5 things Indian squad will miss from the 2011 World Cup winning squad

Indian team at the present moment is gearing up for the 2019 edition of World Cup. The Men in Blue are one of the top contenders for the coveted edition in England. India were the winners of the 2011 edition of World Cup.

If we go back to 2011 World Cup, we will find that the Indian team had players who were proficient in carrying out tasks which necessarily did not belong to their domain. Sachin and Sehwag, though not excellent bowlers, had the knack of chipping in with an over or two whenever required. Yuvraj Singh outshined the lead spinner Harbhajan Singh in terms of wickets taken. Also, the middle order had a settled look.

The present ODI squad lacks a batsmen in top 5 who can roll over his arms if required. Kohli depends heavily on his pure bowlers to fetch wickets. If the first choice bowlers undergo some harsh treatment, the captain has no luxury of deploying his part-timers to get a breakthrough.

Though the Indian team gives a settled look ahead of the marquee event with some petty issues here and there, let us go through some of the features of the 2011 World Cup winning squad which could be surely missed by the team in its quest to regain the title in 2019.

---

#5. All-rounder in Top 5

Indian team right now doesn't posses a batsman in the top 5 who could be termed as part time bowler. Yuvraj Singh handled the responsibility to perfection in 2011 World Cup. He played the role of fifth bowler for India in helpful and spinning conditions which is dearly missed by the present ODI setup.

He wasn't someone who could be termed as a full-fledged allrounder, but he did the job rather successfully, winning the Man of the Tournament award with 15 wickets to his name.

#4. A Strong Middle Order

Indian spinner Yuvraj Singh (L) is congr

The 2011 team had a batting lineup right down to number seven spot. With Raina / Pathan coming in at No. 7, Indian middle had enough firepower to chase 300+ targets those days even if the top order failed to perform. With Kohli, Yuvraj , Dhoni and Raina / Pathan to follow Sachin, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir there was no such thing as being top heavy.

Today there are talks of India being a top heavy side as a settled middle order is close to being non existent. With Dhoni's finishing prowess in wane and the number four and five spot not being grabbed till now, the present middle order muddle has given it a vulnerable look which doesn't inspire confidence while chasing 300 plus targets.

#3. 3 Fast Bowlers in the playing eleven

In spinning conditions that subcontinent pitches provide, the Indian team management of those days favoured three fast bowlers in Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Nehra / Sreesanth. It provided two reliable wicket taking bowlers upfront with one to follow.

But even though the 2019 World Cup is to be held in England, the present team combination can only fit two fast bowlers with Hardik pandya as the third medium pacer option.

A team combination of three fast bowlers with Hardik as fourth option would be idle for the team in terms of options available. But with the team favouring playing the spin twins in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav there is little chance of that happening.

#2. No one in Top 5 to roll his arm over

The 2011 winning team had Sehwag, Sachin, Raina, Pathan who could role their arm for two- three overs as per the needs of the situation.

But in the present team, none of the top could role over their arm even for one over. Kohli is not a bowler who could send down two or three overs as evidenced by the fact that he bowled only five overs in 2017 and three in 2016 in ODIs. Same is the case with Rohit Sharma who last bowled in 2016.

With Kedar Jadhav injured, Suresh Raina is the only option who could do the job at present .

#1. A Future star ready to take world by storm

Indian players Virat Kohli (L) and Suresh Raina

Indian team middle order is rather brittle and the contenders so far have failed to make an impact. Players like Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey have failed to gain Kohli's confidence.

The 2011 team possessed a Under 19 World Cup winning captain Virat Kohli who was already challenging the established might of Indian batting. Though he didn't exactly take the series by storm with only one century and one half century to his name, but definitely showed signs for the great things to come .