However the next 12 months have been the most bizarre for Indian cricket, with so much has been written about every possible reasons and some imaginary reasons behind this..some cared genuinely and some had other motives.. I am not planning to discuss these reasons.. After 12 months of that night, I am wondering where some of those players are who were part of this journey and have put their mark in history as WC winner..
you would expect that a world cup winning team is most stable one , where there are some players at their peak, some are upcoming stars and some utility players who will be around for some time.. however, if we look at the Indian Squad who played in WC, it will be surprising to see where some of them are now, just one year after that night..
Lets look at each one of them, what they did in WC and since and what future looks for them.
1. Captain MS Dhoni- well, he is not going anywhere after playing the innings of his life and his last shot picture is same as Kapil Dev's Pic from 1983 WC final , running back to take Viv Richards catch. Dhoni's position is secure in Indian cricket team and history, captain of Indian team in all 3 formats, he will remain captain till he decides to leave or get injured which might hamper his continous availability. Dhoni is most busy Indian player by long shot and biggest brand value as well..his biggest test start now, to rebuild the damaged reputation in next 12 months for Indian cricket which took 10 years to build in first place..
2. Virender Sehwag- After an explosive start to WC, with 175 against Bangladesh, he had bit quiet world cup , other than hitting the first ball of the innings for 4 in 5 consecutive matches, he ended up getting out for 0 in finals, on 2nd ball to give India it's worst possible start. after WC, played IPL, withdrew near the end for surgery and skipped WI tour. Horrible ENG and Aus tour later , with public spat with skipper, Sehwag seems to be loosing his aura. However, between oveseas tours, he smashed 219 in ODI which is no joke..he needs to get big score soon and pull off some impossibles, some believe that his vice captaincy is also under threat in Tests but may be too pre-mature to say that.. may be he needs to get his due, test captaincy to revive Sehwag the batsman..
3. Sachin Tendulkar- Dream come true for biggest player of this generation, pictures of Sachin being carried around on his team mates shoulders will remain in Memory, after WC, Sachin has been off color, after the 99th 100 in league matches, his 100th 100 was there for taking and chance to get it in finals, but it took almost an year.. sachin is not getting younger and even after getting 100th 100, no plans to leave ODIs but his availability is always subject to injury. probably will retire from ODIs after Aus tour of India in 2013 , to give enough time to settle new team for 2015 WC..Test retirement..no one knows..
4. Gautam Gambhir- After playing the innings of his life, 97 in WC final but not getting his due, MOM went to MS Dhoni, he had roller coaster ride..though same happened to him in 2007 WC T20 final, after making 75, MOM went to Irfan Pathan..Gambhir is key to India's future, one of the established batsman at top pf the order..when all big 3 retire.. lost his vice captaincy to Kohli which must be disappointing.. need to regroup and play some big innings soon at home against NZ, Eng and Aus..some scores need to be settled with them..
5. Yuvraj Singh- Toast of WC 2011 win and player of the tournament, Yuvi had most horrible of years when his form went off in Eng and the diagnosed with Cancer.. which puts everything in perspective.. recovery going well, no time plan to get back to cricket soon but he will come back.and he will be welcomed..may be a captain candidate for 2015 WC if Dhoni not available.. definitely a main middle order batsman in ODIs
6. Suresh Raina- Supposed to be Pin up boy of Indian cricket, fighting to stay in team really.. had a decent WC, with innings in Qtr final against Aus was his highlight and kept the fielding tight..but after that test spot gone for surerr after Eng tour and not much in ODI in Aus as well..need to score some runs soon else the likes of Rohit Sharma are hanging around..
7. Virat Kohli- The actual pin up boy of Indian cricket.. he is the only one who had real rise after WC..after horrible start in Eng and Aus, recovered and improved some reputation in Australia, with 100 each in test and ODI. ODI 100 was the high point with impossible chase against SL and then star of Asia cup, with 183 against Pak, now the vice captain and certain no. 3 in next test now that Dravid is retired..(unless Lax is considered for no. 3 first) , he can go strength to strength.. Indian captain for future for sure..
8. Yusuf Pathan- One of those utility player who should have been regular no. 7 in ODIs for his power hitting, but still on the sidelines. played 1st half of the WC and then stayed on bench..one year on, still on bench..may play some home series in ODIs, now with irfan back , fight for no. 7 has gone up.
9. Piyush Chawla- Eye brows were raised when he was selected for the WC and then played some league matches with no real impact, bowled in final overs against Eng which was a tie. since then on bench and out of Indian team.. again may come back for some ODIs at home but very unlikely as ashwin is first choice and Harbhajan can surprise many if he comes back. IPL 5 will go long way to confirm this. Also competing with Rahul
10. Munaf Patel- A fast bowler turned medium pacer, he bowled well in WC Semifinal against Pak but came apart in ODIs in Eng. He was not considered good enough for tests even when there was injuries all around. Dhoni preferred fat and slow RP Singh over Munaf. Played all Eng ODIs with had a fall in last ODI, went off the field limping and have not been seen since then.. with Umesh and Varon around, don't think he will come back. May be seen playing in IPL only..
11.S Sree Santh- More famous for his antics on and off the field then his out swingers which are of real quality with Red ball.. not the favorite of Captain when he asked him to irritate only the opposition players, not his own.. which tells a story, had a spat with Bhajji in IPL 3 as well.. played final only because Ashish Nehra was injured in Semi final.. bowled ok with some boundary balls.. more like a lucky musket for MSD as he was in 2007 T20 WC final and took the most important catch as well..still out injured and should come back once fit, he should be automatic choice with Umesh and Zaheer in test team, much better than Vinay kumar anyday..
12. Ashish Nehra: Described as best ODI bowler from India by Ganguly, bowled well in the WC, was in 2003 WC final as well but missed out on this one.. bowled well in high pressure semifinal against Pak with fractured hand, and haven't played since for India, chances to make comeback are slim, must be wondering what he did wrong..wasn't considered when things were going all wrong in Eng..might have played last match for India..
13. Zaheer Khan: Bowled well in final against SL, 3 maidens to start with , redeemed himself from the debacle of 15 run opening over in 2003 WC final.. was taken for some runs in end but over all well bowled, looked like he will be key of Indian attack for next 2 series, went out limping on 1st day against Eng and India never recovered.. bowled well in Australia..still the key bowler for next 2 years if he can maintain his fitness.. should get 400 test wickets.
14. R Ashwin: was competing for the 2nd spinner slot with Piyush Chawala in WC, finally got to play in QF against Aus, well bowled and played till final.. bowled within himself and sealed the spot in ODIs, since then gone from strength to strength.. now the no. 1 choice for Spinner from India, even in Tests now that Bhajji is out..scored test 100 as well at home and some useful runs in Aus as well, but lot more is expected with ball.. home series against Eng and Aus will be key..
15. Harbhajan Singh: was no. 1 choice for India in all formats, nothing of note in WC but played all matches..since then , things have gone downhill for him.. came back from Eng after 2 tests and dropped from Indian team in all formats.. IPL 5 is one chance to redeem himself..
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment