Let me just start off by saying that we should not really have any expectations before touring SA. We have a young team that has had little exposure outside of the sub continent. Many of the players probably have never played anywhere near the pace of Morkel and Steyn, or on wickets as fast as the ones in SA. Batting is going to struggle. We need to give our batsman a longer rope, and let them adjust to the conditions and prove their mettle. I have faith in Pujara, and the recent series vs Australia has really given me confidence in Vijay. I think these two plus Kohli will be critical.
Who knows what will be the status of Tendulkar. I have a sneaky feeling he will still be around in his 40th year. If he is not retired, he is going to SA no matter what. Even if he doesn't contribute, his presence in the dressing room can help give confidence to all these youngsters in the team.
Bowling wise, we need to get our act together. Crossing all my fingers and toes for Umesh Yadav to get better. He is the only genuine fast bowler I have seen come out of India and will be critical to us getting any kind of success in South Africa. Will be curious to see what will happen to Bhuvi, who was amazing in short bursts vs Aus but pretty flat with the older ball. I don't think MSD has much faith in him bowling later on anyway, and he won't be able to get away with bowling only 7-9 overs a test in South Africa.
I'd like to see Pankaj Singh in the squad, but he is quickly becoming the bowling equivalent of Badrinath. He is supposed to be one of the best bowlers in India but consistently gets overlooked for less worthy players even on A tours.
Still uneasy about MSD/Jadeja at 6/7. Makes for an awefully short batting lineup in South African conditions. Jadeja's bowling - at least so far - has made him almost impossible to drop. If he can contribute more with the bat it will be amazing as it will allow us to field 2 spinners and 3 seamers.
Squad I'll take:
1. Murali Vijay
2. Shikhar Dhawan
3. Cheteshwar Pujara
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Virat Kohli
6. MS Dhoni
7. Ravinder Jadeja
8. R Ashwin
9. Umesh Yadav
10. Bhuvi Kumar
11. Pankaj Singh
12. Manoj Tiwary
13. Ajinkya Rahane
14. Dinesh Karthik/Naman Ojha/Wridhi Saha
15. Praghyan Ojha
16. Irfan Pathan (in for Jadeja if we want to play 2 specialist spinners)