Right time to build for 2015 World Cup
Next World Cup is three years away in Australia/New Zealand but India has a long way to go to stake a claim. Last world cup being in sub-continent, India relied on strong batting and good slow bowling (part-timers) to win but it will be a different proposition next time around. Fitness and fielding will be a huge factor for any teams fortune and India has a lot of work to be done in those department. Mind you not four or five great fielders will be enough, you want all 11 to be great with strong throwing arms. Although New Zealand grounds are smaller so mis-hits will sail for six and strong throwing arms will not be a factor but most of the important games will be played on the big grounds of Australia where fitness and fielding does matter.
Selectors in India are appointed only on annual basis which is a huge hole if you are planning for 3 years ahead. I do not care who but some one needs to fix this or come up with a way to devise a plan so no matter who the selector is, final goal and planning process is not compromised. First thing is to identify a captain who they think will lead the team and he should have a say in the planning process too. Despite Dhoni's poor test record he still is the best man to lead India in next WC and he is one of the fittest guys in the team. I would like him to give up test captaincy because I do not think his place is guaranteed in the test side and also not to lead an IPL team too so that he always fresh for ODI's.
The first thing I would do is drop Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar and even Zaheer (or keep him to groom younger bowlers) because I do not expect world class fielding from them by 2015. I would identify a pool of 30 players who have potential to become great fielders and also are good players too and keep tab on their fitness and give them chances in the team provided they make progress on their fitness and fielding. The downside is we will not do to well in short term but if it will put India in a great position for 2015 WC then why not. To have a chance of even identifying 30 players, the domestic standard has to improve significantly in every aspect(number of tournaments, number of teams, nature of pitches, etc) how on earth its going to happen, god only knows that. Lets take the current crop of players who stand a chance for 2015:
Batsman
Yuvarj - A real gem in the team if fit.
Kohli - Definitely and a future captian contender too.
Raina - Definitely but would need to work on his short pitch stuff.
R Sharma - Definitely but can be slacky at times
R Jadeja - Definitely but needs to learn to finish games
M Tiwari - Definitely, needs more chances
A Rahane - Definitely
R Uthappa - Definitely (Well has faded away, but should be kept in the sights)
S Dhawan - Definitely
D Karthik - Definitely
M Vijay - Definitely
Need to identify more batsman
Bowlers
I Sharma - Definitely, I do not know why he is not selected if burn out is issue then manage him well but yes needs to work on his fielding.
U Yadav - Definitely, Great athlete
V Aaron - Definitely, needs more chances and needs to be fit
V Kumar/P Kumar - weak fielder, I wouldn't count on them
R Ashwin - Not pick him, he seriously needs to work on him fiedling/fitness
B Kumar - Is still raw, needs to be groomed
We seriously need to manage our bowling resources.
Note: This piece was written in Feb 2012, right after India's disastrous tour of Australia.
Next World Cup is three years away in Australia/New Zealand but India has a long way to go to stake a claim. Last world cup being in sub-continent, India relied on strong batting and good slow bowling (part-timers) to win but it will be a different proposition next time around. Fitness and fielding will be a huge factor for any teams fortune and India has a lot of work to be done in those department. Mind you not four or five great fielders will be enough, you want all 11 to be great with strong throwing arms. Although New Zealand grounds are smaller so mis-hits will sail for six and strong throwing arms will not be a factor but most of the important games will be played on the big grounds of Australia where fitness and fielding does matter.
Selectors in India are appointed only on annual basis which is a huge hole if you are planning for 3 years ahead. I do not care who but some one needs to fix this or come up with a way to devise a plan so no matter who the selector is, final goal and planning process is not compromised. First thing is to identify a captain who they think will lead the team and he should have a say in the planning process too. Despite Dhoni's poor test record he still is the best man to lead India in next WC and he is one of the fittest guys in the team. I would like him to give up test captaincy because I do not think his place is guaranteed in the test side and also not to lead an IPL team too so that he always fresh for ODI's.
The first thing I would do is drop Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar and even Zaheer (or keep him to groom younger bowlers) because I do not expect world class fielding from them by 2015. I would identify a pool of 30 players who have potential to become great fielders and also are good players too and keep tab on their fitness and give them chances in the team provided they make progress on their fitness and fielding. The downside is we will not do to well in short term but if it will put India in a great position for 2015 WC then why not. To have a chance of even identifying 30 players, the domestic standard has to improve significantly in every aspect(number of tournaments, number of teams, nature of pitches, etc) how on earth its going to happen, god only knows that. Lets take the current crop of players who stand a chance for 2015:
Batsman
Yuvarj - A real gem in the team if fit.
Kohli - Definitely and a future captian contender too.
Raina - Definitely but would need to work on his short pitch stuff.
R Sharma - Definitely but can be slacky at times
R Jadeja - Definitely but needs to learn to finish games
M Tiwari - Definitely, needs more chances
A Rahane - Definitely
R Uthappa - Definitely (Well has faded away, but should be kept in the sights)
S Dhawan - Definitely
D Karthik - Definitely
M Vijay - Definitely
Need to identify more batsman
Bowlers
I Sharma - Definitely, I do not know why he is not selected if burn out is issue then manage him well but yes needs to work on his fielding.
U Yadav - Definitely, Great athlete
V Aaron - Definitely, needs more chances and needs to be fit
V Kumar/P Kumar - weak fielder, I wouldn't count on them
R Ashwin - Not pick him, he seriously needs to work on him fiedling/fitness
B Kumar - Is still raw, needs to be groomed
We seriously need to manage our bowling resources.
Note: This piece was written in Feb 2012, right after India's disastrous tour of Australia.
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