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Yusuf, Raina could do with some competition

As has been written about quite a bit, the Champions Trophy showed up India's bench strength quite starkly. In the absence of Yuvraj, Sehwag, and Zaheer and with Ishant and Harbhajan being so off-colour, the second rung couldn't quite pull together a single performance worthy of a world-beating side. Both the batting and bowling are to blame but I think the former has not got as much attention as it merits because the bowling was so dreadful.

An initial look at the potential line-up for the 2011 World Cup would suggest Tendulkar (assuming he's fit and still around), Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, and Dhoni as certainties. A strong batting line-up that but very often, the difference in crunch games comes from who's at 6 and 7. Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan currently occupy those spots but neither of them have made too much of their chances there. Raina averages 35 after 71 matches and while those are not bad figures, he has not played a match-winning hand often enough from that position. Virat Kohli averages over 42 (albeit after only 9 games) but also over 50 in domestic 50-over games. Similarly, Yusuf Pathan averages a little over 20 after 30 matches and picks up a wicket only every other game on average. His fielding too is not really upto scratch and it is a pity that Ravindra Jadeja hasn't been picked more often for a similar role. Yusuf would be one of the first names on my team-sheet for a T20 tournament but 50-over cricket requires a more adaptable temperament and Jadeja seems a likelier candidate for that role.

The Australia series represents a good chance to have a closer look at Kohli and Jadeja and to see if they have "the right stuff". Lets hope the selectors are bold enough to go that way.

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