Every cricket enthusiast worth his/her salt always salivates over the possibility of creating his/her own dream Indian World Cup Winning team atleast once or more during his/her lifetime, yours truly also thought of availing of this golden opportunity with the World Cup being only a little more than a fortnight away, so here goes.
Before we go any further, one needs to get the following formalities out of the way:
1. This prospective team only comprises of individuals/cricketers who have represented India between 1983 till the present as the 83 World Cup was the first witnessed byt his correspondent.
2. The below mentioned dream team is being expressly constructed keeping sub-continental pitches and conditions in mind. The composition of the team would have been marginally different had the World Cup been held outside the sub continent.
3. This team will only comprise of 12 individuals the playing eleven and a twelveth man, the writer will then ascribe the reasons/logic applied behind certain cricketers not having made the cut.
4. The team that will be thus compiled is purely based on this writer's flight of fancy/cricketing logic and informed choices and the same does not purport to be the official or any other journal/publications dream team that is published before the first ball is delivered in the World Cup 2011.
So let's get on with the fun and games and begin discharging the rather onerous responsibility of picking the twelve cricketers best suited to fulfilling every Indian's dream of wrapping his hands around the trophy for the last twenty eight years.
The opening combination without any shadow of doubt would be the indomitable/irrepresible duo, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, these two individuals would simply make the cut based upon both their individual and collective deeds as an unparallelled opening combination who's sterling deeds are yet to be sublimated by any other opening combination, couple their more than useful bowling skills with their uncomaparabl batting feats and you are sure to end up with a combination guaranteed to set the Ganges on fire.
Navjot Singh Sherry Sidhu would be an automatic choice for the much coveted number three slot, Sidhu possessed the rare twin skills of playing bothe searing pace and the turning cherry with aplomb, he was more than capable of holding his own against the Wasim Akram's and Waqar Younis's of this world if his sterling deeds during the World Cup quarter final at Bangalore are any yardstick to go by, his penchant and inherent ability to tonk the twirlers over the straight field had many a twirler contemplating a premature retirement and many a captain tearing his hair out in despair. Kindly refer to Messrs. John Emburey and Shane WArne for affirmation of his six hitting abilities against the spinners, add to this heady concoction his safe ground fielding and catching and you have the mirror image of a cricketer specifically meant for the one day or rather fifty over version of this great game.
Virender Sehwag would be yours truly's choice for the number four slot as Sehwag initially began his international sojourn as a number five/six batsman who could deliver five to six overs of more than useful off spin. Yours truly is of the informed opinion that Sehwag seems to be a little confused about his exact role as an opener within the present dispensation and ends up gicing away his wicket rather cheaply by playing one shot too many more often than not, one feels that Mr. Sehwag would be worth his weight in gold to the Indian middle order as he will have the licence to unleash from the word go as he would most often be coming in around the 25th over or so add to this desi combination his bowling and robust fielding skills and you would probably end up with the premier number four batsman in the world.
Yuvraj Singh would be an automatic choice at the number five slot with his scintilatting,sublime,brutal yet silken batting skills can anyone forget what he did to Stuart Broad during the 2007 twenty20 World Cup.His ability to rotate the strike and steal singles from under the very noses of his opponents along with his undisputed boundary hitting abilities make him the quintessential number five batsman who would more often than not stick around till the winning runs were hit. Add to this his world renowned pie chucking skills a la Kevin Peterson and his blinding fielding skills and you end up with a man for all seasons and all the right reasons.
Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja would be my nuber six for the simple reason that I am yet to see a better number six batsman in the forty odd years of my existence on planet Earth. Ajay Jadeja was a delight to behold on the cricket be it while batting,bowling or fielding, his murderous assault on Waqar Younis during the 1996 World Cup Quarter final in Bangalore is still fresh in the mind of every cricket enthusiast who had the privilege of watching the events live as they unfolded on that memorable evening. Jadeja was the best finisher the game has seen with Michael Bevan being the other one, his highly underrated bowling skills and undebatable fielding skills would make him an automatic selection in any Indian dream one day international team.
Mahendar Singh Dhoni would be the first and only choice for the wicket keepers slot in view of his murderous batting skills. While there is no denying the fact that his glovework does not measure up to muster against that of a Kirmani or Sadanand Viswanath, but his batting and leadership skills put him leagues ahead of the afore mentioned duo in the humble opinion of yours truly, his cool headedness,astute observations about the game and his brutal batting would make him any and every Indian captain's dream keeper who could be accomodated in any and every batting slot between number 3 to number 7 depending on the match situation.
Messrs. Kapil Dev,Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan would be the automatic choices for the three fast bowling slots on the basis of their sublime skills,magical wicket taking abilities, more than adequate and adequate fielding skills in tha case of Srinath and Zaheer, their individual abilities to swing and seam the ball at more than a useful pace under any conditions and Kapil Paaji's hurricane like batting abilities would make the afore mentioned trio an automatic selection in any Indian dream ODI team.
Harbhajan Singh would be the sole nominee for the solitary spinners choice in view of the fact that he is simply the best spiiner to emerge on the scene during the last 25 years or more,is the only Indian spinner who has amassed more than 350 test wickets and close to 250 ODI wickets,is more of an asset rather than liability on the field adds value to the team with his unbridled aggro,comic antics and nasty ability of geting under many an opponents skin thereby making him a man for all seasons and for all the right reasons as well.
Mohinder "Jimmy"Amarnath would be yours trulys choice for the twelveth man's position in view of his ability to anchor an innings and up the ante as and when the situation so demanded. He was amore than useful fielder/catcher and his dibbly/dobbly medium pacers put many an opponent to shame,ask Jeffrey Dujon,Malcolm Marshall and others of their ilk for confirmation,his man of the match exploits during the semis and finals of the 1983 Prudential World Cup would guarantee him a slot in any Indian ODI dream team.
So there you have it folks, an Indian dream team raring to go and ready to take on all comers.
THE TEAM: SOURAV GANGULY (CAPTAIN),KAPIL DEV(VICE-CAPTAIN),MAHENDAR SINGH DHONI (WICKET KEEPER),SACHIN TENDULKAR,NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU,VIRENDER SEHWAG,YUVRAJ SINGH,AJAY JADEJA,JAVAGAL SRINATH,ZAHEER KHAN,HARBHAJAN SINGH AND MOHINDER AMARNATH(12TH MAN).
Please feel free to debate,disseminate,trash the above team and conjure up your own winning combinations of all time.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA.
Before we go any further, one needs to get the following formalities out of the way:
1. This prospective team only comprises of individuals/cricketers who have represented India between 1983 till the present as the 83 World Cup was the first witnessed byt his correspondent.
2. The below mentioned dream team is being expressly constructed keeping sub-continental pitches and conditions in mind. The composition of the team would have been marginally different had the World Cup been held outside the sub continent.
3. This team will only comprise of 12 individuals the playing eleven and a twelveth man, the writer will then ascribe the reasons/logic applied behind certain cricketers not having made the cut.
4. The team that will be thus compiled is purely based on this writer's flight of fancy/cricketing logic and informed choices and the same does not purport to be the official or any other journal/publications dream team that is published before the first ball is delivered in the World Cup 2011.
So let's get on with the fun and games and begin discharging the rather onerous responsibility of picking the twelve cricketers best suited to fulfilling every Indian's dream of wrapping his hands around the trophy for the last twenty eight years.
The opening combination without any shadow of doubt would be the indomitable/irrepresible duo, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, these two individuals would simply make the cut based upon both their individual and collective deeds as an unparallelled opening combination who's sterling deeds are yet to be sublimated by any other opening combination, couple their more than useful bowling skills with their uncomaparabl batting feats and you are sure to end up with a combination guaranteed to set the Ganges on fire.
Navjot Singh Sherry Sidhu would be an automatic choice for the much coveted number three slot, Sidhu possessed the rare twin skills of playing bothe searing pace and the turning cherry with aplomb, he was more than capable of holding his own against the Wasim Akram's and Waqar Younis's of this world if his sterling deeds during the World Cup quarter final at Bangalore are any yardstick to go by, his penchant and inherent ability to tonk the twirlers over the straight field had many a twirler contemplating a premature retirement and many a captain tearing his hair out in despair. Kindly refer to Messrs. John Emburey and Shane WArne for affirmation of his six hitting abilities against the spinners, add to this heady concoction his safe ground fielding and catching and you have the mirror image of a cricketer specifically meant for the one day or rather fifty over version of this great game.
Virender Sehwag would be yours truly's choice for the number four slot as Sehwag initially began his international sojourn as a number five/six batsman who could deliver five to six overs of more than useful off spin. Yours truly is of the informed opinion that Sehwag seems to be a little confused about his exact role as an opener within the present dispensation and ends up gicing away his wicket rather cheaply by playing one shot too many more often than not, one feels that Mr. Sehwag would be worth his weight in gold to the Indian middle order as he will have the licence to unleash from the word go as he would most often be coming in around the 25th over or so add to this desi combination his bowling and robust fielding skills and you would probably end up with the premier number four batsman in the world.
Yuvraj Singh would be an automatic choice at the number five slot with his scintilatting,sublime,brutal yet silken batting skills can anyone forget what he did to Stuart Broad during the 2007 twenty20 World Cup.His ability to rotate the strike and steal singles from under the very noses of his opponents along with his undisputed boundary hitting abilities make him the quintessential number five batsman who would more often than not stick around till the winning runs were hit. Add to this his world renowned pie chucking skills a la Kevin Peterson and his blinding fielding skills and you end up with a man for all seasons and all the right reasons.
Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja would be my nuber six for the simple reason that I am yet to see a better number six batsman in the forty odd years of my existence on planet Earth. Ajay Jadeja was a delight to behold on the cricket be it while batting,bowling or fielding, his murderous assault on Waqar Younis during the 1996 World Cup Quarter final in Bangalore is still fresh in the mind of every cricket enthusiast who had the privilege of watching the events live as they unfolded on that memorable evening. Jadeja was the best finisher the game has seen with Michael Bevan being the other one, his highly underrated bowling skills and undebatable fielding skills would make him an automatic selection in any Indian dream one day international team.
Mahendar Singh Dhoni would be the first and only choice for the wicket keepers slot in view of his murderous batting skills. While there is no denying the fact that his glovework does not measure up to muster against that of a Kirmani or Sadanand Viswanath, but his batting and leadership skills put him leagues ahead of the afore mentioned duo in the humble opinion of yours truly, his cool headedness,astute observations about the game and his brutal batting would make him any and every Indian captain's dream keeper who could be accomodated in any and every batting slot between number 3 to number 7 depending on the match situation.
Messrs. Kapil Dev,Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan would be the automatic choices for the three fast bowling slots on the basis of their sublime skills,magical wicket taking abilities, more than adequate and adequate fielding skills in tha case of Srinath and Zaheer, their individual abilities to swing and seam the ball at more than a useful pace under any conditions and Kapil Paaji's hurricane like batting abilities would make the afore mentioned trio an automatic selection in any Indian dream ODI team.
Harbhajan Singh would be the sole nominee for the solitary spinners choice in view of the fact that he is simply the best spiiner to emerge on the scene during the last 25 years or more,is the only Indian spinner who has amassed more than 350 test wickets and close to 250 ODI wickets,is more of an asset rather than liability on the field adds value to the team with his unbridled aggro,comic antics and nasty ability of geting under many an opponents skin thereby making him a man for all seasons and for all the right reasons as well.
Mohinder "Jimmy"Amarnath would be yours trulys choice for the twelveth man's position in view of his ability to anchor an innings and up the ante as and when the situation so demanded. He was amore than useful fielder/catcher and his dibbly/dobbly medium pacers put many an opponent to shame,ask Jeffrey Dujon,Malcolm Marshall and others of their ilk for confirmation,his man of the match exploits during the semis and finals of the 1983 Prudential World Cup would guarantee him a slot in any Indian ODI dream team.
So there you have it folks, an Indian dream team raring to go and ready to take on all comers.
THE TEAM: SOURAV GANGULY (CAPTAIN),KAPIL DEV(VICE-CAPTAIN),MAHENDAR SINGH DHONI (WICKET KEEPER),SACHIN TENDULKAR,NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU,VIRENDER SEHWAG,YUVRAJ SINGH,AJAY JADEJA,JAVAGAL SRINATH,ZAHEER KHAN,HARBHAJAN SINGH AND MOHINDER AMARNATH(12TH MAN).
Please feel free to debate,disseminate,trash the above team and conjure up your own winning combinations of all time.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA.
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