Now one isn’t trying to shift perspective to other sports from cricket here, for let’s be honest, that can’t be done. But there is a need of looking at whatever little light there is at the end of this gruesome dark tunnel and be happy about it. Yes, amidst the fact that the batting, bowling and fielding all failed in the West Indies for the Indian team, there is hope yet.

First of all, there are the players. For how long have we known that Yuvraj Singh isn’t the player he was three years ago? What does that say about the ‘highly talented’ Rohit Sharma who considers Yuvraj his idol? Couldn’t we make out that Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh have hints of pot bellies just like many of us who were watching on television during the IPL? Gary Kirsten seems to have targeted these three senior players and the fledgling Sharma, if you go by excerpts of his reports.

We knew all of it all along, yet no one would ask questions off these players for they are ones who supposedly carry India’s hopes. The difference is that now they will indeed be asked. They will be monitored when they return for the Asia Cup if they have at all worked on their fitness. The media eye will be on them throughout the next one month and if they indeed do not pass Kirsten’s test, they will not find a place in the squad. And that is the best part because team India has been built on ethics of past greats not for spoilt brats to squander the legacy.

If somehow they do find a way back, the spotlight will then be on the selectors and the BCCI in that order! Time and again, Kris Srikkanth and his band of merry men have selected the same bunch of players, mostly on whims and fancies. How else can they explain Yuvraj’s inclusion when he couldn’t even fire for the Kings XI Punjab in two months? Did he show any match winning form, well, no. What about Bhajji who went wicket less in the tournament and has been towing the same defensive line in Test or ODI cricket of late?

There was a huge case for picking young and raw talent for the T20 World Cup. Players like Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa and Saurabh Tiwary who are eager to make a mark, not the overburdened stars who are drowning out there under public and peer pressure. Yet the selectors handed out a rusty and ragged side to the captain and coach in the vain hope that they might just turn it on. Guess what, they didn’t, and if the entire team is to blame, so is the panel who selects them.

Simple speaking, MS Dhoni cannot alone be held responsible and fired from his job, as some sections of the media have been suggesting. If he is put on probation for the next couple of months then so should be the five selectors. They are the ones who have backed him all through the last three to four years, and with just about ten months to go for the 2011 World Cup they are contemplating a change in guard?

Dhoni has been fairly successful in leading the side and it is quite astonishing to notice that the same media was hailing him as the best Indian captain ever just three months ago, when the India ended 2009-10 ranked number one in Tests. But this is their job and that is how they make money, by catching the imaginative public. However if the five wise men do head down that same road and the unthinkable does abound, the BCCI needs to take a look if Srikkanth and his gang are indeed the right men on their payrolls for this particular job.

Why the BCCI? Because, they have been the ones beating around the bush about accountability for the past six weeks. If Lalit Modi needs to give answers for what he did and why he did for the good or bad of the IPL, then please let this be clear – the same rules apply to international cricket and more so. For, the people may be divided when it comes to eight/ten franchises but team India unites one and all. People, and the media, will need answers why the supposedly ‘best captain’ is removed with the ODI World Cup close by and for a change the Board will not be able to hide.

After all, everything is about the ODI World Cup next year. The fact that it will be held in the sub-continent means it is India’s best chance at glory. Not just because the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina will not have to worry about bouncers and can hit through the line as and when they want. But also, when in 2007, after the failure under Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid also in the Windies, the process towards the next showpiece event began. The selectors first invested in Dhoni’s leadership and the move started paying off. They realized a nucleus of players who could work as a team and they started clicking. Of course there will be some hiccups on the way, otherwise how will this young team learn? This is a time for grasping the mistakes, instead of making all new ones.

That we won the T20 World Cup three years ago was through some daredevilry and by some chance. Just as well, it happened. We were T20 champions recently but we haven’t been ODI champions for a good twenty-seven years. That is a couple of whole new generations of cricket lovers who didn’t witness Kapil Dev standing on the Lord’s balcony in ’83. Point is if you set out robbing a bank – what would you want? A bag full of coins or a box full of currency notes? 2010 T20 World Cup is small change compared to the 2011 ODI World Cup and it is a price we should be happy to pay.

Note: This article was first published at www.dreamcricket.com.

Raina leads a side without a number of high-profile players who have been rested – regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and senior players Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra will not be travelling while former India Under-19 skipper Virat Kohli will act as Raina’s deputy.

India play a One-Day International tri-series with the hosts Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka which begins on 28th May and then play two Twenty20 Internationals aganist Zimbabwe on 12th and 13th June.

Uncapped players in the ODI squad are spinner Ravi Ashwin, pace bowlers Umesh Yadav, Pankaj Singh, and Ranganath Vinay Kumar as well as wicket-keeper Naman Ojha.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla is included in the squad for the Twenty20 matches.

India ODI squad: Suresh Raina (captain), Virat Kohli (vice-captain), Ravi Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Ravi Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Naman Ojha, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Pankaj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav

India T20I squad: Suresh Raina (captain), Virat Kohli (vice-captain), Ravi Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Ravi Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Naman Ojha, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Pankaj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav

Report courtesy www.cricketworld.com

David Warner gives the appearance of how Popeye would look if he ever came alive to play cricket. Those bulging arms seem to pack a punch, spinach or no, and they were used to good effect on the day as he rode his way to a century (107 off 69 balls). It is always ridiculous when a batsman scores a ton in a game where there are only 120 balls stipulated for the whole side to play, but this innings was incredible at the same time. In the sense that Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir had shaken off his hamstring injury and Warner would have been looking at a drop if he didn’t fire in this game. Atleast that isn’t going to happen anytime soon!

It rounds off a good week or so for the Daredevils. Ashish Nehra is almost back from injury and Paul Collingwood has joined them as well, lending much needed steel to the side. Daniel Vettori will be on his way soon and this will be a solid base to build on from, having beaten Bangalore Royal Challengers away and now Kolkata. Probably it might be the start of coming afore of the real Delhi team, the one we have known for the past two seasons. For it is a crucial stage of the tournament where all the middle rung teams will look to gain some semblance of momentum and to have a problem of plenty at this stage will be the dream of every captain.

It is happening for Kolkata as well. Chris Gayle, Shane Bond and David Hussey have already come in and Brendon McCullum will be on his flight shortly. However the bigger problem facing them is the patchy form they have displaying, hinged more on a lack of killer intent. Playing safe isn’t a term you would want to associated with a team led by Souarv Ganguly but seeing that the purple-attired team isn’t hitting a patch of the same hue, it makes you wonder if age has finally caught up. From 38 for 3, Delhi were able to set up 177 and win the match means the last ten days have yielded only one win in four games. Shah Rukh Khan wants more than excuses from his players and he rightly says so on Twitter!

Besides the IPL, the Indian team for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean was announced. The good part is that the selectors have decided to go for experience rather than raw talent. Thus picking players who have all represented India – be it some two years ago, like Piyush Chawla or like revolving doors ala Rohit Sharma. They have even gone for Ravindra Jadeja who is not playing the IPL and is cracking knuckles at home, thanks for want of more money. Poor form, return from injuries, inconsistency and lack of match fitness are columns that can be ticked against the names of all the fifteen selected, and that is the bad news for Indian fans.

This article was first published at www.cricketworld.com.

Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma

The only problem is that these are pretty much the same names that were there in England last year and that didn’t really go too well for our team, thanks to some injuries suffered in the IPL. Guess what, the injuries have made a return snapping an opening batsman and a fast bowler this time around as well. It was Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan some ten months ago, and now Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra.

The main difference is that at the moment the two players are expected back shortly while Sehwag supposedly carried his injury to England and Zaheer altogether missed out. However this does reflect on the losses that are being incurred due to an unduly long T20 tournament played just before important world events. My only prayer is that Lalit Modi schedules next year’s IPL after the ODI World Cup.

R Vinay Kumar is one new name in the side and it has come deservedly for he has been giving wonderful performances for Karnataka on the Ranji scene for the last couple of seasons, and has managed to carry his form into the IPL. Saurabh Tiwary and Manish Pandey are two others like him but to select them would be too radical a step, their turn will come. Piyush Chawla is the surprise selection for he hasn’t been in that fiery a form. That decision seems more due to West Indian conditions then and also the fact that Ravindra Jadeja will be the left arm spinner in the side, so the selectors neglected a fifth pace bowling option. As it is who would you pick? Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth have been bordering on the poor and awesomely poor for quite some time now.

Dhoni has a back-up in Dinesh Karthik this time, something he didn’t have last year and therefore the need to include another pure batsman. But Rohit Sharma’s inclusion is even more surprising than that of Piyush Chawla. As a leg spinner atleast he brings some variety to the table, but Sharma’s only claim to fame so far has been that he has great talent/potential. And so Virat Kohli is really unlucky to have missed out here. He may not measure upto Sharma on talent in some people’s books but he has worked off his socks to earn his spot in the national side. And he looks like he wants to be in the thick of things at all times while Rohit, to his discredit, seems content performing only for Deccan Chargers while laid back on most other occasions.

The one question on everyone’s mind was whether Sachin Tendulkar would reverse his mind and step forward to play. As an eternal Sachin fan, one wanted him to. For, he is in stupendous touch and that touch could be the difference between India making it to the knock-out stages and exiting early. But knowing the way he has carried himself on and off the field all these years, one didn’t expect him to renege on his decision of three years ago. Now only if Dhoni’s men can repeat their feat from 2007 as well.

Earlier, Amit Mishra opened the attack and bowled Madhya Pradesh Ranji opener Mohnish Mishra, who came in place of the injured VVS Laxman, with a googly in the fourth ball of the innings. Deccan Chargers skipper Gilchrist (24 off 14 balls) made yet another explosive start. Sarabhjit Ladda, the second leg spinner, got his big wicket. Herschelle Gibbs hit a 26-ball 31 but his innings was cut short thanks to a fine catch all rounder Moises Henriques, who came in place of out-of-form TM Dilshan. The aggressive Symonds was also out to Henriques and Deccan Charges were reduced to 103/4. However, Rohit Sharma and T Suman were associated in a 60-run stand for the fifth wicket. Sharma played a hard-hitting and fast-paced innings for his 30-ball 45 while Suman stayed till the end to score another useful 19-ball 29 as the Deccan Chargers put up a competitive 171/6.

The Chargers captured the big scalp of Virender Sehwag in the fourth over and he only made a seven-ball three, caught by Herschelle Gibbs off Pragyan Ojha. David Warner smashed a 33-ball 57 before he was run out by a throw from short fine leg by RP Singh while AB de Villiers missed a full toss to be bowled by Rahul Sharma for 27. Deccan Chargers bounced back into the match by taking the wickets of Mithun Manhas and Moises Henriques. Dinesh Karthik kept Delhi Daredevils’ hopes alive with a 27-ball 46 (4×4, 2×6) but Andrew Symonds swung the match in Deccan Chargers’s favour by taking the wickets of Karthik and Amit Mishra off successive deliveries. Vaas bowled a great last over to seal the win for the Deccan Chargers.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist slammed a 12-ball 33 hitting two sixes off Sreesanth 51 runs today. But Gilchrist’s innings was cut short when he top edged left-arm seamer Shalabh Srivastava and was caught at short mid-wicket by Jayawardene. Deccan Chargers suffered a setback when VVS Laxman got injured in a strange circumstance when Srivastava threw the ball wildly from mid-on that got Laxman’s forearm. The batsman had to retire hurt for 10.  Although Rohit Sharma (run out) and left-hander Anirudh Singh were out cheaply, Herschelle Gibbs made a 23-ball 23, Andrew Symonds struck his second successive half century (38-ball 53) and T Suman played a cameo knock of 26 (22 balls) as Decccan Chargers reached 170/7.

Kings XI Punjab were off to a disastrous start as purple cap holder left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas swung the ball late and captured two top order wickets (Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh) as MS Bisla was run out to have Punjab reeling at 22 for 3 in the fifth over. Ravi Bopara, Kings XI Punjab’s main run-getter, could score only a 32-ball 38 before he was caught in the deep of off-spinnner Rohit Sharma. West Indian opener Adrian Barath, on his IPL debut, made only seven before falling to local hero Pragyan Ojha. However, it was left-hander Irfan Pathan (60 off 29 balls) who fought a lonely battle to create some element of hope for the Kings XI Punjab with his lusty hitting. Pathan took the match to the last over. But his fine rearguard innings ended when the surprise last over choice bowler Jaskaran Singh had him caught at deep mid-wicket. The twentieth over that Jaskaran bowled was incidentally his first of the game.

Kings XI Punjab have so far lost all their first three matches while Deccan Chargers have finally notched a home victory in three seasons of IPL.

Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.

Squad: Adam Gilchrist (captain & wicket-keeper), Harmeet Singh, Bodapati Sumanth, Azhar Bilakhia, Herschelle Gibbs, Ryan Harris, VVS Laxman, Mitchell Marsh, Monish Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Kemar Roach, Ashish Reddy, Venugopal Rao, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Anirudh Singh, RP Singh, Dwayne Smith, Tirumalasetti Suman, Andrew Symonds, Ravi Teja, Chaminda Vaas, Arjun Yadav

Strengths & Weaknesses:

Their biggest strength continues to be their batting line-up. VVS Laxman was said to be the one weak link there but his performances in South Africa last year combined with his experiences in the English county circuit have more than made up for his shortcomings. He now plays the pivotal role in the innings while the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma have the license to go after the bowling.

Symonds and Gibbs are two big names for them who haven’t yet produced the magic that we know they can. They have had the odd innings which lit up the games but a consistent run of good form throughout the tournament is what is being asked of these two fantastic players. Gilchrist got his last time around ending the highest run getter with 495 runs.

Their bowling really clicked in the helpful conditions in Africa but this year’s tournament may reveal more weak areas this time around. RP Singh was the Purple Cap winner with 23 wickets to his name but this time around he is not in the same kind of rhythm and form, while the Indian wickets can be a back breaker for any bowler in the T20 game. Chaminda Vaas is now slower than most but has lost none of his guile though it remains to be seen how much of him they will use.

The one player the Deccan Chargers will miss this time round is Fidel Edwards. The West Indian fast bowler did good damage with the ball in South Africa but injury will keep him out this time around. In that sense, their new purchase at this year’s auction should be an ideal replacement. In his short stint in international cricket, Kemar Roach has made a name for himself and the best we know of him is when he rattled the Australian captain Ricky Ponting with his pace earlier in the winter. A repeat performance in the IPL will raise his and his team’s stock much higher.

Their home matches will not be played in Hyderabad due to political problems but in Vishakhapatnam, Cuttack and Nagpur. Now that is good in two ways – one, the teams hasn’t had much luck in Hyderabad in the first IPL season or even the 2009 Champions League T20. So a change of locale should suit them just like last year. And two, the pitch at Hyderbad is one of the best batting pitches in the country. Playing elsewhere would afford their spinners much more turn and Pragyan Ojha will be rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect.

Note: This is an extract from the Deccan Charger preview first published at www.cricketworld.com. To read the full article, click here.