Does India have the best ODI batting line-up in the world?

Sir Ravindra Jadeja deserves a paragraph to himself not only because of the title he has, but also because of the dramatic turn-around he’s made in the last year or so. He’s gone from being the guy who you couldn’t depend on to get 35 of 40 for victory, to being the new Mr. Dependable – both with the bat and the ball. His little cameos towards the end of the innings came very handy in the Champions Trophy and went a long way towards securing the Cup. He could use a little practice playing a longer innings, possibly in the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe; but for now, let’s just appreciate how far he’s come.

So I’ve established that India is a batting powerhouse. But let us now to compare the line-up to other teams in the world.

Sri Lanka are a team going through transition with new captains replacing their contemporaries in a very short period. They are running out of the big names – only Sangakkara and Jayawardane remain – and they must come to terms with the fact that their careers are coming to an end.

Sangakkara and Jayawardene – at the twilight of their careers

Pakistan are sort of the opposite of India. They are a bowling powerhouse who have had their fair share of good batsmen.

England and South Africa provide stiff competition to India. Both teams have their big names. For England, you have Cook, Bell, Trott, Prior, Pieterson and Morgan. SA have Smith, Kallis, De Villiers, Amla and Pieterson. Both line-ups put fear into the opposition, but neither did too well in the Champions Trophy (of course, SA can just blame it on the tradition of choking at the big stage; after all, traditions are meant to be followed).

Australia look like they should be renamed ‘Clarke and a bunch of other guys’; and given that Clarke has been M.I.A. because of his back, they really need someone to step up to the mantle.

The mighty Caribbean warlords are everyone’s favourite underdogs. They have Gayle, Bravo, Sammy and many more who are more than capable of turning a match on their day, but that’s the problem. They can only do it on their day.

So, having established that India sticks to the tradition of relying on their batting and that they are at the top of the table because of the same reason, one must say that India does indeed have the best batting line-up in the world.