C'mon India

My XI for the world cup:

1.) Sourav Ganguly
2.) Sachin Tendulkar
3.) Rahul Dravid
4.) Yuvraj Singh
5.) Virendra Sehwag
6.) Mahendra Singh Dhoni
7.) Irfan Pathan
8.) Ajit Agarkar
9.) Zaheer Khan
10.) Anil Kumble
11.) Harbhajan Singh

12th man: Dinesh Karthik

With the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ rising up like a phoenix from the ashes, the slot for the first opener is indubitably cemented. He has a new stance, looking to play straighter and is facing the short ball with more confidence and with much ease. The only hurdle for him to gain his lost redemption is to counter the likes of the fast and furious Aussies.

The living god has performed healthily at the middle order in the last few outings. But I strongly believe that he should be opening the innings for India in the Caribbean. He could bat at any position in the order…but considering that he is the best player that we have at the moment, it would be a wiser option if he were offered the entire 50 overs to bat. And if he gets going….u know what to expect!!!!! The openers who have been tried out in the recent games haven’t been consistently successful, and I wouldn’t risk any of them for a major tournament like the World cup.

Dravid and Yuvraj perfectly fill up the voids in the # 3 and # 4 spots. Two class acts that have all the shots in the book.

Sehwag’s selection might be debatable. But, as I said earlier, a major tournament like the world cup isn’t the time for any experimentation. Experience would be the key and the timely break for Sehwag promises to do a world of good for his batting and fitness. And, with Sourav back, it would not be a great choice to let Sehwag open the innings.

Dhoni has been outstanding with the bat and the gloves in the recent past. Unless things turn upside down, I wouldn’t let anyone grab that spot.

Irfan has been good with the bat for sometime now. But, the primary purpose of his selection is to bowl 10 overs. Recent games have exposed his bowling incapabilities and have brought his confidence levels to rock bottom. But, have a look at the seamers in the bench for national contention.
· Sreesanth: A very good Test bowler. But his Economy rate and success levels in the shorter version of the game have sucked!

· VRV Singh: Raw pace. No rhythm and lacks the refinement of a quality fast bowler.

· RP Singh: Good bowler. But, the team has made blunders in making him sit out when toning his line/length was much required. Not a wise decision to make him take the field directly in the Carib.

· Munaf Patel: More of a military medium pacer. Also brittle and lacks the fitness required for a long serving quickie.

· Joginder Sharma: No comments!!!!


Irfan needs to regain his mojo very soon. And a month before the WC can do wonders to his confidence. Irfan with the in-form Zaheer alongside Agarkar will form a deadly pace attack that can clatter the opposition.

We are fortunate to have 2 of the best and most experienced spinners in the world. On their day, both Anil and Bhajji can run through the opposition with their vicious deliveries.

It’s pretty unfortunate that a wonderful batsman like Dinesh Karthik would have to sit out as the 12th man. But, exclusively playing Karthik as a batsman would require one of the major batter’s in our lineup to fail wretchedly. The person, who comes somewhere close to trade the 12th man spot with Karthik based on present form, is Sehwag. Otherwise, I wouldn’t listen to people who are strongly against playing 2 keepers. Karthik is good enough cricketer who can retain his place in the team due to his batting abilities alone. Considering other options its best we stick to Karthik.

Overall, we have a team capable of producing the best. With some magic, I believe we guys can do it.

LET’S GO BOYS!!!!!