XI players to watch out this world cup

1. Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin has been in prolific form in 4 of the 5 world cups he has played so far. It is amply clear that he enjoys the big stage. Given that in all probability this might well be his last world cup and being part of a world cup team is the single biggest achievement missing from his CV so far, it is expected that he would do more than his best to correct the anomaly.MSD might be looking up to him for inputs in terms of strategies as well. He would also be a great asset in steering the youngsters like Kohli or Raina who will be making their world cup debuts. India have reasonably extended resting periods between games at least in the league stages, hence the issue of recover ability which has hampered Sachin many a times in the past, shouldn’t be such a huge concern.

2. Hashim Amla

Amla has been in stupendous form in the last two years. He has been piling on runs in all formats of the game and the South African fans would be hoping that his dream run continues through the world cup. He is South Africa’s most important batsman and the team would be expecting him to anchor the innings. Amla along with Kallis and Devillers are South Africa’s best players of spin and the way they perform is going to play an instrumental role in South Africa’s success.

3. Virat Kohli

Kohli like Amla has been on a dream run and is definitely one of the players to watch out for this World cup. His game has improved by leaps and bounds and is possessed with the versatility to alter his game according to the demands of the situation. He is good player of both spin and pace and is also one of India’s best fielders. The only thing he needs to guard against is to let the pressure of playing in a World Cup get to him. He has shown tremendous composure in the IPL but the world cup will be his acid test. I hope India doesn’t commit the folly of not playing him in the eleven.  

4.  Jonathan Trott

Trott is another player who has been in fabulous form in the run up to the tournament. A batsman who is adept in dealing with both spin and pace. He has emerged has a vital cog in England’s ODI setup. Trott is a player whose success is crucial to England’s chances this world cup. Trott has also demonstrated his skills with the ball in a few matches against Australia in the ODI series held before the World Cup. However, playing in his first world cup might get to him and it is up to the seniors in the team to make sure that he doesn’t lose his cool.

5. Tamim Iqbal

Many might be surprised to see a player from Bangladesh make it to this list. However, Tamim is a player who merits attention. Tamim is a player who is very much in the mold of Sehwag. He is a player who is capable of taking the attack to the opposition. His game is such that even if he manages to stay for close to 15 overs, it would hurt the opposition badly. He played a crucial knock against India in the 2007 world cup, which played a massive role in Bangladesh chasing down the target without any hiccups. If Bangladesh are to reach the knockout stages, performances by Tamim at the top of the order are going to be mightily important.

6. Angelo Mathews

Mathews has been another player who has captured everyone’s interest in the past. He has played many a crucial innings at No.7 for Sri Lanka in the past. Mathews has single handedly won them many matches from situations of near defeats. He has mastered the art of playing with the tail. He plays a vital role with the ball too. On the slow and sluggish pitches, he might be very hard to score off. Also has the uncanny ability to break vital partnerships.

7. Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf is a player I am sure is there on everybody’s list. The ODI series against New Zealand and South Africa has greatly resurrected Pathan’s image in the minds of the cricketing public. A batsman who was ridiculed for his inability to play short-pitched bowling, he silenced all his detractors with his astounding century in Durban.  The way he handled the chin music dished out to him pleased one and all. MSD will also be looking to Pathan to fill in the quota of overs from the fifth bowler. His bowling has been steady and it is something which can be relied upon.

8. Shane Watson

Watson has been Australia’s most consistent player for the last couple of years and he was rightly honored with the Allan Border Medal for his feat. He has been prolific in all forms of the game and he fills the requirement of an aggressive opener at the top of the order flawlessly. His bowling has also improved considerably and Watson is Ponting’s go to man for breaking partnerships. If he could replicate his success over the last years in the world cup it will significantly help Australia in its title defense. However, Watson has been played a phenomenal amount of cricket in the recent past and fans will be hoping that he doesn’t breakdown or gets fatigued.

9. Gramme Swann

Swann has been England’s most valued player in the recent past. He has proved vital in England’s scheme of things and has played a crucial role in all their successes. His bowling has been exemplary and he has managed to thrive even in Australia and South Africa, which are locations not conducive to his type of bowling. The pitches in the subcontinent would provide him greater assistance and England would be expecting him to run through a quite a few line ups. Swann has also played many decisive innings down the order and is more than capable of whacking a few if the need arises. Nonetheless, he is making a comeback after an injury lay off and the English fans would be hoping that he comes back strong and invigorated.

10. Lasith Malinga

Malinga at this juncture is arguably one of the best bowlers in the limited overs format playing the game. His bowling has been exemplary in the death overs. He has huge repertoire of slower deliveries, Yorkers, bouncers, slow bouncers etc. His accuracy is incredible. He has been and will be Sangakara’s most trusted man to bowl in the power plays. He is the only man in the chequered history of the game to have taken four wickets in four balls. He is a fine exponent of reverse swing and Sri Lanka will be hoping for a strong performance from him this world cup.

11. Umar Gul

Umar Gul is another bowler who has been splendid with the ball in both T20 and ODI in the recent past. Gul is arguably the most skilled bowler with the old ball amongst the crop playing the game. He has been entrusted with the responsibility of bowling in the power plays and in the slog overs and his performances havemore than justified the trust placed upon him by his team management. He is definitely one of the bowlers to watch out for in this world cup.

The World cup and the future of ODI cricket

The world cup is here. The sub continent is playing host to the august event after a hiatus of 15 years. I strongly feel that the future of ODI cricket rests solely on the success of the world cup. A dismal event might well sound death kneels to the already languishing format. The fact that marketers are cribbing about the lack of buzz in the run up to such a mega event is testimony to the difficult times the game is going through.

The ICC has given considerable thought to the format and has devised a schedule which makes it extremely difficult for the biggies to be eliminated in the league stage. The 2007 world cup saw its viewership nosedive on the back of the premature exit of India and Pakistan. Back then the tournament was designed in such a way that a team which started poorly (India usually are slow starters), had to mount an enormous comeback to keep its chances of staying alive in the tournament. Teams like India and Pakistan which got off to a horrid start suffered the most. There were also criticisms centered on the long winding format. However, Commercial interests and better sense amongst the ICC honchos have made sure that such anomalies are eliminated and teams have enough opportunities to recover and progress.

The success of the teams from the Indian subcontinent especially India is crucial to the overall success of the tournament. India is to cricket what USA is to the world economy. A blip in the US economic growth lead to a recession that affected the global economy similarly an early exit by India in the world cup may lead to the hastening of the death of ODI cricket.

The Indian World Cup Squad

The team chosen to represent India in the world cup is pretty much along the expected lines. Given that India had finalized close to 13 players of the required 15 members, the only surprise the selectors threw was, picking Piyush Chawla ahead of Rohit Sharma. India were expected to go in with an additional batsman in their squad, instead they chose to play an additional spinner. The 2 vacant slots were expected to be filled in by either Ojha or Ashwin and the other by Rohit. Rohit had a few decent outings in South Africa but the strength of the batting order and the lack of variety in spin bowling might have tilted the scales against him. Ojha has fallen out of favour in ODIs and Ashwin has been India’s preferred choice as a second spinner. Ashwin has strung together strong performances in ODIs off late and was rightly chosen as the man to partner Harbhajan. However, India face a glut of off spinning options thanks to the likes of Sehwag, Pathan and Raina, and it is highly likely that India would chose to play the 3 pacers and 1 spinner combination. However, many of the chosen fifteen are still recuperating from injuries and it is expected that all of them will be fully fit by the time the World Cup commences. A fit and raring team will immensely help India go the distance.

How to get the Australian Juggernaut up and running

England have achieved what they set out to when they boarded their planes from Heathrow. Apart from their rare below par performance in Perth and a road of a pitch in Brisbane, England would have achieved a whitewash down under. The fact that all their three wins were innings victories stands testimony to the yawning gap between the two teams. England have now set their sights on securing the No. 1 ranking, whilst Australia have a bunch of issues to ponder over. It might be of great relief to the Australian selectors that they don’t have to sit down to pick a Test squad at least till late July, a good six months away. However, there are a host of issues that merit their attention. Foremost amongst them is their choice of the man to captain Australia in Test Cricket. The call for Ponting’s head are increasing with each passing day and is dismal form with bat is not helping matters either. The inability to find an alternative for Ponting has been one of the decisive reasons for Ponting having survived thus far. Clarke who was anointed as the one to take over the reins from Ponting has been through a rough patch with the bat and there are concerns over his ability to lead the team at such a crucial juncture. The best alternative that Australia could elect is to take a leaf out of India’s book. When Rahul Dravid decided to put down his papers as the captain of the Indian team, there was none worthwhile to take over the reins; India took the appropriate option of appointing Anil Kumble as a captain and grooming Dhoni as his understudy. The Aussies might consider somebody like Haddin as a stop gap measure while at the same time grooming somebody like Watson or White as someone who can take over the captaincy eventually. The captaincy conundrum though is dependent upon the shape Ponting’s career takes which will be influenced by the outcome of the world cup. If Ponting can match what he has achieved in the previous two versions of the world cup, he might continue at the helm for a good amount of time.

Another major issue that needs to be addressed is their choice of batsman for the No.6 position. Australia have tried three different batsmen- North, Smith and Haddin. North’s form has been heading south for some time now and was duly dropped after the first two tests. Smith is somebody who is still a budding cricketer and his credentials with the bat are not good enough to be trusted with the No.6 position. By playing Smith Australia find themselves both a bowler short as well as a batsman short. Bits and pieces cricketers are never to be trusted in Test matches and by playing Smith Australia have made a blunder. Haddin is a respectable wicket-keeper batsman but by playing him at No.6, Australia are finding themselves a batsman short all the time. The alternatives for an ideal No.6 are people like White, Ferguson, Marsh, and Hodge. All of them have played reasonable amount of international cricket and have been consistent in the domestic contests. It’s high time that Australia rewarded such people.

The next issue that requires diligence is their choice for No.3. All of us are aware of Ponting’s greatness; however, it looks like his age is catching up with him. It would be in right earnest if he considers a move down the order. Khawaja looked good in the solitary test match that he played and it might not be a bad move to give him a good run at No.3. However, it all hinges upon what Ponting decides to do with his career. If he is stubborn about batting only at No.3, then he must be given sufficient chances to get his touch back. After all, he has been one of Australia’s modern day greats and he does deserve a certain amount of reverence.

The choice of spinner is the most arduous issue that the selectors might encounter. There have been numerous tweakers who have turned up for Australia after Warne’s retirement but none have been able to prove their worth. Hauritz has till date looked the best spinner available and bringing him back into the team will be an appropriate decision. Hauritz failed miserably in India; nevertheless, India has never been kind to any overseas spinners including Warne and Murali.

The Australian selectors have to don their thinking caps and it’s high time they take a few brave calls. It’s just not been the Ashes where Australia have been found wanting. They have been on the decline for quite some time now and it’s high time the rut is stopped and Australian cricket is revived. The Juggernaut needs to resuscitated sooner rather than later.

A tribute to our little master

Our very own Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has added another accomplishment to his chequered career. By achieving what nobody has ever managed to in the history of the game, Sachin has made it certain that his name is etched in the annals of the game, as one of the greatest players ever to have played the game. The feat is all the more glamorous when one realizes the fact that the next man on the list of players with the highest number of test centuries is Ricky Ponting who is still a good 11 centuries behind. (Kallis scored 2 centuries in the 3^rd test to move to the second place with 40 centuries). Given the gloomy state of ponting’s career as a consequence of the dismal series loss to England, only Jack Kallis posts a realistic chance of overhauling the master.

Anybody who has played Test cricket is well aware of the hardships involved in scoring a test hundred. To score 50 test centuries is no mean feat. Sachin has so far played 177 test matches and scored 51 test centuries. A quick back of the envelope calculation revels that he scores a century about every 3.5 matches which is close to a century every series in addition to the numerous half-centuries he has scored.

The biggest reason why Sachin has been able to achieve such great deeds is the passion with which he plays the game. Sachin’s innate ability to adjust his game according to the state of the game, faster than anybody else playing the game today, speaks volumes about his genius. However, Sachin is not just pure genius; whatever he has achieved till date is not only due to his natural talent. There have many players who have been extremely talented but have frittered away thier talent, they haven’t been able to achieve anything anywhere close to what Sachin has surpassed. He has a tremendous work ethic and follows it religiously. He never flinches to put in the hard yards; the discipline and the way he carries himself both on and off the field are traits worth emulating by all budding cricketers. He is probably the only modern day player to have played two decades of cricket and his passion has been the sole reason.

There have been reports of Sachin’s name being recommended for the Bharat Ratna. Personally I feel that he is the most qualified person to whom the award can be conferred upon. Sachin has achieved glorious triumphs for our country in the realm of Cricket and has kept our flag flying high for close to two decades. Conferring the Bharat Ratna would be a great recognition of his services to this nation.