Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Prediction: India squad of 15

Indian squad for the World Cup will most likely be composed of: 3 openers, 4 middle-order batsman, 1 wicket keeper, 2 all-rounders, 1 spinner and 4 seamers. Going through the list of 30 probables (and I don't see any surprises from outside of it), it is fairly easy to predict the 11 that will take the field in Adelaide on Feb 15th but there are few options for remaining 4 slots. Let's start with easy pickings -

1 Spinner - R. Ashwin will be the default spinner and any others could be classified as all-rounders (for this list at least)
1 Wicket keeper - M.S. Dhoni

4 Middle order batsman - V. Kohli,  A. Rahane, S Raina.  The fourth spot could go to one of Ambati Rayadu and R. Uthappa and I think A. Rayadu will take it.

2 all-rounders - R. Jadeja (provided he is fit) and then toss up between S. Binny and A. Patel. I would choose A. Patel for his ability to bowl 10 tight overs and decent capability with the bat. K.Sharma may be an outsider with his leg-breaks.

3 openers - S. Dhawan and R. Sharma will be starters based on recent ODI form. But M. Vijay's test performances may add him as back up. R. Uthappa could be considered as outsider for this position.

4 seamers - India would need 3 seamers in every game and my first 3 picks will be B. Kumar, I. Sharma, U. Yadav. I think M. Shami may have edge over V. Aaron and M.Sharma.

(the ones in italics form the starting 11).

UPDATE: The selectors opted for an extra-all rounder (Binny) instead of third opener (Vijay). Fair enough.

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