India

[Pranav]

Discussion thread for India's 2011 World Cup campaign.

The probables -

MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Saurabh Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Parthiv Patel , R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Cheteshwar Pujara, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar.​

To me, the current Indian side looks like a very strong unit. They have been performing quite well of late. The fact that this World Cup is being played at the subcontinent makes them the team to be beat and boosts their chances of actually winning the tournament.

Players to look out for - Sachin Tendulkar (this, most probably, is his last World Cup and he'd definitely like to make it special both for himself and the country), Virat Kohli (he has been phenomenal recently and scored the second highest runs in ODIs last year, only next to Hashim Amla, thus making him an essential member of the Indian side) and R Ashwin (though his selection in the playing XI is highly unlikely considering that the likes of Harbhajan Singh is already in the team, his ability to ball effectively in the powerplays and the death overs makes him a player to look out for).

 

[ZexyZahid]

If India is smart, they include a second spinner and that is likely to be Ashwin.

I wonder whether a second wicketkeeper will be included. If he is not used that spot can better be given to a batsmen or bowler.

And India really must include Yusuf Pathan. He can change a match within a couple of balls.

 

[SaiSrini]

Ashwin must play a lot of games. Though he is an off spinner, he is completely different from Harbhajan in that he has the carrom ball and other variations that Harbhajan does not have. He is a more attacking off spinner than Harbhajan, and he is a very good bowler and should not be sitting in the bench just because Harbhajan, the over rated premier bowler of our side, is an offie.

I would play both Kohli and Yuvraj and leave out Yusuf. Yuvraj and Raina can be useful part timers, and the combined impact of Kohli and Yuvraj far outweighs the so called big hitting prowess of Yusuf. A great XI would be like this:

V Sehwag
S Tendulkar
G Gambhir
V Kohli
Y Singh
MS Dhoni
S Raina
H Singh
R Ashwin/P Kumar
Z Khan
A Nehra

 

[AbhishekS]

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Suresh Raina
5. Virat Kohli
6. MS Dhoni
7. Yusuf Pathan
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Pragyan Ojha / Ravichandran Ashwin
11. Ashish Nehra / Praveen Kumar

this seems to be the best possible XI to me.

 

[Cricketman]

I'd go with

Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli
MS Dhoni
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Ashish Nehra
Praveen Kumar/Sreesanth/R Ashwin

If you think about it the 3rd pacer is going to get smashed no matter who it is. Praveen will bowl well with the new ball but is shite in the death, Sree will always be wayward, might explode but produces an absolute jaffa on occasion, and the other guys in Munaf are liabilities in the field and are very smashable. I am tempted to go with Ashwin too, he can even open the bowling tbh.

No spot for Yusuf it seems. I would have actually liked to play him at 7... he is crap on most occasions don't get me wrong but just the thought of us possibly being 200/4 in the 50th over with him walking in to tee off kinda sounds good. We're screwed if we are 50/4 though.

 

[Sahil 7]

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Virat Kohli
5. Suresh Raina / yuvraj singh
6. MS Dhoni
7. Yusuf Pathan
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Praveen Kumar /ishant sharma
11. Ashish Nehra

this line up looks good to me

 

[SaiSrini]

I'd go with

Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli
MS Dhoni
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Ashish Nehra
Praveen Kumar/Sreesanth/R Ashwin

If you think about it the 3rd pacer is going to get smashed no matter who it is. Praveen will bowl well with the new ball but is shite in the death, Sree will always be wayward, might explode but produces an absolute jaffa on occasion, and the other guys in Munaf are liabilities in the field and are very smashable. I am tempted to go with Ashwin too, he can even open the bowling tbh.

No spot for Yusuf it seems. I would have actually liked to play him at 7... he is crap on most occasions don't get me wrong but just the thought of us possibly being 200/4 in the 50th over with him walking in to tee off kinda sounds good. We're screwed if we are 50/4 though.

We both have the same team!

 

[sami ullah khan]

India will be very disappointed if they don't make it to the semis at least. India's only problem could be the pressure of the home crowd.

 

[Prithvi]

My line up:
Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli
MS Dhoni
Suresh Raina
Yusuf Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Praveen Kumar
Zaheer Khan
Ashish Nehera/Ravichandran Ashwin.

----------

India will be very disappointed if they don't make it to the semis at least. India's only problem could be the pressure of the home crowd.

Home crowd should be advantageous, more than pressure.
But TBH, if they play good cricket, the home crowd would be an advantage. At the same time, if their performance is a lacklusture one, home crowd would be an additional pressure .

 

[SaiSrini]

More than the home crowd, its the pressure of playing in a World Cup where India is expected to run away with the cup, that will weigh more in the minds of the players. What kind of media backlash they will receive if they dont make to the semis, etc. Home crowd wont be pressure, in fact it will be good for India to have home crowd support.

 

[sayan chakrabor]

In my view,first 11 of India is like to be: -
Sehwag
Tendulkar
Gambhir
Kohli
Rohit Sharma
Yuvraj/Raina/Yuvraj
Dhoni
harbhajan/Ashwin
Zaheer
Nehra/Sreesanth
Praveen Kumar

Team India has several part time spinners,like Sehwag,Yuvi,Raina,Yusuf,Tendulkar,etc & they doesn't need any 2nd spinner

 

[mohit_dude10]

Every time India has gone in as favorites they have not done very well. Hope it doesn't happen this time too.

 

[sami ullah khan]

I think teams should look to go in with five specialist bowlers if they lack a quality all-rounder. Fifth bowler can lose you matches.

 

[6ry4nj]

Why bother with Harbhajan? What has he done lately?

Your two best ODI spinners are Ashwin and Ojha. They both belong in the default team.

You guys must really hate Ishant Sharma. He is your second-best ODI paceman. With Zaheer and Nehra he forms your best three-pronged pace lineup.

Since you all agree on Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, and Dhoni, that only leaves one batting spot to fight over.

 

[SaiSrini]

Harbhajan is a no-brainer selection on Indian wickets. His batting is just too tempting not to pick on Indian wickets, and he can be really economical with his bowling even on Indian wickets. He might not pick you the wickets, but he will be very economical that will lead the opposition to target the other bowlers which can increase chances of wickets. Harbhajan will and should play. Also Raina has cemented his spot in the ODI's and on Indian wickets, HE IS A MONSTER HITTER! Plus add his exceptional fielding and useful bowling skills. Kohli, Yuvraj, Yusuf, Dhoni, Gambhir, Tendulkar (even Sehwag loses out on the overall value since he doesnt bowl much these days) all will lose to Raina and cant shake him in that spot on Indian conditions. Dont mix Raina's test form in SA with his capabilities in the subcontinent.