In almost exactly eight months from today, the 2015 World Cup will kick off with India as defending champions for only the second time in the history of the tournament. Barring injury (unlikely given his track record and fitness), MS Dhoni will become the first Indian captain to lead his side into two world championships as the title holders. He will know very well that India struggled mightily the last time they were defending a world title under his watch and also the last time the World Cup was held down under (though the latter was years ago). He will also know that India don't have a huge number of matches before then to determine the final shape of the squad.
That makes the upcoming short tour of Bangladesh and the 'A' team tour of Australia in July even more critical than these would be otherwise. Sandeep Patil and co have done an admirable job again (like in the past) and now its up to the groups of men selected to show that they deserve to be considered for the full side come February.
The team selected for Bangladesh is officially the senior side but given the absence of seven or eight first choice players it is veritably an 'A' team. As I've written before, there are not many certainties in the Indian ODI side currently and with at least two (and possibly three given Dhawan's recent form) batting spots up for grabs as well as all three seam bowling positions, there's lots to play for. The likes of Rahane, Pujara, Rayudu will want to win a permanent place in the limited overs side and Raina and Uthappa will hope their chance is not gone. I'll also be hoping to see Binny and Rasool get games as India need back-up allrounders in their squad. The seam options are iffier (Vinay Kumar again?) but Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma could do a job in Aus/NZ with a bit more experience.
Uthappa, Rayudu, Rasool, and Mohit Sharma also feature in the India 'A' side for the quadrangular in Australia (as do Tiwary, Jadhav, and Patel) giving them another chance to impress. Akshar Patel, Sanju Samson and Rishi Dhawan will be the others I'll have an eye out for.
It's not only about the 50 over game though. There is also the return to the two countries where Dhoni and India received 0-4 drubbings in 2011/12. England are nowhere near as good as they were in 2011 but five Test matches is still a tough proposition. Once more, the selection committee have done what appears to be a solid job with the squad and there's good variety both in the batting and seam bowling. I'd have liked to see another spinning option in there especially given that the last two Tests are in Old Trafford and the Oval in August. Varun Aaron being selected over Umesh Yadav is also slightly baffling but otherwise, this team should certainly be able to hold their own against an English side that's also rebuilding.
Australia on the other hand are arguably stronger than they were the last time India toured three years back. The bowling certainly has a lot more teeth with Johnson and Harris, and Lyon also in more confident shape and the batting has swiftly recovered from the loss of Ponting and Hussey. The England series should give us a hint of how Dhoni and his men will cope. The Indian captain is a proud man and though he will want to put on a good show at the World Cup, repairing his overseas Test record will also be high on his list of priorities. Whether he and his young team can do it in the next eight months, only time will tell.
That makes the upcoming short tour of Bangladesh and the 'A' team tour of Australia in July even more critical than these would be otherwise. Sandeep Patil and co have done an admirable job again (like in the past) and now its up to the groups of men selected to show that they deserve to be considered for the full side come February.
The team selected for Bangladesh is officially the senior side but given the absence of seven or eight first choice players it is veritably an 'A' team. As I've written before, there are not many certainties in the Indian ODI side currently and with at least two (and possibly three given Dhawan's recent form) batting spots up for grabs as well as all three seam bowling positions, there's lots to play for. The likes of Rahane, Pujara, Rayudu will want to win a permanent place in the limited overs side and Raina and Uthappa will hope their chance is not gone. I'll also be hoping to see Binny and Rasool get games as India need back-up allrounders in their squad. The seam options are iffier (Vinay Kumar again?) but Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma could do a job in Aus/NZ with a bit more experience.
Uthappa, Rayudu, Rasool, and Mohit Sharma also feature in the India 'A' side for the quadrangular in Australia (as do Tiwary, Jadhav, and Patel) giving them another chance to impress. Akshar Patel, Sanju Samson and Rishi Dhawan will be the others I'll have an eye out for.
It's not only about the 50 over game though. There is also the return to the two countries where Dhoni and India received 0-4 drubbings in 2011/12. England are nowhere near as good as they were in 2011 but five Test matches is still a tough proposition. Once more, the selection committee have done what appears to be a solid job with the squad and there's good variety both in the batting and seam bowling. I'd have liked to see another spinning option in there especially given that the last two Tests are in Old Trafford and the Oval in August. Varun Aaron being selected over Umesh Yadav is also slightly baffling but otherwise, this team should certainly be able to hold their own against an English side that's also rebuilding.
Australia on the other hand are arguably stronger than they were the last time India toured three years back. The bowling certainly has a lot more teeth with Johnson and Harris, and Lyon also in more confident shape and the batting has swiftly recovered from the loss of Ponting and Hussey. The England series should give us a hint of how Dhoni and his men will cope. The Indian captain is a proud man and though he will want to put on a good show at the World Cup, repairing his overseas Test record will also be high on his list of priorities. Whether he and his young team can do it in the next eight months, only time will tell.
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