Indian ODI team - buidling to WC in Aus

[shankycricket]

Why would you move Virat from 3?

Well, if the likes of Viru continue to fail, that might well have to happen.

[andy]

i think this will be the side for the first game in 2015..

BEARING IN MIND ITS IN OZ AND NZ

1.Virender Sehwag
2.Ajinkya Rahane
3.Virat Kohli
4.Manoj Tiwary
5.Suresh Raina
6.M.S.Dhoni
7.Irfan Pathan
8.R.Ashwin
9.Umesh Yadav
10.Varun Aaron
11.Vinay Kumar

Somehow Sehwag and Raina will be in there...think Dhoni will play 2015 then call it a day, same with Irfan..Zak would have retired from odi cricket by then IMO, Yadav and Aaron the future of indian fast bowling, with Vinay playing a supporting act...

other 4 squad members

Mandeep Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Pragyan Ojha
Ishant

[shankycricket]

I think I'd prefer to focus on the Champions Trophy next year. The World Cup is still far away. Shockingly, we only have another 8 ODIs ahead of the Champions Trophy. Might need to do a lot of experimentation in those.

[dan08]

Bhuvneshwar looked good in the IPL and has done well for India A, he deserves a place in the ODI squad.

[shankycricket]

Yeah, and he can bat. Averages 27 with the FC cricket with 9 fifties in 38 matches. He allows the option to play 5 bowlers i.e. 4 seamers and 1 spinner. Irfan at 7, Bhuvneshwar at 8 and Ashwin at 9 looks decent enough to me.

[shankycricket]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/co ... 85787.html

Excellent article this. Couldn't agree more.

[Slipstream]

ICC ODI rankings

Batting
2 Kohli
6 Dhoni
9 Gambhir
24 Sehwag
29 Raina
30 Tendulkar
51 Sharma
73 Jadeja
80 YPathan

Bowling
4 Ashwin
33 Jadeja
34 ZKhan
36 Harbhajan
38 PKumar
49 Patel
53 VKumar
58 Pathan
80 Mishra
94 Sharma

[andy]

Y.Pathan as high as 80th!

[shankycricket]

This may be the right time to bump this thread.

Bhuvneshwar looked good in the IPL and has done well for India A, he deserves a place in the ODI squad.

Indeed, how right you were! The guy has simply been a revelation.

I think I'd prefer to focus on the Champions Trophy next year. The World Cup is still far away. Shockingly, we only have another 8 ODIs ahead of the Champions Trophy. Might need to do a lot of experimentation in those.

Well, well, well, we've won the CT and all the changes made by the selectors seem to have worked big time.
This squad has undergone lots of changes since October. Only 4 players from the 2011 World Cup winning team were a part of the CT squad and the average age of the squad is 26. The 32 year old MS Dhoni is the oldest member of the squad, so age is not a problem at all for 2015. The question is, how many of them are good enough? Well, I think the XI that played throughout the CT are good enough provided they maintain form/fitness. Of course a few of them could work on certain areas but ability is definitely there. From among the reserves, I think Vijay is a decent player (although again could improve), Mishra being a leggie will always be a tempting option but I'm not so sure Irfan or Vinay. Both were perhaps reasonable "stop gap" options for this tournament, but going forward, I think we have better alternatives.
Shami looked good in the ODIs he played over the winter, Praveen Kumar showed some promising signs during the IPL that he's slowly but steadily getting back to his best. Then we've got Siddharth Kaul (who was in the 30 man probables) who had a terrific domestic season in all 3 formats and Sandeep Sharma, the under 19 World Cup prodigy, who was equally brilliant over the domestic season. Another good season this year and he could be in the mix.

In the spin department, Jadeja and Ashwin have firmly estabalished themselves as the first choice spinners and quite rightly so. But as far as back ups go, apart from Mishra, who was in the CT squad, I won't discount Bhajji just as yet. And Rahul Sharma, with the extra bounce that he gets should also see him stay in the selectors' thoughts.

In the batting department, Dhawan has been simply brilliant and unless for a serious drop in form, should very much open in 2015. Rohit has shown some promising signs as an opener although far from fully convincing.

[shankycricket]

If Rohit can crack it as an opener, it would help the team no ends in Australia where you need an opener who can attack the short pitched deliveries.

I still think Pujara has to find a spot somewhere. Kohli and Dhoni are of course established players. Karthik didn't have a lot to do in this tournament. His ability to play the short ball makes him an asset, so should be in the mix. Raina is a fine limited overs player although his record outside the Sub Continent is worse than I initially thought and I'm sure thats something that he'll be looking forward to put right over the next few months.
Guys like Tiwary (who is currently injured and ruled out for 4 months) and Rayudu are also in the mix. And I won't yet rule out Gambhir or Yuvi either.

Sehwag and Zaheer are done for me although the latter, if fully fit, could still play overseas Tests.

On the whole, I'd be looking at a pool for the World Cup and in the next 1 and a half years, rest/rotate players from out of this pool.

I'm looking at :

Openers : Dhawan, Rohit, Gambhir, Vijay, Rahane.
Middle Order : Pujara (can also open), Kohli, Dhoni, Karthik, Raina, Rayudu, Yuvraj Tiwary.
Spinners : Jadeja, Ashwin, Harbhajan, Mishra, Rahul Sharma.
Seamers : Bhuvi, Umesh, Ishant, Shami, Praveen, Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.

Thats 25 players, which I believe should be enough to pick and chose from, including second string sides such as the one for the series vs Zimbabwe.

Of course, outstanding domestic performers could still be added to that list but in general, these are the players I'll be looking at.

[ddb]

Pujara can only get in as opener, I wouldn't move Kohli from 3.

Edit: Haha, I see at the top of the thread you wanted to move Virat to open, now you want him at 4.

[greyblazer]

Pujara can only get in as opener, I wouldn't move Kohli from 3.

Edit: Haha, I see at the top of the thread you wanted to move Virat to open, now you want him at 4.

You know what to expect

[shankycricket]

Pujara can only get in as opener, I wouldn't move Kohli from 3.

Edit: Haha, I see at the top of the thread you wanted to move Virat to open, now you want him at 4.

Because the option of opening with Rohit wasn't even being contemplated then. I think Pujara is ideal at 3, if Rohit nails down the opening slot, so that leaves Virat at 4.
But if you don't wanna move Kohli from 3, I don't see a problem with Pujara at 4 either. Why does it only have to be as an opener? Why can't he bat at 4? If the likes of Mahela, Root, etc. can bat at 4, why not Pujara? He's in a similar mould to them. Dravid has batted at 4 quite a few times too and Pujara is a more aggressive player. He's certainly flexible enough to bat at 4, I don't see him as a Trott type player, who can't bat outside the top 3.

[shankycricket]

Pujara can only get in as opener, I wouldn't move Kohli from 3.

Edit: Haha, I see at the top of the thread you wanted to move Virat to open, now you want him at 4.

You know what to expect

Yes, how does anyone dare to change his preferred batting order within a period of 9 months!

I mean, c'mon, are you seriously suggesting that the India ODI XI (or any country, for that matter) that you'd have picked 9 months back would exactly be the same to the one you pick today?

[Slipstream]

For Tests

1 Dharwan
2 Pujara
3 Kohli
5 Rahane
6 Tiwary
6 Dhoni
7 Jadeja
8 Ashwin
9 Kumar
10 Sharma
11 Yadav

I would like to fit Tendulkar and Zaheer in there but time for the next generation.