Analysis: Can Team India retain the World Cup?

9 years ago

Source: IANS

The 2015 World Cup is nearly upon us, yet no Indian fan can confidently say, ‘Yeah, we can win this!’ Sure, it might be naïve to write Team India off so soon, but their performances in the lead-up to the tournament have been alarming, to say the least.

But in all seriousness, is it as bad as it looks? Or is it actually worse? Here’s our analysis of the Indian team’s current standing and their chances of retaining the coveted trophy.

First, let us look at what India’s strengths are at the moment.

1. The defending champions

Notwithstanding their recent form, the defending champs are still the second-ranked ODI outfit and perfectly capable of beating world-class teams. Going in as trophy-holders will certainly boost their confidence.

2. MS Dhoni

Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni addresses a press conference ahead of 1st ODI match against West Indies at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Oct.7, 2014. (Photo: IANS) — Source: IANS

The Indian skipper will in all likelihood be playing his last World Cup and will be hoping to bow out on a high.

3. Virat Kohli

Without question India’s finest ODI player in recent times, Kohli is their strongest weapon. His ability to churn out tons in crucial matches will make every opponent wary.

4. Strong batting line-up

If you overlook the struggles of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma’s (usual) inconsistency, India’s batting has been very impressive in the lead-up to the tournament. Barring the occasional hiccups, the likes of Kohli and Rahane have stood up to the challenge. They’ve flourished against the best bowling attacks on foreign turf and we’ve hardly had a reason to complain.

And now, let’s look at the grim side of things.

1. Lack of genuine pacers

The search for quality fast bowlers has been a perennial and almost unsolvable problem for the Indian team. The absence of an experienced face like Zaheer Khan will only add to their woes.

2. No leaders in the bowling department

Aside from a poor pace attack, India’s overall bowling performances have been below par. They simply do not have an attack capable of bowling out a quality batting line-up, especially on overseas tours.

This tweet pretty much sums up India’s bowling at the moment.

When Umesh Yadav was born, doctor said 'Mubarak ho, runs hue hain' .#UmeshYadav

— $ir $ri $ri Magal (@jhunjhunwala) January 9, 2015

3. Questionable selection

No matter how much you admire India’s young blood, the omission of the likes of Yuvraj, Sehwag, Gambhir and a few other seniors is questionable, to say the least. Despite the reassuring presence of Dhoni and Kohli on the team, many of the others lack both experience and exposure, and this could turn out to be costly.

4. Lack of form

To be perfectly honest, India’s form has been abysmal in all three formats since the disastrous England tour. It’s easy to put the blame on the bowlers, but in fairness, the team has lacked the finishing touch. They have let each other down in crunch situations. Their fighting spirit has been invisible when it was needed the most. The list can go on.

Well, we’ve asked all the relevant questions and laid out the details. And our conclusion is simple: India will be very lucky to retain the World Cup.

The reason is also simple. Even at their best, India are not good enough to compete against the likes of Australia and South Africa. They do not have bowlers who can promise to win matches. Aside from Kohli, there is no one you can truly count on in the batting line-up. MSD looks like he’s past his prime, Rohit and Dhawan are inconsistent and the rest are just inexperienced.

To put it another way, compared to the Cup-winning team of 2011, this squad looks like a bunch of amateurs.

But then again, it would not befit the unpredictability of the sport to write any one team off even before the warm-up games. We sincerely hope that the Men in Blue prove us wrong.

Also read: 15 things likely to happen during the World Cup