The upcoming Indian World Cup squad captained by MS Dhoni, has been announced and there are no surprises in it. The five men selection panel along with MS Dhoni and Coach Duncan Fletcher selected the 15 man squad.
India’s World Cup squad: Selectors keep their faith in the tried and tested
The most unexpected news is to see Man of the Tournament of India’s ICC World Cup victory in 2011, Yuvraj Singh is ignored though he is in red-hot form in current Ranji matches. After scoring three back-to-back hundreds in the as many matches, a large number of Yuvraj fans expected to see him in the squad. But, the selectors have something else in their mind. They kept faith on the injured all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, though it will be difficult for him to be match-fit at the time of India’s first match in the world cup. The selectors can again think of his replacement if he is not fully recovered from the injury he is suffering from.
The selectors had discussed many names beyond the 30 probable lists. However, they have persisted with the automatic choices. The squad comprises with 6-fulltime batsman like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Wicket Keeper MS Dhoni three all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Stuart Binny, Akshar Patel, one spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and four pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma. Ambati Rayudu will act as a part time wicket keeper if required. Out of the three all-rounders, Stuart Binny is considered as the only seam bowling option, though he is not in a good form currently. Out of the 6-specialistbatsman, three can act as an opener and Ajinkya Rahane can be used as a floater.
Struggling opener Shikhar Dhawan and six match experienced seam-bowling all-rounder Stuart Binny is considered in the squad Cricket’s biggest tournament scheduled from February 14 to March 29. Dhawan is considered for his lucrative one-day career whereas Stuart Binny is considered for his seam bowling utility that can be very helpful in the conditions like New Zealand and Australia.
This is heartbreaking for Murli Vijay, who is scoring lots of runs in the ongoing test series. However as the opener’s slot is already picked up by the automatic choices, he is ignored. Though India’s bating card leaded by Virat Kohli and MSD is very strong on paper, bowling department is an area of concern for the think-tank. The fast bowlers are not that much effective in the Australian conditions. They are leaking runs and not able to take wickets in a regular intervals. Leading fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar is playing in the fourth test, but he is surely lacking his fitness. However, in the Australian condition, as spinners are expected to contain runs, Ashwin, Jadeja and Akshar can hold the department firmly with the part time spin bowling option of Raina and Rohit. Altogether the selectors tried their best to select the best possible 15 to be part of the lucrative tournament to represent India.
All the cricket lovers will look forward to see someone is filling the big boot of Yuvraj Singh and become the national hero.
Tags: Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cricket, ICC World Cup, India, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli
