My team for World Cup 2015

A lot has been said about team India to world cup 2015. According to me to play well in Australia and New Zealand you need the perfect combination of youth and experience. So my squad would consist of:

My team: Dhoni (c), R. Sharma, Dhawan, Kohli, Raina, Yuvraj, Jadeja, Ashwin, B. Kumar, Shami, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Zaheer/I. Sharma, Rahane, Uthappa.

Openers:

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are going to be regular openers in the world cup, but by seeing Dhawan's dangling form I would keep Uthappa as a substitute for it. Uthappa has done wonders in IPL and CLT20 this year. Moreover, he leaded India A to victory recently in quadrangular series in Australia. I can't get that why selectors are ignoring his performances. Rahane would be the other reserve opener in my team. He is such a player who can play in the middle order as well. He is there in my squad only for his flexibility. I think Rahane in test team is perfect but in ODIs, I will think twice about other options before including him in eleven. We have much better options than him in ODIs.

Middle Order:

The principal pillars of middle order are going to be Kohli and Raina. All the loop holes of Indian middle order were exposed when Kohli was not in form. Kohli is the one who holds the middle order together, but we have witnessed that he has struggled on bouncy tracks. Raina is back in form just at the right time for India and currently he is swinging between no. 4 and no. 5 as we haven't got anyone who can fit in the boots of Yuvraj at no. 4. Therefore INDIA NEED YUVRAJ SINGH AT NO. 4 IF THEY REALLY WANT TO DEFEND THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. He can get some wickets as well with his golden arm. We all saw what he did in 2011 WC. Moreover, he is more experienced than each of the players currently playing in team India.

Rahane again doesn't fit in the middle order as well. As I would prefer Uthappa before him as an opener similarly I will prefer Yuvraj Singh before anyone at no. 4. Rahane would be retained as reserve in the middle order of my team. Then my middle order would be like Kohli at no. 3, Yuvraj at no. 4, Raina at no. 5 and Dhoni at no. 6. If you are thinking about reserve keeper for Dhoni then Uthappa will do that chore.

Lower Middle Order:

Lower middle order will consists of Jadeja and Ashwin. Jadeja at no. 7 and Ashwin at no. 8. Both Jadeja and Ashwin can bat so Akshar Patel will not be able to make into the team. He is an excellent player, but Jadeja is doing fairly well and Dhoni will not replace Ashwin as he is the main spinner in the team. Moreover Bhuvaneshwar Kumar can bat as well after Ashwin. Hence no chance for Akshar Patel as of now.

Bowlers:

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Shami are the two who has sealed their place in the team. Now who is going to be the third one. If Zaheer is fit, then he must be a third bowler as he is the Sachin Tendulkar of Indian bowling department. Even today, no one can bowl better than him among the current Indian bowlers. If he is not fit, then either Umesh Yadav or Mohit Sharma should play as a third bowler. I saw the glimpse of becoming the next spearhead of India in Umesh Yadav when he made his debut, but nowadays he is just playing to seal his place in the team, i.e. he is playing safe not up to his potential or not taking risks with his variations. So for that he first needs to be secure with his spot in the squad then he will express himself as a bowler. Another option is Mohit Sharma he has been one of the great findings of IPL. He has impressed many with fast bowling. He is a bowler with big heart which is a very important quality a fast bowler should possess these days.

So three fast bowlers as per me should be Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Shami and Zaheer/Umesh Yadav. If four fast bowlers have to be played then I would play Mohit Sharma as a fourth fast bowler in place of Ashwin. Ishant Sharma should be sustained as a reserve if Zaheer is not fit.

So my playing eleven would be:

Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan/Robin Uthappa
Virat Kohli
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni
Ravindra Jadeja
Ashwin/Mohit Sharma (depending on the pitch)
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
Mohammad Shami
Zaheer Khan/Umesh Yadav.