Saturday, February 3, 2007

Should India Include Six Bowlers in the 15 Member Squad of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007?

Seven bowlers, seven batsmen and one wicketkeeper can be a good combination for the world cup cricket squad. However, I think this can not be an idle combination for India. As India’s strongest side is batting I think they have to rely on batting during the tournament. For spinner, they have two ultimate choices- Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, who are serving India for a long time. However, India has not found any consistent and world class fast bowler after Kapil Dev, who can dominate the opposition batsmen. Pathan, Zaheer and other pacers are very good but do not have the power to rule over the batsmen. So, if India takes Harbhajan and Kumble as two specialist spinner then India can take maximum five pace bowlers to fill the slot of seven bowlers. However, I think they should take four pace bowlers so that they can include one extra batsman. As India does not have that dominating pace bowlers, so there is no difference between taking four pace bowlers and five pace bowlers.

On the other hand, there are lots of quality batsmen who are struggling hard to get into the squad. So, it is better to have eight batsmen, six bowlers and one wicketkeeper in the squad ahead considering the conventional pace bowler friendly wickets of West Indies.

An all-rounder can be a good choice to balance the team who will be able to serve the team as the eighth batsman and seventh bowler of the squad. Suresh Raina can be the best choice for this position. With his middle order batting quality and excellent off spin bowling, he can play a vital role behind the success of India. Anyway, whoever the player is, an all-rounder can make the squad more balanced and strong.

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