India

[ZoraxDoom]

I'm going to agree with Sohum. We don't need Ojha. Ishant shouldn't have any business with the T20 side, but PK is pretty good. And we have enough spinners in Bhajji, Yusuf, Raina, Yuvi and Sharma. The last two have 3 hattricks between them!! And there is Viru too. There is the added bonus that PK can bat (hit Warne for two sixes in the IPL!) and Ojha can't. Plus, it's England. The ball will swing. Always nice to have a third swing bowler.

PK or Irfan for the final spot in the side, for sure. And RP and Zak are our death bowlers, without a doubt, although Bhajji might turn his arm over as well.

 

[manee]

How many spinners do we need, though? Sehwag, Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit, Yusuf and Harbhajan are all spinners and we should be able to get at least 4-6 overs out of them. We will definitely need someone to bowl in the death overs who can hit the block hole over and over again and PK is not that bad at that.

Praveen goes missing far too often in T20s and I don't think it is something we can afford. A single bowler going for 40 in four overs can cost a game. I think Zaheer and RP Singh can be saved for the final three overs each time without too much strife. If it is felt we need another pacer, then Irfan can come in for Yusuf Pathan.

 

[sohum]

What's wrong with RP Singh and Zaheer Khan bowling at the death? They're both very good at getting their yorkers in. Zaheer's one of the best death bowlers in the world at the minute.

Zaheer isn't even a certainty as yet, so we may not have him in the death. Also, adding another spinner is going to make the bowling line-up even more generic, which will make it easier for the batsmen. I have a feeling Dhoni's going to go in with Ishant, though.

sohum added 1 Minutes and 26 Seconds later...

Praveen goes missing far too often in T20s and I don't think it is something we can afford. A single bowler going for 40 in four overs can cost a game. I think Zaheer and RP Singh can be saved for the final three overs each time without too much strife. If it is felt we need another pacer, then Irfan can come in for Yusuf Pathan.

At this moment, I think Yusuf provides far more utility than Irfan. He's not done it on the international stage yet, but I think he's a certainty on the team sheet after this year's IPL. If Zaheer is unfit, our seam bowling department is going to be a bit thin.

 

[manee]

At this moment, I think Yusuf provides far more utility than Irfan. He's not done it on the international stage yet, but I think he's a certainty on the team sheet after this year's IPL. If Zaheer is unfit, our seam bowling department is going to be a bit thin.

Irfan Pathan is a pretty capable bowler in T20. In ODIs, he is absolutely useless, but when a batsmen is trying to slog each of his balls for six, his changes of pace can bring a fair few wickets. Although different styles (Yusuf more aggressive), I think Irfan can be of equal use with the bat in the lower order as Yusuf Pathan too.

 

[Leggie]

Batting: Yusuf > Irfan.

Irfan does not match the calibre of Yusuf in terms of batting.

 

[Raj_Aryan]

Last edition's World Champion India is well balanced team,lets see how they play this time...

 

[sifter132]

Batting: Yusuf > Irfan.

Irfan does not match the calibre of Yusuf in terms of batting.

Of course not, but does this really matter if you are deciding who is batting at #7? Surely you want the guy who can bowl better once you are batting that far down. And between Irfan and Harbhajan you would still have guys who can hold it together if the much vaunted top order collapses in a heap.

 

[SaiSrini]

Having Pragyan Ojha in the team when you have a world class spinner in Harbhajan and other so many useful spinners like Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit, Yusuf and Sehwag is just too big a luxury to afford. Harbhajan himself can bowl his full quota of 4 overs and from that part timers list, you can easily squeeze in 5-6 overs from all of them put together. Thats a lot!

This would be my team as of now

Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir
MS Dhoni
Suresh Raina
Yuvraj Singh
Rohit Sharma
Yusuf Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Praveen Kumar
Zaheer Khan/Ishant Sharma
RP Singh

Since Zaheer's fitness is being talked about here, I have put Ishant in there as a backup. If Zaheer goes, Ishant comes in even though Irfan is sitting in the sidelines. Thats because Ishant is an impact bowler (someone who can rattle the opposition if he hits the straps pretty early) and Zaheer is also pretty much the same. I feel its better to replace an impact bowler with another one.

 

[Amiya]

If Zaheer can't play, then Nehra would be a fine replacement. Anyway India has got the easiest pool but they shouldn't take Bangladesh & Ireland easily. What i feel is that Yuvraj will be complete flop this time.

 

[SaiSrini]

If Zaheer can't play, then Nehra would be a fine replacement. Anyway India has got the easiest pool but they shouldn't take Bangladesh & Ireland easily. What i feel is that Yuvraj will be complete flop this time.

When has Yuvraj performed in swinging conditions? If its swinging, Yuvraj is expected to be a flop.

 

[King Cricket]

My team

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Suresh Raina
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Yusuf Pathan
6. MS Dhoni * +
7. Ravinder Jadeja
8. Irfan Pathan/Zaheer Khan
9. Vajji Singh
10. P.Kumar
11. RP Singh

 

[sohum]

Of course not, but does this really matter if you are deciding who is batting at #7? Surely you want the guy who can bowl better once you are batting that far down. And between Irfan and Harbhajan you would still have guys who can hold it together if the much vaunted top order collapses in a heap.

Fair point, but I think with the number of part-timers we have, we can go for a batting all-rounder at the #7 position.

 

[King Cricket]

^ And Jadeja is just the guy. Can well hold the team together if there is a collapse, and is also a pretty decent bowler/spinner. Will act as the second spinner of the team. Jadeja > R.Sharma in terms of usefulness. That's why I haven't included him in my first XI.

 

[gudduthemaster]

My team

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Suresh Raina
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Yusuf Pathan
6. MS Dhoni * +
7. Ravinder Jadeja
8. Irfan Pathan/Zaheer Khan
9. Vajji Singh
10. P.Kumar
11. RP Singh

P kumar + Rp singh will be a great combination,and with Z.Khan it will be come best,BTw why Ravi Jadeja ??why not Rohit Sharma.

 

[deerkick]

Sehwag and especially Gambhir have been in some horrendous t20 form. Gambhir made like one good score in the entire IPL and Sehwag made two I think? If these two don't click it's kinda of over for us.

Bowling wise I would not give Ishant a game. He is horrendous in the short format. I agree with KP and Manee about just going with two spinners because Praveen was a bit useless as well.

Sehwag
Gambhir
Raina
Rohit
Yuvi
Dhoni
Irfan (Yes Irfan. He was a damn good bowler in the IPL and played some clutch last overs)
Bhaji
Ojha
RP
Zaheer

This is probably our best team. Ojha has been amazing this IPL as has been Irfan. Zaheer was OK but clearly better than the rest of our bowlers. If we had Nehra in he should go in before Zaheer. RP for obvious reasons. Irfan and Bhaji can also hit sixes pretty damn well so we can bat down to eight for the extra striking.