Things we have learned ahead of the WC.

[AuxiliA]

Now that our ODI cycle before the WC is almost over, few things are pretty clear imo.

 

1. Bumrah, Kuldeep and Shami are our best bowlers by far and should play in all the important matches. 

 

2. The 4th bowler's spot is a tossup between Chahal and Bhuvi. Although I believe Chahal is the better ODI bowler but Bhuvi has edge because of his superior batting/feilding and suitability to the conditions.

 

3. Pandya and Dhoni aren't exactly world beaters in their departments but they still are vital for the team. Shankar is a more dependable batsman than Pandya, but I don't trust his bowling. Also Pandya is an excellent feilder and a good hitter.

 

Pant sure can bat faster, but he can't match Dhoni's glove work (which btw is his primary job). Also Dhoni's tactical insights are needed especially when we have a hothead as a captain.

 

4. Rayudu is absolutely useless and adds no value whatsoever to the team. Can easily be replaced by Shankar/Rahul/Pant. Shankar gets the nod for me because of his bowling and can bat in the death overs.

 

 

So finally here's my playing 11 and squad for the WC,

 

Sharma

Dhawan

Kohli

Jhadav ( his style is more suited at 4 than 6)

Dhoni (wk)

Shankar

Pandya

Bhuvi

Kuldeep

Shami

Bumrah

 

Chahal

Pant (backup wk/MO bat)

Rahul (backup opener)

Khaleel ( we need a lefty in the nets)

 

[velu]

my playign xi as well ..

 

would push shankar #4 instead of jadhav ..

 

[zen]

waste of time for the 11s as most of the things have been said .... Rohit+Dhoni, both have relatively poor record in ICC events, could eat up deliveries to dig a hole for Ind in batting friendly conditions, where the bowling, the key strength, may lose its bite, and Jadhav is inconsistent .... And on top of that if Rayudu comes back into the picture, 

 

I will focus on enjoying good cricket and if Ind does well, I will take it as a bonus  

Edited March 10, 2019 by zen

[R!TTER]

BK shouldn't feature in our best side, he's by far the most overrated LO bowler we have & yes arguably worse than Chahal.

[AuxiliA]

4 minutes ago, zen said:

waste of time for the 11s .... Rohit+Dhoni, both have relatively poor record in ICC events, could eat up deliveries to dig a hole for Ind in batting friendly conditions, where the bowling strength may lose its bite, and Jadhav is inconsistent .... And on top of that if Rayudu comes back in to the picture 

 

I will focus on enjoying good cricket from everyone and if Ind does well, I will take it as a bonus  

 

I don't think Rayudu will get picked for the WC now (unless he plays the 5th ODI and does something spectacular).

 

Of the squad I have listed in the OP, everyone except Shankar and Khaleel was a lock. Competition was between Rayudu and Shankar and the later has come out on top.

[AuxiliA]

9 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

BK shouldn't feature in our best side, he's by far the most overrated LO bowler we have & yes arguably worse than Chahal.

 

Agree on Chahal being the better ODI bowler. But the question is can Chahal be more effective than Bhuvi in flat English conditions? Not to mention Bhuvi's batting at no8.

 

I feel Bhuvi can useful with the new ball and should bowl an extended first spell. Bumrah and Shami can bowl in the death overs.

[R!TTER]

BK should bowl the first 7 or 8 overs in a single spell. The problem is on super flat tracks he gets tonked anyway, even the first PP is too risky for his "slightly quicker than Ganguly" floaters. I'd have him only on green tracks or when there's excess cloud cover. Shami should start ahead of him normally.

[Gollum]

I agree with the 1st XI of OP, and damn it does look good. I'll play Shankar at #4 however, 5-7 should be flexible depending on match situation. 4 frontline bowlers plus Pandya/Shankar/Jadhav...I like that. Also BK needs to be there ahead of Chahal at least in the first half of the tournament when it won't take much spin. Him at #8 will allow our batsmen to be more adventurous too. 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Gollum

[vvvslaxman]

Kohli is a generic captain who doesn't think out of the box. He relies on his bowlers pulling a magic somewhere rather than him creating pressure.

[AuxiliA]

5 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

BK should bowl the first 7 or 8 overs in a single spell. The problem is on super flat tracks he gets tonked anyway, even the first PP is too risky for his "slightly quicker than Ganguly" floaters. I'd have him only on green tracks or when there's excess cloud cover. Shami should start ahead of him normally.

 

The thing is if pitches are flat then what advantage does Chahal provide over Bhuvi? And in England regardless of the pitch the new ball always swings. That works in Bhuvi's favour.

[R!TTER]

I wouldn't have Chahal over BK, unless the pitch is really dry. The team we played today with these changes - Dhoni in for Pant, Shami for BK & Pandya for Chahal. Our batting is thin & I'd rather load that side of our team even if it risks our bowling a bit. I know this is unlikely but I'm hoping Panyda+Shankar+Jadhav can bowl 20 overs between them.

Edited March 10, 2019 by R!TTER

[Gollum]

Kohli is a poor ODI captain not just in team selection but also tactically, he is subservient to Dhoni...Dhoni is in the team courtesy Kohli's blessings...both need each other. 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Gollum

[zen]

Having Rohit +  Dhoni can be suicidal .... Good thing is that Rayudu appears to be out of contention (though you never know with selectors who can bring him back based on IPL) or it would have compounded the issues 

[Haarkarjeetgaye]

Kohli captaincy skills are questionable. He still jumps like a kid. And comes across as immature. never have such kind of characters led teams to a WC win.

 

Lloyd Dev Border Khan Tunga Waugh Ponting Dhoni Clarke. It is tough to imagine Kohli like character in that list, unless he learns to remain calm.

 

Openers are not aggressive for a good batting line up. 

 

[The Realist]

That this team is ridiculously one dimensional, has no plan B, no real big hitters, lacks athleticism, ropey fielding and a very long tail. 

 

Apart from that looking good otherwise.

 

[mishra]

IMO , When a batsman is batting, there can be three fronts

1. Between Bowler and Batsman. Bowler keeps outfoxing batsman and bats keeps outmoneuvering bowler. Its direct one one one battle.

2. Between Keeper and batsman. This is small distracting battle. Keeper watches batsman feeds back to bowler. At the same time makes batsman aware ocassionally that batsman missed something. Batsman knows he missed it but now he knows that opponent are seeing  it too.

3. Captain would have done his homework, And he will open a third front between him and bat by specific field placing and making any if needed bowling change. When captain does change a feild, He ensure that he has told the batsman, I know your weakness or what you are missing, I am ready are you?

 

I will let people to decide what out of above 3, we managed to achieve/learn?

Edited March 11, 2019 by mishra

[mishra]

15 hours ago, AuxiliA said:

Now that our ODI cycle before the WC is almost over, few things are pretty clear imo.

 

1. Bumrah, Kuldeep and Shami are our best bowlers by far and should play in all the important matches. 

 

2. The 4th bowler's spot is a tossup between Chahal and Bhuvi. Although I believe Chahal is the better ODI bowler but Bhuvi has edge because of his superior batting/feilding and suitability to the conditions.

 

3. Pandya and Dhoni aren't exactly world beaters in their departments but they still are vital for the team. Shankar is a more dependable batsman than Pandya, but I don't trust his bowling. Also Pandya is an excellent feilder and a good hitter.

 

Pant sure can bat faster, but he can't match Dhoni's glove work (which btw is his primary job). Also Dhoni's tactical insights are needed especially when we have a hothead as a captain.

 

4. Rayudu is absolutely useless and adds no value whatsoever to the team. Can easily be replaced by Shankar/Rahul/Pant. Shankar gets the nod for me because of his bowling and can bat in the death overs.

 

 

So finally here's my playing 11 and squad for the WC,

 

Sharma

Dhawan

Kohli

Jhadav ( his style is more suited at 4 than 6)

Dhoni (wk)

Shankar

Pandya

Bhuvi

Kuldeep

Shami

Bumrah

 

Chahal

Pant (backup wk/MO bat)

Rahul (backup opener)

Khaleel ( we need a lefty in the nets)

 

Rahul has no place. Since we have 2 medium pace allrounders Shankar and Pandya, On English pitches, which help wicket to wicket bowling, I do not see playing more than 2 regular pacers is needed. i.e. we are allways playing 4 pacers with varying speed and accuracy by playing Shankara Pandya Bhumrah and one more.

 

Kedhar and Kuldeep will give two spin bowling option. Problem arises against a side like England. Do we play Chahal or do we (Pant or DK). Its only problem/dilemma we have. It will depend on pitch. I hope our think tank and TM get it right. In fact it was upto me, I will choose whoever MSD backs for the game.