These are the guys who are going to put runs on the board. Most of the Indian batsmen are pretty good and are ‘supposedly’ excellent players of spin. So murdering attacks in Sri Lanka shouldn’t be too difficult for this lot. That is of course if the right batsmen are selected. Let’s take a look at whose selection is right and who should have been ‘left’ out.
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1. MS Dhoni:
'Captain Cool' is an automatic selection. His form in one-day cricket and T20s has almost never been an issue. He is what every other wicket keeper in India calls ‘pakadke baitha hai’ meaning a permanent employee as far as Indian cricket is concerned. His last ten T20I innings include six not-outs and he averages almost 30 in IPL 5. So from us, Dhoni’s selection gets a definite ‘double thumbs up’.
Format |
Mat |
Inn |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg. |
BF |
SR |
100/50 |
4s/6s |
T20I |
32 |
30 |
11 |
565 |
48* |
29.73 |
513 |
110.13 |
0/0 |
32/17 |
Last 10
T20I Inns |
11 |
10 |
6 |
194 |
48* |
48.5 |
171 |
113.45 |
0/0 |
9/8 |
IPL 5 |
19 |
17 |
5 |
357 |
51* |
29.75 |
278 |
128.41 |
0/1 |
26/9 |
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2. Gautam Gambhir:
Another ‘double thumbs up’ selection. Gambhir has been India’s savior on many occasions in the recent past that tweets calling him India’s Dark Knight have given him a new name – ‘Gotham’ Gambhir. In his last ten T20I innings he averages 34.5 which is quite good when it comes to T20s. KKR’s triumph in the IPL 5 would not have been possible if it weren’t for Gambhir’s contributions.
Format |
Mat |
Inn |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg. |
BF |
SR |
100/50 |
4s/6s |
T20I |
27 |
26 |
2 |
752 |
75 |
31.33 |
610 |
123.27 |
0/7 |
89/9 |
Last 10
T20I Inns |
10 |
10 |
2 |
276 |
56* |
34.5 |
216 |
127.77 |
0/2 |
35/1 |
IPL 5 |
17 |
17 |
1 |
590 |
93 |
36.87 |
411 |
143.55 |
0/6 |
64/17 |
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3. Virender Sehwag:
‘See ball, hit ball.’ The Sehwag technique is exactly what is required in this format of the game. Considering his knocks in IPL 5 and the last ten T20I innings he has played, his selection is definitely the right decision. A lot has been written about the ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ being a destroyer of bowling attacks. India will be hoping he performs well.
Format |
Mat |
Inn |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg. |
BF |
SR |
100/50 |
4s/6s |
T20I |
16 |
15 |
0 |
340 |
68 |
22.66 |
223 |
152.46 |
0/2 |
37/15 |
Last 10
T20I Inns |
10 |
10 |
0 |
182 |
64 |
18.2 |
111 |
163.96 |
0/1 |
20/9 |
IPL 5 |
16 |
16 |
1 |
495 |
87* |
33 |
307 |
161.23 |
0/5 |
57/19 |
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4. Virat Kohli:
Going to Sri Lanka without Kohli would have been akin to climbing a coconut tree with no intention of grabbing a coconut. The island nation has become Kohli’s paradise where every flower blossoms for him, no fruit is forbidden and every leaf whispers sweet nothings in his ear. Forget the reams of paper that speak volumes about him and take a look at the numbers.
Format |
Mat |
Inn |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg. |
BF |
SR |
100/50 |
4s/6s |
T20I |
10 |
8 |
1 |
208 |
68 |
29.71 |
166 |
125.3 |
0/1 |
27/3 |
Last 10
T20I Inns |
10 |
8 |
1 |
208 |
68 |
29.71 |
166 |
125.3 |
0/1 |
27/3 |
IPL 5 |
16 |
15 |
2 |
364 |
73* |
28 |
326 |
111.65 |
0/2 |
33/9 |
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5. Suresh Raina:
Give a fat man a cake and he’ll lick the icing off the box as well. Put Suresh Raina in to bat on a sub-continent wicket against the white ball and he’ll score for the number 7 batsman as well. In 8 out of Raina’s previous ten T20I innings, he has scored more than 25. 25 is also his average for IPL 5 – which is his own personal hunting ground where he chews up bowlers and spits out boundaries.
Format |
Mat |
Inn |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg. |
BF |
SR |
100/50 |
4s/6s |
T20I |
26 |
23 |
4 |
631 |
101 |
33.21 |
455 |
138.68 |
1/3 |
54/27 |
Last 10
T20I Inns |
12 |
10 |
2 |
358 |
72* |
44.75 |
250 |
143.2 |
0/2 |
32/14 |
IPL 5 |
19 |
18 |
1 |
441 |
73 |
25.94 |
325 |
125.69 |
0/1 |
36/19 |
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6. Rohit Sharma:
Irrespective of his performance in the IPL and in West Indies, we believe he does not warrant a place in the WC squad. A huge factor in our decision is his recent form and another is the manner in which he has lost his wicket. Also, his average in Sri Lanka is a mere 14.25- quite pathetic for someone who was touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. If one can select horses for courses, one must also leave horses out on certain courses.Only two centuries to his name points out the obvious - ‘Geoffrey Boycott’s mum could make more runs than him. We at HW can play amazing shots too. The fact that we never connected the ball too often is the only reason we’re not playing international cricket.
Format |
Mat |
Inn |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg. |
BF |
SR |
100/50 |
4s/6s |
T20I |
26 |
20 |
6 |
415 |
79* |
29.64 |
328 |
126.52 |
0/4 |
33/18 |
Last 10
T20I Inns |
14 |
10 |
2 |
206 |
79* |
25.75 |
162 |
127.16 |
0/2 |
14/10 |
IPL 5 |
17 |
16 |
2 |
433 |
109* |
30.92 |
342 |
126.6 |
1/3 |
39/18 |
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7. Manoj Tiwary:
Good batsman, might become a decent bowler and a superb fielder. Manoj Tiwary certainly deserves a chance to cement his place in the side. He averaged 26 in IPL5 and gets a ‘thumbs up’ from us.
Format |
Mat |
Inn |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Avg. |
BF |
SR |
100/50 |
4s/6s |
T20I |
2 |
1 |
0 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
17 |
88.23 |
0/0 |
0/0 |
IPL 5 |
16 |
15 |
5 |
260 |
59 |
26 |
246 |
105.69 |
0/1 |
21/3 |
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