India are almost a year away from defending their World Cup title. Yet, amid all the speculations that await them in tricky conditions of New Zealand and Australia, the side's basic team composition continues to be the biggest worry. A continuous string of below-par performances away from home has been a sideswipe and India have been struggling to put together a quality playing XI while playing abroad.
The opening pair lacks fire, the middle order looks fragile and the bowling concerns persist. After winning series against Australia and West Indies at home last year, the process of heroes turning into villains began in South Africa and the same story has unfolded in New Zealand. With back-to-back losses, India have managed to relinquish the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI rankings and with passing time recapturing it will only get tougher if necessary changes aren't made soon. As far as MS Dhoni's idea of building a World Cup team goes, quite clearly this is not a side worthy of taking centre-stage in next year's mega event.
Where batting is concerned, the only man seeming reliable at the moment is Virat Kohli who appears to be batting in a zone of his own. Dhoni is trying hard - which is more than can be said for the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja - but coming to bat at No. 6 means that more often than not his batting is marred by limitation. With lesser balls and bigger targets, as great a player as Dhoni may be, one can't always expect him to get India past the finish line - especially when barring Kohli there just aren't enough sizeable contributions. Raina has one half-century (that too against a poor Zimbabwe side) in his last 22 innings dating back to June 2013 for an average of 26.15, and his repeated inclusion has been somewhat baffling. If India want to persist with him, then it should be a spot lower at 6 and Dhoni should bat at 5. But considering the series is on the line in Auckland on Saturday, India should consider shaking things up by trying someone new in Raina's place; Ambati Rayudu and the uncapped seam-bowling allrounder Stuart Binny are the two options. Binny, a big hitter, would be the better option.
At the top, Rohit's ability to soak balls up front isn't exactly something a team needs chasing big totals. On placid Indian surfaces Rohit was able to accelerate his scoring rate rather easily once he had gotten set and given India starts, but this has not been the case away from home. In Johannesburg India were chasing 359 during the first ODI. Rohit ate up 43 balls for 19. In Durban he made 19 off 26 before pulling to short midwicket. In New Zealand he has been unable to force the pace. In Napier, when India were set 293, Rohit made 3 off 23 balls, falling on the first aerial shot he played - a mistimed hook to deep square leg. In Hamilton he made 20 off 34, flashing a loose shot to the wicketkeeper. Away from the comfort of docile Indian tracks, Rohit has struggled to dominate against quality pace bowling. Subsequently, India have not been given good starts and they've not won a match in South Africa or New Zealand.
One batsman fires regularly out of a total of six played, and still the same side is playing matches one after another. In a country where there are as many as 27 Ranji Trophy teams, finding replacements somehow still remains a cause for concern. Yet no measures are being taken to put an end to this miserable itinerary. Swapping Ajinkya Rahane with Rohit should not be a difficult risk to take considering Rahane has spent most part of his cricket either as an opener or at No. 3. He has also opened in 16 out of 20 innings in ODIs and has plenty of IPL success as an opener in the last two seasons.
But beyond Rahane, the man who really needs to be trailed in ODIs is surprisingly not even considered for the format - the sound and technically correct Cheteshwar Pujara. Considered a perfect fit at No. 3 in Tests, in ODIs too Pujara can provide stability and take the added pressure off Kohli. He was the only other centurion in South Africa apart from Kohli - in fact, his 153 at The Wanderers came at a better strike rate than Kohli's 96. Pujara is more than capable of scoring at a brisk pace and at the same time he can play the anchor role as well. Keeping in consideration what the current scenario looks, Pujara needs to get in to the thick of things for the 2015 World Cup. Potentially, Pujara can allow others to bat around him and that could be significant for Kohli and consequently India.
To top all this, a nagging bowling combination continues to infuriate - in particular, the expensive Ishant Sharma and the ineffective R Ashwin. Every cricketer has their share of haters, but Ishant seems to be in a league of his own. Agreed, no Indian pacer is really threatening but few go at an excess of six runs per over every innings. Mohammed Shami is bending his back and Bhuvneshwar Kumar more often than not keeps things tight from his end. But Ishant continues to bowl at the same length - just look back at how James Faulkner smashed him for 30 runs in Mohali last October - and he's been picked on by almost every batsman he's come up against. He's also effortlessly made people rich in the stands.
Ashwin's excessive variations have spelled his demise and fetched him just 32 wickets in the last year. More worrying has been his form overseas: in his last five matches in South Africa and New Zealand Ashwin has gone for 0 for 58, 1 for 48, 0 for 63, 0 for 52 and 0 for 50 - that's one wicket for 271 runs. Despite not being among wickets, Ashwin continues to enjoy the support of his captain and the team management. The other spinner in the current squad is Amit Mishra who has played just one match after his 6 for 48 against Zimbabwe during the 5-0 sweep in Zimbabwe last August. Despite Ashwin's poor outings Mishra remains on the bench. It's time he gets a game.
Varun Aaron and Ishwar Pandey too are waiting in the wings and when they will get a game is anyone's guess, even considering Dhoni's comments after the Hamilton loss that something will need to change. Pandey's exclusion can be understood considering he doesn't have an international cap yet. But Aaron, who came into the limelight for his ability to bowl at over 140kmph consistently, was ushered back into the Indian team since recuperating from a serious back injury. The selectors picked him on promise and did not waste time in calling him back once he got back to competitive cricket, so if he is valued so highly then why isn't Aaron playing in Ishant's place?
India's 2014 schedule is packed with big series abroad. Playing England in June-July and then Australia towards the end in all likeliness will expose India's weakness further. India would want Dhoni to desperately get over the rigidness over persisting with the same side time and again. A squad worthy of competing in Australia and New Zealand will require players with enough international exposure. Changes need to made before it's too late.
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