are the My Playing 11 choices…In Black are my four selections in INDIA 15 but not the PLAYING 11…those In Red are those 15 of the 30 Probables Missing Out from the INDIA 15

Openers & One Down…..Virender Sehwag,Sachin Tendulkar,Gautam Gambhir…Missing Out…M Vijay

Middle Order….Yuvraj Singh,Virat Kohli,Suresh Raina,Yusuf Pathan,Rohit Sharma….Missing Out…Saurabh Tiwary,Cheteshwar Pujara,Ravindra Jadeja,Shikhar Dhavan,Ajinkya Rahane

Specialist Wicket-Keeper…Captain M S Dhoni…Missing Out…Wriddhimaan Saha,Parthiv Patel,Dinesh Karthik

Specialist Spinners….Harbhajan Singh,R Ashwin….Missing Out…Amit Mishra,Piyush Chawla,Pragyan Ojha

Pace Attack….Zaheer Khan,Ashish Nehra,Praveen Kumar,Munaf Patel…Missing Out….S Sreesanth,Ishant Sharma,Vinay Kumar   

Assumptions

• The need for a second specialist wicket-keeper can be dispensed with as the number of matches in the World Cup can be managed by Dhoni 
• The Need for a third Specialist Spinner can also be dispensed off with as we have Yuvraj,Raina,Sachin,Pathan and Raina who can turn a decent arm too…so Pragyan Ozha or Piyush Chawla will miss the Boat
• Methinks the 15 member team needs Four Pacers and Munaf Patel gets my fourth vote over Ishant Sharma and S Sreesanth
• My Playing 11 assumes a three pacer and one specialist spinner attack leaving room to include seven batsmen…Harbhajan is the spinner choice as he can bat too….The Fifth Bowler Option is Yusuf Pathan….Dhoni has the luxury of calling on the likes Sehwag,Yuvraj and Sachin to turn their arms in case one or more of the regular bowlers are being hit for too many runs…Depending on the pitch and performance and points situation of India the think tank on the day of the match may opt to play 4 pacers + 1 Spinner (at the cost of one batsman),or 3 Pacers + 2 Spinners (at the cost of one batsman),or Two Pacers + Two Spinners (at the cost of one pacer)   

My Fear remains that Rohit Sharma may miss out as BCCI may opt for a second specialist wicket keeper or a third spinner,both who will never get any game to play in the World Cup unless Dhoni or Harbhajan or R Ashwin suffers injuries or is indisposed to play

Many would argue on the choice of Yuvraj Singh….I have selected him and that too in the Playing 11 at the cost of Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma….this guy is a match winner and no one can forget the six 6’s in an over that he hit Chris Broad for in the World Cup T 20s…he installs fear in the opposition the moment he strides in to bat…and they simply hope its not his day…we need him for this pshchological advantage too and pray for his consistency in batting…he is a great fielder and good slow left arm bowler too….looks a touch sloppy at times…but I suspect that is his demeanour…he needs to be handled well and motivated to perform at optimum levels 

 Added at 1.30 pm on Monday,January 17,2011

Hey I got 14 out of 15 ! ….The India 15 has just been announced….My fear on Rohit Sharma not being picked has materialised…Selectors meeting in Chennai has not picked Rohit Sharma and have gone in for three spinners ! picking Piyush Chawla !…except for this my selection above was on the mark !

I’m happy for Piyush Chawla and wish he gets a game and make a match of it….but he has not played an ODI for India since 2008 !……but I think Rohit Sharma deserves a place in the Team….he could also have kept wickets had Dhoni got injured or indisposed….but Three Specialist Spinners !?…..we already have  part time spinners in Yuvraj,Sehwag,Pathan and Raina…..Chairman of Selectors Kris Srikkanth revealed at the press conference post selection that the team was selected keeping in mind the best combination that can win us the World Cup,keeping in mind home conditions…that the spinners will play a major role in home conditions…. they have discussed this with the Captain Dhoni and The Coach too

I know I should not hope like this…but I do hope there is an Injury and Rohit Sharma makes it to the India 15 as a replacement !….just don’t ask me who I want injured !!!….but definitely not Sehwag and Tendulkar !

Consolation to Rohit Sharma is ofcourse that IPL will make him US $ 2 Million that Mumbai Indians successfully bid for him