It is exactly 9 days, 8 hours and 46 minutes to go to the start of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. This year south Asia gets the honor of hosting the greatest cricketing extravaganza in the world (IPL and T20 fans would tend to disagree!). It promises to be yet another tournament filled with action, drama and who we all in India have grown accustomed to watching and praying for – Sachin! As a true Indian, I would want the tournament to culminate in an Indian victory giving Sachin the perfect cherry on top of a near-perfect career.
A few weeks back, a cricketing fan couldn’t have been happier with the state of things. The runaway English Ashes victory and the Aussies showing signs of a comeback in the ODI’s, the spirited Indian fight against the Proteas, and Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh and West Indies all fighting on an even footing in different test and ODI series’ meant that this World cup was going to be highly contested and every match was going to the wire. A week before the world cup, does one share the same sentiment? Yes, No, Maybe!
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Yes, the teams are still pretty close. Of course, India,Australia,South Africa, Sri Lanka and England are the favorites, but nothing really separates them. But, the lead up to the world cup has seen some sad injuries which might mar this mega event.
Australia have lost their best batsman is Michael Hussey and their best spin option in Nathan Hauritz and are looking at lucky newcomers Callum Ferguson and Jason Krejza respectively to replace them. Will the world cup miss the world’s 4th ranked ODI batsman? I don’t know, but Australia sure will, along with Ricky “Punter” Ponting, Steve Smith, Tim Paine, Brad Haddin, Shaun Tait, Xavier Doherty and Shaun Marsh all of whom could be on the casualty list. England are another team periled with injury worries. As many as 6 players are on the injury list featuring the likes of Eoin Morgan, Paul Collingwood, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan. They all hope to take the field against the Netherlands on 22nd Feb, but only time will tell.
The other major issue is about Pakistan. Their two best bowlers have been banned along with their ex-captain for spot-fixing. Sohail Tanvir also looks on the way out which leaves them with a very shabby looking bowling lineup very unlike the Pakistan team of previous editions. Of course, Pakistan have shown a tenacity to battle it out to reach the crucial stages of the World cup, so I can never rule them out.
On the other hand, India and South Africa are relatively untroubled as far as injuries go. Praveen Kumar has pulled out only to be replaced by an able replacement(atleast talent-wise) in Sreesanth. Kallis is a major doubt for South Africa but he should pull through. Other niggles have bothered the other teams but nothing really serious.
So as an eternal optimist, I see the good side of things. These could mean a dream run for India in a World cup at home with very few hassles. We have a young, fit team firing on all cylinders with Zaheer Khan spearing the bowling attack and Sachin leading from the front in his typical World cup fashion, it could be India all the way. Maybe it is India’s time to finally shine on the world stage, only time will tell!
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