Indian team’s prolific pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was most likely very close to making it to the playing eleven, in the concluded Melbourne Test. Perhaps he will make the cut for the Sydney Test, the last of four of the ongoing series between India and Australia.
Kumar wasn’t rushed into playing at the Test series as he was still recovering from an injury. Dhoni was at the helm of things and whether or not new Test captain Virat Kohli will opt for him now will be clearer in the next few days.
Bhuvneshwar could prove an asset for the approaching World Cup, and keeping him in good health is what the Indian cricket board would be more interested in at the moment.
With Indian selectors slated to pick a 15-member World Cup team the day the Sydney Test begins, there’s understandably a lot of anticipation building up among cricketing circles, and fans.
No prizes for guessing names for the guaranteed berths — MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma. This leaves four coveted slots vacant in the World Cup team.
Two of the four slots should be going to able pacers. That leaves two slots free for other kinds of players… to be determined by the combination the team management has in mind. In the pace department, amongst Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron, any two are probables.
In the spin unit, Axar Patel and Karn Sharma may compete against each other if selectors opt for three spinners for the team. One more slot will be available for selectors cast another all-rounder, batsman or fifth pacer. The combination will eventually include eight batsmen and seven bowlers. Or it could be seven batsmen, seven bowlers and an all-rounder.
Dhoni’s inputs will count for something during the selection process. After all he will be leading the side, and would love to see someone like Jadeja getting his fitness back just before the World Cup as the latter was being groomed for the up-coming cricket extravaganza.
It’s more or less the same young team which played and won the Champions Trophy more than one-and-half years ago in England. At the time, India beat England in the final. And almost fours year ago, India had outplayed Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final.
What a moment it was when MS Dhoni perched himself on Yuvraj Singh’s shoulders on the Wankhede pitch, in Mumbai, right after the historic win. And everyone wants such history re-scripted. The last time Australia hosted the World Cup, way back in 1992, Pakistan were the champions.
Could another South Asian cricketing nation be taking home the trophy, from Australia? India can count itself as one of the top three teams and judging by the way the side it’s playing, they boys have it in them to bag the top honour of world cricket!
