India need to start planning for the 2015 World Cup

Can India repeat the heroics of the 2011 world cup?

With the World T20 done and over with, the focus for the Indian team now shifts to defending its crown in next year’s 50 over World Cup, to be played in Australia and New Zealand.

If the recent series v New Zealand is to be taken into consideration – the Indian team has a lot to think about. A performance which can only be labelled as ‘below par’, losing 4-0 to New Zealand has raised serious questions over India’s potential to defend the prestigious World Cup crown.

Even though the World T20 was well within satisfactory for India, one cannot overlook the fact that India without doubt excellent in India and the sub-continent, it’s the foreign tours that have raised the eyebrows – be it the bashing in England and Australia in 2011-12 or the recent New Zealand series, there’s very little to no improvement, as far as playing overseas is concerned.

The World Cup is still about 10-11 months away, which is a very genuine amount of time for the Indian team to work on its weaknesses and prepare a team which is suited for the bowler-friendly pitches of New Zealand and Australia.

There are many quality players sitting out of the Indian team, who if brought back into the team can be really handful on the New Zealand and Australian pitches – below are 5 of my suggestions:

Manoj Tiwary – He may not have had a ‘great’ Ranji season in 2013-14, but one has to consider his list A record. An average of 59.55 is beyond ‘good’ and without doubt makes a player worthy of being selected in the Indian side. He’s someone who has played well for India in the matches he got to represent his country in. In his last series vs Sri Lanka, he made a century, a 65 and a few 20s but yet for no apparent reason was dropped from the team.

Amit Mishra – He’s been in and out of the team quite a few times in the last few years and that’s due to his inconsistency and at times, the selectors have been harsh on him. In any side, the duo of an offie and a leggie can be really deadly – one bringing the ball into the right hander and one taking it away, making the job of the batsmen even harder. After a success turnout in the World T20, selectors must have a close eye on how Mishra does in the list-a tournaments.

Cheteshwara Pujara - He’s been in the news a lot lately. It’s clear that Pujara is desperate to get into India’s 2015 WC side and I don’t see why he shouldn’t. After having made a great name for himself at the test arena, he must be given an opportunity to represent India in ODIs, as an opener in fact. We need a consistent opener who can play 20-30 or in fact even all the 50 overs and take the team to a respectable total and take pressure off from Virat Kohli in pressure situations i.e. matches in which we lose an early wicket.

If Pujara does open, Rohit Sharma should be shifted down to the middle order. He’s someone who can be really damaging to the bowlers on the Australian pitches but it’s the sharp movement in the early part of the innings which might help the bowlers in clinching his wicket, hence it’s better for him to come after a few overs, when the swing will be minimal and the pitch will be more batting friendly.

Sanju Samson - If a Sachin Tendulkar can represent the Indian team at 16, I don’t see why a 19-year-old Sanju Samson couldn’t. For those of you that have seen him bat, he is no ordinary talent. His crispy off-drives, brutal pull shots or the classy quick singles, he’s just the kind of player which can turn from good to excellent once he gets exposure at the international level. Besides, he’s also a wicket keeper and India has had problems with finding a wicket keeper who is consistent with the gloves as well as the bat and Sanju Samson is worth trying.

Ishwar Pandey – India’s biggest concern going into the next year’s World Cup is, finding quality pacers to extract the bounce from the Australian pitches and clinch wickets. If there’s one bowler that the selectors will have their eye on – it’s Ishwar Pandey, someone whose been highly appreciated by the Indian legend, Kapil Dev for his sharp pace and ability to extract the bounce from India’s slow pitches.

The squad I suggest – Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra/Mohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishwar Pandey, Sanju Samson

It’s important for India to look for some sharp fast bowlers who can get us early wickets on New Zealand and Australian pitches. We’ve got to be blatant about the truth, spin is just not going to do us any good on foreign soil and if there’s any way to win matches – it’s a quality pace attack which India doesn’t have.

The prestigious World Cup is in February next year, India will go into the World Cup as the defending champions but can we retain the cup? Our chances of retaining the World Cup highly depend upon the team that is selected – will the selectors give more importance to ‘IPL’ performances or Ranji performances and perhaps overlook the List A records of the players or will there be a better and a more transparent selection process. Another key point is, does India has enough quality pacers in its rank to win matches abroad? The answer is for you to decide.