The Indian selectors announced the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 to be played in England and the island countries around it. Controversy is the gift-wrapping of most selections and this one wasn't any exception. If a group feels weighted by boas they sense in the selection, another is overcome by the non-selection of Yuvraj. None is shedding tears for Gambhir because sufficient ant-Delhi sentiment exists in this country to make his being dropped appear more right than it actually is. I have no complaints with selection per se; my only trepidation is with the middle order...the space between the openers and Dhoni.
India has chosen to swim ahead, beyond 2011, with three musketeers - Virat, Raina and Rohit - charged with keeping the middle order strong and productive. We will swim or sink with their individual moods and combined totals. Yuvraj hasn't been in top form this year.
Some controversy surrounds the selection of Vijay. One notable web wit, given the season of nephews in the world of social media, declared his gut feeling was that Vijay was Sini's nephew. Statistically inclined gurus have pointed out Vijay's poo ODI and IPL form to support this hypothesis. My view is that Vijay's Test form was greatly instrumental in supporting Vijay's case. Perhaps Dhawan too has his Test debut to thank. There is no reason to imagine Vijay will not take up this challenge in the manner in which he did in the Test series against Australia.
India has moved beyond able servants of the past such as Sehwag, Gambhir, Sachin etc. They had to. The selected batsmen are those in the best form this year. The bowling has selected itself on the strength of performances. A few of them can bat a bit and lend depth. I have no issue with the bowlers. None of them are greenhorns...all have been exposed to international cricket sufficiently.
Virat, Rohit and Raina haven't set the Thames on fire in the past but this is their big chance to do that. They are the backbone of this team unlike in the past. Let's see who are the capable ones.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, R. Vinay Kumar.
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