India's ODI problems

It is fascinating to know that a team with the likes of Tendukar, Sehwag, Ganguly, Dravid, Harbhajan, Kumble and such emerging stars as Yuvraj, Kaif and Pathan is ranked 8th in the current ICC ODI rankings. It is only above Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh in the ranking right now. This team that beat everyone with the exception of the eventual champions Australia in the World Cup last year has been in a free fall ever since the series against Pakistan in Pakistan. It recently hit a new low when it presented Bangladesh with its first victory against a major test playing nation since achieving test status and its first points in the ICC ODI table.

I think one important reason why the team has been in such a bad state has been the lack of new fresh talent making its mark in the last one year. One day cricket teams need the spark of youth and fresh talent to perform consistently. The reason India has done well in the 2 years preceding the World Cup was the fact that the team introduced good new talent on a regular basis - Sehwag, Yuvraj, Kaif, Pathan, Balaji - all established themselves in that period. In the last one year - the team has not only stuck to the old formula of playing 7 batsmen irrespective of situation, it has gone into all games with the same stale team. The only competition for the top 7 has come from the likes of Rohan Gavaskar - who everyone knows makes it to the national team because of his famous last name. The team selection has been less than objective - Hemang Badani has evey right to know what he has done wrong in all the opportunities he has got. The selectors have not tried any new batsmen or spinners - with the result that the current incumbents have become complacent. The resultant lack of intensity is there for everyone to see.

The team also needs to think through its batting strategy - Does it really need to play 7 batsmen in the sub-continent. Why not allow Dhoni to play and develop into a good wicketkeeper batsmen that he promises to become. Why not consider playing 5 batsmen, a good wicket keeping batsman, an all-rounder (Joginder Sharma, Ritender Sodhi ? ) and 4 genuine bowlers in the sub-continent and increase the number of batsmen if need be abroad. India needs to take a leaf out of Pakistan's book. Despite a weaker batting frontline, Pakistan routinely goes in with 5 batsmen and has been fairly succesful in ODI's doing that. More importantly, they need to rotate the top5 in order to bring in some competition and intensity at the top. The sooner they make it their policy, the better off they will be against a hungry Pakistan coming to India after a "learning" tour down under.