Going for glory

With the BCCI selection committee announcing its 15-man squad for the 2011 cricket World Cup, Team India can gear up for the mega quadrennial event. On the face of it, the side appears to be well balanced. Comprising a good mix of experience and youth, it has several game-changers who can take away a match from any opposition. Factor in that most of India's matches will be played at home, and we are looking at a team that has the potential to go one better than 2003. Like the 1983 World Cup winning squad this team too has the characteristics of a cohesive unit and has had a fair amount of success playing together.


Skipper M S Dhoni is endowed with an enviable batting line-up that boasts of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh. Though there is no specialist all-rounder - someone like Jacques Kallis - Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh can all double up as useful bowlers. And on slow, spinning tracks they should be a handful for even the likes of South Africa, England and Australia. Similarly, the core bowling attack has been picked keeping in mind local conditions and batting depth. Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan can all contribute valuable runs. This is also the reason why surprise-pick Piyush Chawla got the call ahead of Sreesanth or Pragyan Ojha.


There is concern about not having a back-up wicket-keeper in the squad. But with Dhoni showing no signs of injury and the team having the luxury of flying in a replacement at short notice, this shouldn't be an issue. However, Dhoni's captaincy is crucial to India going all the way. As the No.1 Test team in the world and the No. 2 ODI side, a World Cup win will be a real vindication of Dhoni's men comprising the best Indian squad in history. Besides, for players like Tendulkar this will most probably be the last throw of the dice to attain World Cup glory.


On the preparation front, there are some concerns regarding the Wankhede stadium in Mu! mbai and the Eden Gardens in Kolkata having missed their renovation deadlines. However, with another 30 days to go, this is manageable and nowhere close to the chaos that the Commonwealth Games had seen last year. If anything, the organisers are on track for a grand show. Rs 1,500 crore is what advertisers are estimated to be pumping into the World Cup and the subsequent IPL IV. This being the sub-continent and India's best chance to repeat 1983, cricket mania is set to reach fever pitch. The countdown begins now.


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