WC team and squad

[Anakin]

Re: WC team and squad

Kaif is cr#p!

comeon dude, he deserves a chance... i think selectors dint give hima fair run.. he wasnt played regularly.. was most of the time in the bench.. when compared to raina whos a onetime wonder boy, kaif is much much better...

He's been playing ODIs regularly for a long time, what do you mean he wasn't played regularly? Kaif is cra.p and so is raina, but at least he has time to improve unlike kaif.

[Chandan]

Re: WC team and squad Anakin, Even Kaif has time to improve. He is just 25 and has almost travelled to every country.

[Anakin]

Re: WC team and squad May be, but he won't be able to, if he could he would've done it after playing for years.

[dhruvdeepak]

Re: WC team and squad i think this is a decent side to go for the WC. admittedly there are still questions to be raised, but if you browse through the other sides it seems only SA and SL have a settled decided sure 15. (yes, even Australia has some questions, and I held this view before the loss in the finals to England). The question marks: Virender Sehwag - to be honest i didnt think he should make it to the 15. in my opinion he has been a failure as an opener, matchwinning potential and all aside. if they had to include him, i thought it would have to be in a new avatar as a middle order batsman. due to think tank going on empty, he has not been given the time or the opportunities to re-invent himself in that role. so why is he going? he is not going to open. he has little experience playing the middle order role. he is in pathetic form. the only reason is his strike rate and his bowling ability. and, in my opinion, there arent not too many other options. but more about that in a bit. Dinesh Karthik - another player who has not found himself an established slot in the XI. he has not played enough in ODIs. but, i will credit the selectors in backing him this far. i think he has the ability to play as our #7. he's got the spunk, the shots, and he has displayed some grit in recent performances. despite the lack of experience and big scores, he is what we need in the team - a good fielder, someone who runs quick and is selfless, and can play different roles according to the situation. Irfan Pathan - complete cock-up IMO. they have played him at 3, made him bowl as a 1st or 2nd change bowler, sent him home mid tour. he has been through hell. and has still not displayed the type of form a key player like him has to have for us to do well. will he play as our #7 bat? will he open the bowling? who knows. as a member of the 15, i will keep him (we need 7 bowlers of which 5 need to be pacers. no other options). but he is not a starting XI player for me. Robin Uthappa - another fellow who is not going to be in the starting XI IMO. he has not proved anything, except shown one of his weak areas in his recent dismissals. he is basically a back up opener who will travel with the 15 and not play. Yuvraj Singh - key player who has been hard done by injuries. he is under-cooked but just HAS TO PLAY and play well if we are to have any success. so yes, he had to be selected, but basically we are hoping for things to fall into place for him in time for the super 8s. Sreesanth - my 3 pacers in the XI are AA, Munna and Zak. This guy comes in when one of these 3 is not able to play, or are bowling poorly (quite a possibility that either will happen given MP's fitness and AA's profligacy). He has the ability to bowl beautiful wicket-taking deliveries and he is the quickest bowler of the lot. Also you have the low-% case where we might play 4 pacers. So yes, his performances in ODIs are not the best but he might well be the difference if and when he does play. Yes, my approach is safety first with respect to our bowling, so Sreesanth is not in the starting XI. The rest of the guys select themselves: SRT, SG, Skipper, MSD, Munna, Aggie, Zak, Bhajji, Kumble. Missing out: Mohammad Kaif - a great misfortune for this bloke. he has the scores, but has not been given any confidence. totally ruined by the team management. after a great tour of WI he has literally been r@Ped - not playing every other game, being dropped, not having an opportunity to prove himself worthy. I would have taken him over Uthappa 100%. Suresh Raina - deservedly so, he has not had any performances of late and did not look like he would contribute except in the field. Ramesh Powar - hard luck, he is a wicket taker, but Kumble over him every day of the week. Also he was selected because he could be a useful #8, but has never looked the part whenever he had a role to play with the bat. i still think he is a decent fielder despite the physique. ---------------------- so overall we have some decent ingredients. in SRT, VS, SG, Yuvi, we have some guys who can contribute with the ball. In Pathan, if he can show in early matches that he can be depended upon to open the bowling, we have someone who can bat at 7 and hence allow 5 bowlers. The batting revolves around the dependable foursome - SRT, Skipper, MSD and HOPEFULLY SG. If Yuvi can strike form that is a strong core group of batsmen. The bowling, I feel, is in better hands than has been for some time. I have honestly not seen such a decent group of bowlers in ODIs since the previous WC. Zaheer, Nehra, Kartik, Balaji, RP Singh have all come and gone (and come back in the case of Zak) - and this has meant a shaky bowling lineup. Munaf i feel is good, if he stays fit. Zaheer is bowling better than ever. Bhajji continues to do his job very well. Agarkar HAS to bowl well to complement this group. And Sreesanth, Pathan, Kumble offer decent replacements/additions if we play 5 bowlers at any time. so here is my starting XI - SRT SG Yuvi Skipper Viroo MSD Karthik Bhajji Agarkar Zak Munaf That is the best XI in my opinion - obviously there are question marks with Yuvi and Viroo - but in terms of overall balance i think this is the strongest. Plan B/C - If for some reason you need 4 pacers, drop Karthik and play Pathan. Or if Kumble is a must (alongside Bhajji, again I dont really foresee this), Pathan will have to play as a 3rd pacer, and Munaf might have to sit out. If Sehwag is not getting runs, there is no option but to play Uthappa instead. I would play Uthappa in the middle order - let him play spinners and part-timers. There is no doubt in my mind that SG and SRT have to open. Final observations - Skipper has to play at 4 or 5 where the powerplays are done, and he can finish. Bowling looks good, has to hold together for any measure of success. SRT, SG, Yuvi, Sehwag with the ball is good backup as 5th/6th bowler. Especially SRT bowling dibbly dobbly seamers - has been very effective of late. We are living on a few prayers - mainly Yuvi and Sehwag performing, and Agarkar having a good run. But, I think this is true of MOST teams. -NZ are in disarray with a hollow middle order. Will Bond play every game? -Australia are without Symonds, have not settled Watson into a role, will probably not pick Hodge. -West Indies depend on Lara, Gayle and Chanderpaul to win their matches, and Sarwan is in the same situation as Yuvi. -England, CB win notwithstanding, cannot depend on Loye as an opener. Dalyrimple has done little of note recently, Mahmood is on and off, and where will Vaughan fit? Strauss played well down the order, but there is no room there and he has to open. -Pakistan dont know who will open in their next game, have a poor keeper/bat, and have Asif as the only fit fulltime bowler! Akhtar is not there, Gul is unfit and prone to breakdowns, Kaneria doesnt play ODIs, Rao is mediocre, Rana is awful. They have Razzaq, Malik, Afridi to do the allrounder roles, but how often will these guys win matches without support of the core players? The only two teams without as many issues are SL and SA. The only thing SA is missing is a spinner, and SL might be missing a late-overs biffer a la Razzaq, Dhoni, Symonds, Oram, Kemp. I honestly think Australia will do an encore of the CB series, playing brilliantly for the first half of the tournament, and then losing steam as the tournament wears on. anyways, my two cents. Jai Hind!!

[Chandan]

Re: WC team and squad

The rest of the guys select themselves: SRT, SG, Skipper, MSD, Munna, Aggie, Zak, Bhajji, Kumble. Missing out: Ramesh Powar - hard luck, he is a wicket taker, but Kumble over him every day of the week. Also he was selected because he could be a useful #8, but has never looked the part whenever he had a role to play with the bat. i still think he is a decent fielder despite the physique. ----------------------

A terrific and very comprehensive post, Dhruv. Just explain to me why Kumble selects himself and why would you have him over Powar everyday in an ODI! Though best of luck to every squad member from me too.

[dhruvdeepak]

Re: WC team and squad Chandan - it is more of a gut feel for me. I saw Powar being hammered all over the place in WI. with small grounds i just feel he does not have enough guile and experience behind him to sustain any pressure. Kumble on the other hand i felt bowled superbly in unhelpful conditions in SA and he is an ideal member of the squad to have on hand. he rattles through his overs and is particularly dangerous against players who havent faced him before. Powar is just not a convincing enough package for me. he can only bowl in a certain method, and is successful in a particular kind of situation. (hard for me to explain this. i feel when the pressure is on, he is not a bowler you turn to.) and, as a #8 batsman he is a huge failure. he belongs at #10 for me. anyways, i dont see Kumble playing in the WC in the majority of matches. Same would be for Powar. It is going to be Bhajji and the part-timers. Again, in the event that Bhajji gets injured I think Kumble is the right man to come in - he will do the same job of picking up a wicket or two and keeping it to less than 45 runs in his 10 overs.

[King Tendulkar]

Re: WC team and squad I feel Uthappa would be very happy coming in middle order. He is power hitter and would be less suspect to short balls when ball is lot older. If patahn plays it must as be 5th bowler only and try to get 5 or 6 overs out of him when power plays are not on and when not with new ball which he cant control and will speed to be boundary. Sehawg in last knock looked best I have seen for months. Maybe he got kick up arse needed and had time to discover his old game. Apparently he has been watching videos of himslef in his pomp. Must only play 1 spinner with kumble dropping to bench. Kaif is cr#p and deserved not to be picked and hopefully will never play for India again. Gambhir is the unlucky one as he never had a run to prove himself, as he has been great form .He is the one who has been messsed around.