Set aback by mass injuries to all the leading pacemen, selectors were forced to select a list of probables before the final team is selected.

Here’s the probables: Anil Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, VRV Singh, Pankaj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Aakash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir, Ranadeb Bose, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel

The final XVI should be a composition of experience and youth. It is worthless to carry people who aren’t in good form and have no set future ahead of them. Ideally the team should have 7 batsmen, 2 spinners, 5 fast bowlers and 2 keepers. Here’s my recommended team that needs to travel to Australia:
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Watching the proceedings at Edgbaston where India got edged out in a familiar fashion, it calls for some changes in the batting line up. I would start right at the top with the one down position. Karthik was brilliant in the test series and showed promise in the first one dayer where he played low down; but, he is not apt for the crucial No.3 slot. We need somebody with experience at that position. As Dravid has taken on the responsibility of steadying and stabilizing the lower order, the only other man fit for that position would be Tendulkar. He has the experience and grit to carry out the job that Ian Bell has been doing for England in this series. Tendulkar needs to drop to No.3 position in the best interest of the team.

Taking Tendulkar out of the opening slot would enable Uthappa to walk in seamlessly. Uthappa is an exciting player, entertaining to watch and a great prospect for the future. He has the tenacity to murder bowlers in a Gilchrist fashion. He will surely up the ante by providing some quick starts which has been lacking so far from India.

Another change that I would recommend is going back to the four bowler formula. We don’t have a dependable batting line anymore. We need more batsmen to compensate for our shortcomings. Powar has played well but his nonathletic fielding, spilling catches and no-contact batting should be taken into consideration and dropped to make way for the debutant Rohit Sharma. India can manage with the guile of Tendulkar and the accuracy of Yuvraj for the fifth bowler’s slot. Having just four bowlers will put more responsibility on other regular bowlers and that’s how it should be.

Paul Collingwood (Durham, capt)
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Stuart Broad (Leicestershire)
Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)
James Kirtley (Sussex)
Darren Maddy (Warwickshire)
Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)
Matt Prior (Sussex, wkt)
Chris Schofield (Surrey)
Owais Shah (Middlesex)
Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire)
Jeremy Snape (Leicestershire)
Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire)
Chris Tremlett (Hampshire)
Luke Wright (Sussex)

More details to follow…

Disappointment is the word of the day when I look at the Indian team that has been chosen for the 2nd test at Trent Bridge. Coming from an average outing at the Lord’s, it was important to get rid of extra baggage and get some live wires to recharge the entire team.

Jaffer was a non-sense man at Lord’s and he should have been replaced with either Gambhir or Yuvraj. Jaffer was clueless against the moving ball; my maid servant would have played better than him in the English conditions. Yet, he boasts of several hundreds in first class matches. Selectors and senior cricketers often talk about the good technique that Jaffer possesses. How can a person have good technique if he can’t cope up with the moving ball? Hitting the ball thats not moving laterally takes hand and eye co-ordination more than technique. Sehwag would’ve done much better here in England and he never talks about his batting technique. Jaffer is lucky to be in this match and my bet is that he would score less than 20 in both the innings.

The rest of the team selected themselves on merit and performance from the previous game. The injury scare to Ganguly would have opened the doors for Yuvraj whose inclusion would have thrown some excitement into this game.

One of the most important series in Indian cricket itinerary is set to begin this Thursday at Lords and there seems to be a dilemma regarding the players comprising the XI. It’s not the openers slot that is being tossed up but the name of the future captain of India, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

There have been several speculations that Dhoni would be dropped for the first Test against England at Lords to adjust Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman in the side. VVS Laxman booked his place in the side with a defiant 97 against Sussex while Yuvraj’s fighting 50 against the Lions made the selection process complicated for captain Rahul Dravid.

Dhoni is one man who can turn any match on it’s head. This man can take the mantle of the entire team and can change the fortunes in a matter of few overs. He is tipped to be the future captain and in all certainty will be captaining India in the Twenty 20 World Cup in South Africa. We would not like to see this youngster’s confidence dented by dropping him from the XI. A player with Dhoni’s stature should be able to walk into any format of the game as he is deemed precious in all conditions.

If I was to leave out somebody, it would be VVS Laxman. He is old, slow on his legs and doesn’t contribute with the ball. Yuvraj is talented, young, great fielder and can chip in with a few overs. Having VVS in the team would not do any good if you are trying to build a team for the future.

Here’s the team that should probably play:

1. Dinesh Karthik
2. Wasim Jaffer
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Saurav Ganguly
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
8. Anil Kumble
9. Zaheer Khan
10. S Sreesanth
11. R P Singh

What would be your team?