Indian team for the T20 World Cup

Posted on April 12, 2010 | 3 views

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The Indian squad for the third ICC World T20 Cup is to be named in less than 48 hours from now and some new kids on the block are playing exciting cricket in the IPL corridors. This is the most opportune moment for them to perform with selectors keeping a close eye on top performers.

While the ongoing IPL provides the most relevant cues to the selectors to pick a T20 squad, its proximity to the T20 World Cup is worrying, injury-wise. Having said that, there are no serious injuries to the likes of MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir who are currently recuperating from their respective niggles.

Among the new players, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, R. Ashwin, Ambati Rayudu, and R. Sathish are sure to summon discussion among the selection panel but I can’t see more than a couple of them getting the nod. Among those who are knocking for a second chance, Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan are in the front row, with some glimmer of hope for Rohit Sharma.

Based on what’s on show in the IPL and the demands of the cricket’s newest avatar, I have zeroed in on the following squad:

BATSMEN/WK: MS Dhoni (c/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Robin Uthappa, Saurabh Tiwary

SEAMERS: Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan

SPINNERS: Harbhajan Singh, Ravinder Jadeja

Reasoning:

Robin Uthappa’s inclusion is purely on grounds of his blitzkrieg in the IPL and that he brings with him the option of another opener in case of an injury to either Sehwag or Gambhir.

Saurabh Tiwary’s consistency and promise, more than his brute force, is sure to catch selectors’ eyes, who may test him in the shortest version before inducting into the ODI squad.

Ravinder Jadeja is the best choice, after Harbhajan Singh, among the present lot of tweakers, other than being more than a handy batsman.

Ishant Sharma has struck some form for KKR and with Dhoni having loads of faith in the lanky pacer, his selection is very much on the cards.

Irfan Pathan’s inclusion may face many a opposition but his all-round abilities make him best suited for T20 cricket, albeit his performance has been below par, especially bowling.