Indian team for SL ODIs

So, the BCCI just couldn’t resist slipping in a meaningless ODI series to disrupt a well-earned rest for the Indian cricket team. In a similar vein, therefore, I cannot resist sending out my team for it.

Basically, this one-day team is a reflection of the shape that I think the team needs to take this year, as we approach the half-way point towards the next World Cup. Much of the team looks settled, and all the tinkering has tended to be with the bench strength and around the edges. But now it’s time to start settling upon combinations that can work for us over the next two years, instead of continuing to tinker.

For me, that involves one major decision to start with, and that is going to be controversial. And that is to drop Tendulkar from the one-day side. Don’t get me wrong – I still think he is a great player, and would like to think that he has a couple of years of Test cricket left in him. But that is precisely why I think his one-day appearances need to be curtailed. However well he is playing, it is clear now that the body is weaker than the mind is, and Sachin has now had a relatively major injury crop up every year or two for the past few. I would much rather have Sachin fit to play a full Test schedule than throw him in for meaningless ODI series and risk further injury or wear-and-tear.

I think Sachin himself sees that – hence his decision to opt out of the early part of the England one-day series, for instance. And this brings me to the reason why leaving Sachin out of the ODI team is good not just for him, but for the team.

At this point, Sachin is more or less playing his own selector, picking and choosing which games to play and which not to. That’s fine as an acknowledgment to one of the game’s all-time greats, but not really good for the team. At this point, a Test middle order without Sachin would have a big hole in it, and it’s not entirely clear who will fill it. But a one-day line-up without Sachin doesn’t seem to miss him at all. Whether against England or in the earlier games in the summer that Sachin missed through injury, his absence really wasn’t felt at all, because the personnel already exist to make a quality top 6 even in his absence. Gambhir and Sehwag form as effective an opening partnership as Sachin and Sehwag did in their prime; Yuvraj and Dhoni are two of the most dangerous middle / lower-middle order batsmen in the one-day game; and Raina and Rohit, not Sachin, are the ones who are likely to be reaching the peak of their game come 2011. When Sachin plays, therefore, he has to be accommodated, regardless of how well he is playing. Gambhir has to drop down to 3 – where he is comfortable enough, but it’s still an odd thing to have to shuffle the player who has been your most reliable batsman to accommodate someone else’s position. And most importantly, someone else has to get the axe – someone else who is likely to be better served being properly groomed for the long-term rather than worrying about his place in the 11.

That someone, at this point, is Rohit Sharma. Rohit has played the odd sparkling knock in his ODI career so far; but over the past year, Raina has most certainly outplayed him. Yet, there is no doubting Rohit’s talent, not just as a one-day player, but also as a future Test player. Hence, this is the time to be really encouraging Rohit. If Sachin plays, then Rohit either gets dropped down the order to 6 or 7 to play as a finisher; or he is dropped from the 11 altogether, as happened towards the end of the England ODI series. The end of that series, when India was well on top, was the ideal time to give Rohit a chance higher up the order with less pressure. Instead, Sachin felt he wanted to play, and Rohit had to sit out.

For me, one of the agendas of the year has to be to take care of Rohit, and give him the opportunity to blossom. That means not just playing him, but giving him a fixed position in the line-up – at this point, he has been moved everywhere from 3 to 7. And I think that position needs to be at 3. Everyone knows Rohit can play lovely little cameos down the order. But he is too good a batsman to be left to just that role. For him to become a serious Test contender, he needs to get into the habit of making big 100s. Allowing him to play at 3, and giving him time as well as the challenge of negotiating that pivotal role, is the best way to do it. He may fail a few times, but I think he needs to be told that the spot is his, and that he will be given the opportunity to fail.

Sachin, in a sense, achieved whatever he needed to in his one-day career by guiding India to the VB Series win last year. At this point, he is simply indulging his desire to get a game in whenever he feels like it. He may feel like he has more one-day cricket left in him – but so did Ganguly, who was in fact batting with great consistency when he was dropped from the one-day side. I thought the selectors were being harsh with Ganguly at the time, but that move in fact allowed Gambhir to consolidate his place in the scheme of things, which, from a team perspective, was enormously beneficial – especially since Gambhir carried on the confidence he developed in the shorter form into his Test performances. At this point, some selectorial courage is required to make a similar decision with Sachin, so that Rohit gets the chance to shine.

My second controversial decision would be to bench Zaheer Khan. Unlike Sachin, I see Zak playing a central role in the 2011 World Cup. But he is now 30, and I do think his workload needs to be carefully managed. I would much rather have Zak fully fit for our Test engagements this year, where he is irreplaceable, than have him play ODIs all over the place. This is especially since we do have a pool of young fast bowlers coming through the ranks, and so this would provide some space to give them a chance as well. Ravi Shastri mentioned that physiologically, a fast bowler needs to be bowling as much as possible until he is 22, because that is when bowling more actually helps him develop the right muscles, and prevents injuries down the road. So with someone like Ishant Sharma, one is actually better off over-bowling him than under-bowling him. 22-26 then is the optimum age for a fast bowler’s fitness. After 26, too much bowling can actually be counter-productive, so that is when managing workload becomes extremely important. Hence, at this point, I would play Ishant whenever fit, but hold Zak back for the big ones.

So, with that as prelude, some of the elements of the Indian team to Sri Lanka start fitting into place. The top 6 is pretty straightforward: Gambhir and Sehwag to open, Rohit and Raina given a chance to prove themselves at 3 and 4; Yuvraj and Dhoni at 5 and 6. Subramaniam Badrinath is an obvious reserve batsman. For the second reserve batsman, however, I would drop Virat Kohli and go back to Robin Uthappa.

I do think Kohli has some potential, but to be honest, from what I have seen of him, he still seems very raw and has a long way to go as a batsman, even technically. Uthappa may not have made a great fist of things so far – but he is someone we have invested in for 2+ years now, and I think the key in cases like this is to try and realize that investment. After being dropped, Uthappa has gone back and made runs in domestic cricket, and was in fact the top scorer in the Challenger Trophy, which is meant, after all, to serve as a selection trial for the one-day squad. He certainly has talent, strokes, and an innate self-confidence, and is someone who in my opinion is worth nurturing.

There are a couple of things that I like about Uthappa as a one-day player. The first is that he is an ideal man to play the role that has been thrust upon Rohit, as a floater in the line-up. Uthappa is probably most effective as a finisher, but he can bat anywhere from 1 to 7, and has turned in useful performances at pretty much all these spots. This makes him an ideal person to be on the bench, since he can effectively cover for any of the batsmen in case of injury. The second thing that makes him attractive is his wicket-keeping abilities. He’s not a frontline keeper by any means; but he could provide the opportunity for Dhoni to rest, at least from his keeping roles. With Dhoni now captaining in all three forms of the game, I think that it is essential for him to have the option of not having to keep in every game. Neither DK nor Parthiv, on present form, warrant a place in the one-day 15. Hence, it’s worthwhile grooming Uthappa not just as a back-up batsman, but also as a back-up one-day keeper. His overall utility value to the team, therefore, makes him an obvious selection in my mind.

The no. 7 spot needs to go to an all-rounder, and I think the only two who are clearly good enough to play for India are the Pathan brothers. Yusuf is more of a batsman who can bowl a bit; but I think that if he works on his bowling, then he could be someone who could be relied upon as a support spinner. Certainly, he deserves a proper run as a batsman, especially in favorable conditions. Meanwhile, there is no question in my mind that in one-days, Irfan is a better bet than R.P. Singh simply because of his batting abilities. R.P. might be the better bowler, and certainly I would pick him ahead of Irfan for Tests. But R.P.’s own form over the past year has been ordinary at best, and on this form, I see no justification for him getting into the side ahead of Irfan, his friendship with Dhoni notwithstanding. In any case, we really need to decide what to do with Irfan. He has continued to blow hot and blow cold, but the talent there is immense. And there is a genuine all-rounder there. A Test spot might still be a question mark (though I would certainly keep him in the reckoning), but from my perspective having him be a part of the one-day scheme of things is a no-brainer.

If we are to have a real chance of winning the World Cup in 2011, we do need a genuine all-rounder at 7 – 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers isn’t going to cut it. At this point, I just don’t see too many all-rounders in the country beyond the Pathan brothers who are international class. I think that the third person to bring into the reckoning is young Ravindra Jadeja, who impressed greatly as a batsman in the IPL before turning out as the season’s highest wicket-taker in domestic cricket with his left-arm spin. But at the moment, Yusuf needs to be given a proper run before others are brought in and tried out. Jadeja could well have a future as an India player, but I wouldn’t select him just yet. In Sri Lanka, Yusuf would probably warrant a spot ahead of Irfan in the 11. But in New Zealand, conditions could well suit Irfan’s bowling and make him a very dangerous customer.

In terms of bowling, Harbhajan Singh as primary spinner is obvious, certainly in one-dayers. So too is Ishant, and in the absence of Zaheer, Munaf. For my third seamer, I would pick Praveen Kumar. In all the dust up about whether Irfan should be picked or R.P., I was amazed that PK was quietly dropped out of consideration towards the end of last year. In my opinion, he is one of the best ODI bowlers in the country today. He is tidy, consistent, keeps it on a line and length, swings it both ways, and is constantly aggressive and at the batsmen all the time. He has done well whenever he has been given the chance, and has already won a few games for India in his short career. His fitness has been remarkable – he has bowled many overs for UP over the past few years, without ever breaking down. For me, his dropping by the Srikkanth committee after they took over was one of the scandals of the year; but because PK is not a celebrity figure, it hardly got any play. In New Zealand, I think his wicket-to-wicket swing can be devastating. But even in Sri Lanka, I think a bowler like him who is constantly at the batsman can be very effective. The Lankans like to go after bowlers, and PK is not an easy bowler to go after. Regardless of conditions, he is a certainty in my book, not just in the 15 but in the 11.

That only leaves the reserve spinner to choose, and here in my mind is the second instance of poor treatment in recent times. From my perspective, there is no question that this spot should go to Piyush Chawla. The talent there is immense, as is the temperament, and whenever he has been given a chance, he has risen to the occasion – whether it was in England last year (after which he was promptly dropped), or against Australia in the VB series, or in the IPL (after which he was promptly ignored). His lower-order batting abilities mean that he would not only be a viable replacement for Bhajji, but also a viable substitute for PK if conditions favor a second spinner. How and why Pragyan Ojha can be preferred to him remains an utter mystery to me. From my perspective, Ojha’s was the most undeserving selection of 2008. I thought that this was Venkatapathy Raju’s nepotism towards a fellow Hyderabadi, so am perplexed that he has been kept in the picture by the Srikkanth committee as well. PC looks to me like a real long-term prospect, as someone who can push Amit Mishra for a Test spot as well. He should absolutely be part of the team as far as I am concerned.

Hence, my team for Sri Lanka:

Playing XI:

Gautam Gambhir
Virendra Sehwag (V)
Rohit Sharma
Suresh Raina
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Dhoni © (W)
Yusuf Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Praveen Kumar
Ishant Sharma
Munaf Patel

Reserves:

Subramaniam Badrinath
Robin Uthappa
Irfan Pathan
Piyush Chawla