Picking India's Best 11 For World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be a competitive and intriguing tournament, showcasing the world’s best cricketing talent in Australia and New Zealand. The fans will be exposed to a wide range of batting and bowling style.

Young Enough to panic in dire circumstances on a alien land, this team is a mixture of experience and youth, and an abundance of the latter, making it India’s most formidable outfit, this young blood can be dangerous at times.

With less than a day left for the year’s most awaited event, I pick India's best playing 11.

1: Rohit Sharma

Rohit may not have made the 2011 World Cup cut, but he is now a key player to Team India’s success. Who would have known that 4 years ago, he was 12kgs overweight and was just playing a local match in Mumbai. Missing a seat in the World Cup squad gave him a reality check , he now realized that he had to begin afresh if he wanted to turn his dreams into reality. 

Now four years later he has groomed himself into one of India’s most important batsman. He would do the best job as India’s opener as he is a difficult batsman to contain since he has the ability to pierce his way to a good score.

The field with subtle writs and once he settles down there is nothing that can stop him from ensuring a healthy total for his team. Dealing with bounce is one of his week areas, but he is extremely ambitious and a good puller of the ball and can force the bowlers  to switch to plan B.

2: Shikhar Dhawan

The notorious Delhi lad who had the impunity to walk out of the exam hall in the midst of a math exam  is now the Indian Team’s cocky, confident, convivial , a moustache twirling, tattoo exhibiting, cover driving meteorite who arrived like a breath of fresh air on International scene. 

The decline of Gambhir and Sehwag led to the rise of Dhawan. He was immediately anointed the new pin-up star and he has learnt to put a price on his wicket. Dhawan is gifted with the rare ability to defy technique-totting pundits to score away from home and hopefully also face up the short ball with alacrity. 

Time and again he has presented he has presented infuriatingly angled bat faces to guide the ball to the wicket-keeper on Australian pitches, being his major drawback. He also needs against pace and his defending skills. He has the potential to get his team off to a flyer with his aggressive style of play.

3: Virat Kohli

No introduction is needed to his skill and capabilities.

He has now become an Unanimous choice for the Indian Team and over the years has mastered the art of building the innings under pressure. His remarkable consistency and power to attack the opposition has made him the pole star of the team. 

His technique against both spin and pace is top class. His emergence as a premium batsman has brought the burden of protecting and carrying along the Indian innings. He is also preparing himself to take on the fast, short deliveries and adding the edge to his ability to smother spin. 

Though Virat is more comfortable to bat at No.3, the legend Sir Viv Richards feels that, “Whether he bats at No.3 or No.4, a man of his caliber is bound to succeed.”

4: Ajinkya Rahane

An all wicket player, this  Mumbai batsman has looked comfortable on most of the pitches and has proved his worth for the team in the past few months. He adds value in the field with his agility and patience is his biggest virtue. 

He is the best hooker in the Indian Team and has the ability to play inside-out which drives off pacers and spinners. He is an ideal batsman for the team as he has a game for any kind of innings and has a sound technique backed by excellent footwork. 

Though spin bowling can give him nightmares at times, his never to give up attitude costs the bowlers a lot.

5: Suresh Raina

“A perfect team man, a game changer” , when you hear these words you are sure that it is Suresh Raina who is being spoken about. Raina has been often seen uplifting the spirit of his team mates even when things aren’t working in their favour. 

He can also turn the match around either by his brilliant run-out, a superlative catch or a swashbuckling knock. The smaller the format, the more dangerous he is with his bat. He always has confidence in his abilities and this is the very reason that he is the most trusted lieutenant of Skipper M.S.Dhoni. No boundary is big for Raina as he is a clean hitter of the ball and drives the bowlers to the cleaners very often. 

He also adds value to the middle with his athletic fielding. Though he has issues against short pitched deliveries, defending and pace, he is more of a bits-and-pieces player who has helped India save the game at innumerable times and is also a very effective player.

6: Ravindra Jadeja 

Often known as the miracle worker, Jadeja’s life serves an inspiration for struggler’s. There was a time when he couldn’t afford to get a proper Cricket gear, and now he commands $2Million in the IPL. Jadeja provides Team India a back up cusion, in the form of a much needed all-rounder and contributes his best in all 3 fields. He is a master of left arm spin bowling and troubles batsmen in an unerring accuracy.

He allows the Captain to dictate the pace of the game with his subtle variations. He can thrive under pressure and has 3 Ranji triple tons under his name  but has been ignored for the same. Though he may have troubles against pace and spin while batting, he is a swift fielder,  and possess a rocket arm which can swing matches in an instant.

7: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Winning the first ever T-20 World Cup in an unknown land as a debutant captain, well people thought that there was something special about this lad. It certainly is, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the conductor of the team who reads the game even before it plans out, He has the brain which can dispose off a ticking bomb without even breaking a sweat. Being the leader, he definitely  has many thing to bother about.  Safe behind the wickets and dangerous infront of them.

He can pace an innings to perfection, rallying the tail around him. His much known helicopter shot has won the hearts of millions, though he may occasionally face difficulty against pace fast outwingers, he has an unflappable demeanour. Adversities bring out the best in him and he has also bagged the title of the best finisher.

8: Ravichandran Ashwin

He is India’s most experienced spinner and brings variety to the table. He is wonderful at consistently bowling a restrictive line. His leg stump line around the wicket may surprise successes again. 

His forte is to bowl in the midlle and the leg-line rather than attack the off-stump like other off-spinners. He also has the ability to bowl according to his team requirements- aggressivley  or defensively. His quality to turn challenges into opportunities will be tested here as pitches in Australia don’t turn like those back at home and it will be important for him to hit the right line and length and bowl outside off-stump, which is far more attacking than the middle and leg line and he bowled throughout summer. He could also prove to be a Joker in the pack.

9: Axar Patel

The Indian Team’s new all rounder, 21 year old Axar Patel has been nicknamed as Jayasuriya because of his capacity to hit sixes like the former Sri-Lankan Captain, He also bowls left arm spin like the Lankan great. Being extremely street smart and a brilliant performer under pressure. 

Axar is that all rounder who picks wickets, scores runs and fields brilliantly all when he is expected the most to do it. He is more of a line and length bowler with intelligent variations in pace and flight. He bowls a flatter trajectory making it hard for the batsmen to slog. Having a terrific game sense at such a young age, he is able to bowl stump-to-stump with clever change of pace with not only stifles the flow of runs but also gets him a wicket. 

He needs to improve in spin bowling and if he wished to find a permanent place as India’s much needed all-rounder, he has to prove his worth at the right time. In near future, under proper guidance he can be moulded into one of India’s best all-rounder’s .

10: Umesh Yadav

Often known as pace setter, Yadav is India’s double edged sword guarded with pace and spin. Yadav performs extremely well under pressure, the fighter that he is, Yadav has always come as a winner when he has been written off. 

He has a smooth bowling action and can often generate good pace. Apart from the bowling high speeds he can move the ball both way and surprise the batsmen with his bouncer. He is also India’s spearhead and the man that M.S.Dhoni will rely heavily upon to provide break-throughout with the new ball or when the partnership is developing. His speed is his biggest advantage. He needs to work on death bowling. His genuine pace has got him a berth in the playing XI.

11: Mohammad Shami

Lethal pace and subtle swing are a part of his arsenal that helps Mohammad Shami pick a wicket every 28 deliveries in One Day Internationals. Shami’s smooth run up to the wicket , an easy action has allowed him to generate good pace and his ability to fire away the stumps meant his victims mostly had their woodwork disturbed. 

He also learnt the tricks of trade from KKR’s bowling consultant Wasim Akram, including the art of bowling reverse swing and that he can use effectively. He prefers to bowl it full and allow it to swing though the short ball maybe shipped in between. 
He can be a dangerous bowler provided he stikes a good rhythm. Having the ability to strike crucial blows in the beginning, he is the skipper’s favourite in the slog overs. He can often suffered while bowling at the death, but use’s the new ball very well. India will hope that their pace ace  keeps knocking them over in the World Cup.

****

This side could lead India to back-to-back World Cup glory. 

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