By Denzil Fernandes - Dubai
For Daijiworld Media Network
Feb 5: With the cricket World Cup of 2007 in the West Indies almost round the corner, there will be so many Indian cricket patriots discussing the final composition of the Indian cricket team for the prestigious tournament. Naturally so.
It is surely not going to be a million dollar question at all. The men have been separated from the boys already by India coach and ‘Guru’ Greg Chappell and the Indian team is as good as selected for the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
While the recent tour of South Africa helped awaken the sleeping souls of Indian cricket, it also added that much needed injection into the Indian players. In fact, the drubbing in South Africa was a ‘blessing in disguise’ to say the least.
Those who are most ‘likely’ to be on the plane to the West Indies are:
Rahul Dravid (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar (Vice Captain), Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, and Robin Uthappa select themselves while the last place will be a toss up between Sreesanth and Ramesh Powar.
It is a pity that the likes of Suresh Raina and Mohammed Kaif will have to stay back at home. Both Raina and Kaif are excellent team men and superb fielders fitting finely as substitutes. But their performance with the bat has been below par and it is but natural to consider players like Gambhir and Uthappa who have proved their mettle in more ways than one. Raina is one player who has been given huge opportunities by the selectors but nothing significant has been achieved by him except his dare devil fielding perhaps. It will be a huge shock if he makes the team to the Windies.
Kaif has served India extremely well in the past and has made use of the opportunities given to him at various times. He has been a player with very limited talent but has been a world class fielder without doubt. The BCCI should recognize this great player and send him to various state cricket associations as a fielding coach (like Jhonty Rhodes) to improve the fielding standards of our upcoming cricketers. New find Munaf Patel should be getting ready after the treatment and raring to go.
Munaf’s performance will go a long way in India’s progress in the tournament. One only hopes that he does not breakdown with any kind of injury in the middle of the contest. One feels sad for the lion hearted Irfan Pathan who again can deliver a lot. Since his early days, he has progressed as a promising all rounder and has now struck a bad patch at the wrong time for India. However, the selectors know his immense potential to bowl well and also score runs.
Yet another cricketer is Dinesh Mongia who somehow does not seem to get a fair chance to perform as per his true potential. He has been a huge success in English cricket with his all round game and the Indian selectors seem to have sidelined him for reasons best known to them. The selectors have to take one huge gamble on Sehwag and select him although he has been going through a wretched patch. But my inner sense says that Sehwag will be the man of the tournament if India have to progress all the way to the final. Viru can be hero on his day and can make mincemeat of any bowlers and the law of averages are now heavily favoured for him to perform. It is worth the risk to take Sehwag and make him pass the test.
He can also help with his slow deliveries. If Sehwag goes it will at the expense of his Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir who will surely be heart broken when he misses the plane. This is the right time for Tendulkar who should be making his final trip to the West Indies to break all batting records. It is no more a tender Tendulkar but a mature and masterly run getter for India. He will be one of the ‘seniors’ at the World Cup and fully determined to leave the world cup cricket scene with a thunder. The cricket statisticians will be waiting in full force to rewrite Tendulkar’s heroics as he explodes in the West Indies once more.
For that matter, the stocky Ramesh Powar also has to come good unless he decides to be a tourist in the West Indies. Given his body and looks, he will easily disappear into the West Indies crowd if he fails to perform. Powar, in all likelihood, will tilt the scales in view of his bits and pieces abilities as an all rounder. He easily reminds you of former India batsman Vinod Kambli as far as looks are concerned. Powar will most likely displace young Sreesanth who also must be praying hard to be in the team. But there is a tussle between Powar and Sreesanth with both the youngsters trying to impress the selectors no end. If Sreesanth makes the trip, the cricket stock in Kerala will get a huge boost and the football state may see more youngsters taking up the game. The team looks a finely balanced side and there is always Karthik waiting on the wings if any of the batsmen fail.
Agarkar for all his past good deeds should be happy with the bonus trip and ready to play a few matches if the conditions demand. Robin Uthappa has been performing well and if the selectors have an eye on the future there is no better selection than that of the Karnataka youngster. The lad from Coorg has guts of steel and a bold chest which mark him as an ideal opener. His offence and defence have given him big scores both in domestic and international cricket and the gutsy performer deserves a big break which he is bound to grab with both hands. Recent performances by Uthappa have enhanced his claims and it will be one huge decision that will also keep Sehwag on the edge throughout. In the end, both are most likely to make the trip.
There seems to be a lot of batting and if the regular bowlers disappoint the team will have Sehwag, Sachin, Sourav and Yuvraj who can roll their arm for some telling blows. All in all, the team seems to have suddenly developed a few ‘part time’ all rounders like Tendulkar, Ganguly, Agarkar, Yuvraj, Powar, Sehwag and Pathan who can be relied to contribute either with the bat or ball if not both. Those who miss the terrific trip will shed a tear or two where the elite teams of the world of cricket will be crossing swords for the supremacy in one day cricket. Of all the players in contention, Delhi’s Gautam Gambhir will be the unluckiest to miss the plane despite all his efforts.
Team selections have always become a hot issue with talent taking a back seat and other considerations taking precedence more often than not. Of course, the current selectors have shown a lot of responsibility by selecting the best players available. National interest should prevail over personal and state interest when such crucial selections are done. However, having said that, there is always a huge pressure from various corners to select their own players whether they deserve a place or not.
The zonal quota system, influence, vote power, political clout, etc. are some of the factors which sometimes make a deserving player to miss selection due to no fault of his. Indian cricket today, with its huge financial power and position, is a vicious corridor of huge ambitions which can make or break anyone. In any sport, to succeed in India, you ought to have a godfather in the higher echelons whether you are talented or not. I am sure the same rule applies in other countries as well.
The one day internationals against the touring West Indies have immensely helped India to firm up their team and the performances have been really heartwarming. One should not take too much notice of the forthcoming matches and the results against the Sri Lankans where the coach will make one final experiment to fine tune the players and give the boys a chance to get into top form. Sri Lanka have arrived without some of their stars who have been rested before the World Cup.
Similarly, India should rest some of their tested stars and avoid any last minute injury scares. On all counts, it looks as though the team is surely peaking and what better time than the forthcoming World Cup? At the end of it all, the tussle for a place in the touring party to the West Indies has been healthy with the long term planning of ‘Guru’ Greg Chappell and it will be one crowning glory for the tough Aussie coach if he succeeds in bringing the cup back to India one more time. This is one huge chance for both ‘Guru’ and ‘Dada’ to prove that they are professionals to the core. The World Cup of cricket will be a big ‘agnipariksha’ for our men in blue. When they pass that test, the coveted cup will be flying straight into the arms of roaring Indians.
Good luck India !
The final team is likely to be: Rahul Dravid (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar (Vice Captain), Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ramesh Powar, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan.