TOI's dream Indian ODI squad

[Roshanrocks]

Another TOI attempt at an article to garner eyeballs, create controversies and in turn generate good advertising revenue. :--D.. lets c what ICF thinks about this article....

So, who all are there in your Dream Indian Team? Would it be an all-conquering unit? This thought has surely consumed us at some point or another. As we rev up our World Cup coverage, TOI attempts this question from a new perspective. Called Impact Index, it cuts through eras, conditions and varied teams to bring batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders and wicket-keepers on the same platform. Using it as the premise, we offer you the greatest ODI side India can line up, assuming that a time machine could make everybody play at their peak levels at the same time (while not falling to any outside temptations too!) . ABOUT IMPACT INDEX Impact Index is a newly-developed statistical system in cricket that measures the impact of a player in a match, relative to all the other performances, on a scale of 0 to 5. On a match and career level, it probably explains the contributions of each player in a much better manner. By adding context to its measurement, too, it avoids the skews of timehonoured systems like averages. By making its calculations holistically from each match, it cuts out the subjectivity of rating systems too. The Times of India will present Impact Index right through the World Cup 2011. Points to note: CAPTAIN: India's best-four ODI captains are in this team – so not easy to choose. II chooses MS Dhoni though – on his results. Ganguly may have been the more influential captain but Dhoni has had better results overall. Also, Ganguly is not a certainty in the team, as Amarnath is a much better no. 3 batsman than him in hostile conditions. BALANCE: When you have batsmen of this calibre, you can surely afford to incorporate 5 specialist bowlers too (with Sehwag and Ganguly as back-ups , or Amarnath, if Ganguly does not play). TEAM II: Team II is the impact of the team as a unit. The Dream Team above has a Team II of 2.92. To put that in perspective, India's World Cup-winning side of 1983 has a Team II (based on career figures) of 2.63. India's current side, competing in the World Cup has a Team II of 2.66, which is remarkable, but more about that on Wednesday. The Dream Team was selected from this bank of outstanding performers to play ODI cricket for India. INDIA'S 10 MOST IMPACTFUL BATSMEN 1. S Tendulkar (II 2.16) 2. V Sehwag (II 1.86) 3. S Ganguly (II 1.74) 4. N Sidhu (II 1.72) 5. M Azharuddin (II 1.67) 6. MS Dhoni (II 1.65) 7. G Gambhir (II 1.63) 8. K Srikkanth (II 1.56) 9. Yuvraj Singh (II 1.55) 10. R Dravid (II 1.51) SURPRISES: Navjot Sidhu - an excellent match-winning record. G Gambhir - reliable and consistent. K Srikkanth – the best ODI batsman of his generation. INDIA'S 10 MOST IMPACTFUL BOWLERS 1. Harbhajan Singh (II 1.88) 2. J Srinath (II 1.78) 3. Anil Kumble (II 1.76) 4. Z Khan (II 1.70) 5. Kapil Dev (II 1.68) 6. A Agarkar (II 1.64) 7. Irfan Pathan (II 1.63) 8. A Nehra (II 1.59) 9. M Prabhakar (II 1.56) 10. V Prasad (II 1.50) SURPRISES: Nehra – despite his fitness issues, a high performer. Agarkar – India's best wicket-taking bowler in ODIs. Prabhakar – one of India's best new ball ODI bowlers. INDIA'S 10 MOST IMPACTFUL PLAYERS (OVERALL) 1. Kapil Dev (II 3.87) 2. MS Dhoni (II 3.56) 3. Sachin Tendulkar (3.42) 4. Ravi Shastri (II 3.17) 5. Irfan Pathan (II 3.06) 6. Sourav Ganguly (II 2.96) 7. Mohinder Amarnath (II 2.94) 8. Virender Sehwag (II 2.86) 9. Harbhajan Singh (II 2.80) 10. Manoj Prabhakar (II 2.80) SURPRISES: Ravi Shastri – absorbed pressure with the bat, broke partnerships with the ball. Irfan Pathan – outstanding bowler in helpful conditions, useful batsman. Mohinder Amarnath – the most consistent performer against quality opposition. It is very interesting to note that there are 6 current players in India's Dream Team. More about that and India's (excellent) chances in World Cup 2011 in tomorrow's edition. KEY: M – Matches (does not include no-result matches) BatA- Batting Average; SR – Strike Rate; BowlA: Bowling Average; Econ: Economy Rate II – Impact Index (on a scale of 0 to 5 through his career)

[Roshanrocks]

THE TEAM MS DHONI (2004 - ) M167 | BatA49 | SR89 | II3.56 Capable of being as explosive as the bestknown in that business, but even more importantly, one of India's best finishers in an ODI chase. Perfect for coming in at four-down. The only other Indian cricketer who played three roles consistently well — batsman, wicket-keeper and captain (which explains his very high II). He is India's best-ever in the last two roles, and 6th best batsman in its history (Batting II 1.65). This is remarkable for all of ODI history, for any country. VIRENDER SEHWAG (1999 - ) M214 | BatA35 | SR103 | BowlA40 | Econ5.3 | II2.86 An automatic choice to take first strike when India bat. Considered to be an under-achiever in ODIs given his record in Tests, Sehwag's figures are not extraordinary in the conventional sense. Except for his unreal strike-rate , that is. It's match-winning significance is brought out by II. He has also been one of the best part-time bowlers India has had (0.73 II). SACHIN TENDULKAR (1989 - ) M420 | BatA45 | SR86 | BowlA44 | Econ5.1 | II3.42 Tendulkar has been at his best as an ODI opening batsman, and is an automatic choice here. With the sole exception of Viv Richards, no other batsman in ODI cricket history leads the next best amongst his countrymen by such a margin (Tendulkar's Batting II is 2.16; the next best is 1.86). With a consistency and longevity that is unparalleled in ODI cricket history, Tendulkar is in a batting orbit of his own in the shorter version. His Bowling II of 0.66 also suggests a very useful part-time bowler. YUVRAJ SINGH (2000 - ) M253 | BatA37 | SR88 | BowlA39 | Econ5 | II2.77 Conventional statistics do not reveal what a high impact player Yuvraj has been in ODI cricket. His recent form and injury (and fitness) problems have tended to cloud that even more. Impact Index reveals that he has been India's greatest match-winning player after Tendulkar (which explains his Batting II of 1.55) – and a fine batsman under pressure (India's thirdbest of all-time , as per II). Nor do they reveal that he is India's best part-time bowler (Bowling II of almost 1 – which would have made him a genuine allrounder ) and also India's best fielder. SOURAV GANGULY (1992 – 2007) M295 | BatA41 | SR: 74 | BowlA 38 | Econ5 | II2.96 On a career level, Sehwag and Tendulkar have greater claims to the opening spot. But Ganguly is too accomplished to leave out too, so he makes it as a number 3 batsman for this team. Ganguly is the third-best ODI batsman India has ever produced as per II (Batting II 1.74) – a reputation that has its foundations in his performances as an opener with Tendulkar. He was also a fine seam bowler (0.69 II), a matchwinner and an influential captain. HARBHAJAN SINGH (1998 - ) M202 | BowlA33 | Econ4.3 | II2.80 Not as good a batsman in ODIs as in Tests, but still a dangerous six-down . As a bowler, impossible to leave out in ODIs. India's finest ODI bowler by a distance (Bowling II 1.88; next best 1.78). The second-highest Economy II amongst all Indian bowlers (revealing him as India's most containing bowler just after Kapil Dev)... this remains his most notable feature as a bowler. A morethan-impressive wicket-taker , as well as the highest Partnership-Breaking II in Indian ODI history. M AZHARUDDIN (1985 – 2000) M320 | BatA37 | SR74 | II2.45 A perfect batsman at this position – capable of, both, rotating the strike and stepping up the pace if required. India's finest middle-order batsman (Batting II 1.67) was also one of the genuine match-winners of his era. Notorious consistency even during poor form keeps him from not being higher than No. 5 on the list of India's greatest ODI batsmen. He was also the finest fielder of his generation (according to II, the fourth-best Indian fielder of all-time ). KAPIL DEV (1978 – 1994) M218 | BatA24 | SR 95 | BowlA27 | Econ3.7 | II3.87 A dream five-down batsman for any ODI team. Quite simply India's greatest player to play ODI cricket. The finest all-rounder (Batting II 1.25; Bowling II 1.68) to play for India. A match-winning batsman on his day, but more than that – a consistent bowler (with the highest Economy II ever amongst all of India's bowlers). ANIL KUMBLE (1990 – 2007) M259 | BowlA31 | Econ4.3 | II2.45 A double spin attack of this class should be effective in any conditions, against any team. He has better conventional figures than Harbhajan – but on a match-by-match basis, not as good as him, as revealed by II. A better Test bowler, but still the third-best Indian ODI bowler of all-time . Third-highest Economy II and second-highest Partnership-Breaking II. Could always be relied upon to bring calm to proceedings. ZAHEER KHAN (2000 - ) M172 | BowlA 30 | Econ4.9 | II2.49 His left-arm pace adds great variety to the bowling attack. Very underrated on an alltime scale, Zaheer is India's second-best pace bowler ever (his Bowling II of 1.70 is marginally higher than that of Kapil Dev's ). If fully fit, capable of turning matches around. JAVAGAL SRINATH (1991 – 2003) M222 | BowlA 28 | Econ4.4 | II2.53 Would no doubt bowl the first over. India's finest pace bowler in ODIs has a Bowling II of 1.78 – considerably bolstered by his Economy II; he was one of the finest opening bowlers in an era that saw the introduction of early power-play field restrictions. India's thirdhighest Top/Middle-order Wickets II, revealing him as a consistent wicket-taker . II also reveals him to have high Bonus points for strength-of-opposition and performances in key matches. 12TH MAN MOHINDER AMARNATH (1975 – 1989) M83 | BatA31 | SR58 | BowlA43 Econ4.3 | II2.94 Should play instead of Ganguly if pitch is fast and bouncy (which is Ganguly's weakness), and the opposition bowlers are the best in the business. Is a better back-up bowler than Ganguly too. India's best batsman of fast bowling (his high Bonus points II – second to only Tendulkar - suggests top performances against the best teams), which is hidden by his conventional figures. A Batting II of 1.30 is complemented by a Bowling II of 0.94 that suggests (almost) a genuine all-rounder at play.

[Roshanrocks]

all in all most would agree with the final team without bothering to read the first half of the article

[Sir john]

:lazy: :yawn2:

[Zap_Brannigan]

all in all most would agree with the final team without bothering to read the first half of the article

Any team that has Azharuddin will most probably lose

[saneindian]

Kick out Azhar and get in Dravid and we will have a perfect team.

[Sir john]

great ... ICF doesnt care :clap: Big phail for TOI , not many commented on the article too... :--D

wrong time choosen by TOI to publish article,everyone have world cup fever..

[achilles]

I think Jimmy is a better pick than Azzu in the 11.