Team Pakistan Preview - Predictably Unpredictable

Pakistan, since their historic and emphatic win at the Champions Trophy 2017 in England, have had an absolute dismal show in this format. In recent times, they've been on a losing spree, having lost 10 out of their last 11 games.

Although the team has been performing poorly, they've had some sheer individual brilliance & sparkling performances. The advent of the Pakistan Super League where the local talent has a platform to perform, compete & share dressing room space with the some of big names in international cricket has reaped dividends. 

For the first time going into an ICC event, I think the Pakistan batting unit looks more settled then their bowling line up. Fakhar Zaman, Imam-Ul-Haq & Babar Azam have been very consistent with their show and make a very reliable top order. The experience of Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed gives their middle order a settled look. For a country, where fast bowlers were available as easily as rasgula on the streets of Kolkata, there is an uncalled sudden scarcity. From their provisional squad of XV, they dropped Junaid Khan and Faheem Ashraf only to go back to the initially discarded, Wahab Riaz & Mohammad Amir.

Likely XI

1) Fakhar Zaman

2) Imam Ul Haq

3) Babar Azam

4) Mohammad Hafeez

5) Shoaib Malik

6) Sarfaraz Ahmed

7) Imad Wasim

8) Shadab Khan

9) Hassan Ali

10) Mohammad Amir

11) Wahab Riaz

Bench

1) Shaheen Afridi & 2) Mohammad Hasnain - Reserve Fast bowlers

3) Asif Ali - Reserve Middle Order Batsmen

4) Haris Sohail - Reserve Batting All Rounder

Verdict - I'd be really surprised if they make it to the Top 4. But much like the stock market, this is team where lower circuit trends can be reversed to upper circuits in no time, so write them off at your own market risk 

Team West Indies Preview - Can the T20 Caribbean party last for an entire day ?!

The T20 specialists have been completely erratic and relatively inconsistent in the ODI format. They have not won a single bilateral series in ODI Cricket since April 2015. Also the fact that they didn't qualify for ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 & were forced to play the Qualifying Tournament to be eligible to play for this World Cup speaks about how West Indies Cricket has been for the last 4 odd years. So one way of looking at them is that they may cause the one off upset on their day but they are no contenders for the trophy. But I'm little more optimistic about them then what their numbers suggest. Although they lost, but they showed a lot of fighting spirit in their last two away bilateral ODI series vs England & India respectively. Shai Hope and Shimron Hetymer came up with match defining performances to instill confidence to their struggling middle order woes and add firepower to the deadly opening duo of Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. 

The 50 over format is soon becoming an extended version of 20 overs format. West Indies has plenty of players who are specialist T20 globe trotters & are so so destructive that they could be virtual match winners on their day. The West Indies Cricket Board has had its share of financial crisis & administration mayhem leading to plenty of players choosing to represent the money spinning leagues across the globe ahead of playing in maroons. But as we near this ICC tournament, the administration and players have reunited. It was a big surprise to see the one man army, Andre Russell who last played an ODI for West Indies about a year back being drafted into the squad and non-preferred players like Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo being announced as standby players. Sometimes it feels like their board has no objection with the players earning money across the globe for four years as long as they're ready to represent West Indies for every World Cup. 

Likely XI

1) Evin Lewis

2) Chris Gayle

3) Shai Hope  

4) Shimron Hetymer

5) Darren Bravo

6) Jason Holder

7) Andre Russell

8) Carlos Braithwaite

9) Ashley Nurse

10) Kemar Roach

11) Shannon Gabriel 

Bench

1) Sheldon Cottrel & 2) Oshane Thomas - They are both reserve fast bowlers. They could play ahead of any of quicks in the likely XI depending on the surface & overhead conditions

3) Fabian Allen - Reserve Spinner

4) Nicholas Pooran - Reserve Wicket-keeper & middle order batsmen

Verdict - I don't think they will reach the top 4, but if they do it's going to be one hell of an entertaining journey to witness !

Team South Africa Preview - Without the pressure of being called favorites, can they shed the Chokers Tag

South Africa, in the recent times have entered into ICC tournaments being one of favored teams to win, but this time around they seem to lack the firepower. If the added pressure of being favorites makes them choke, can not having this pressure make way for them to pack a punch above their weight ?!  

So whats changed for them !? The biggest of them all, the sudden retirement of AB De Villiers has not just left a void for South African cricket, but its been a 360 degrees deprival of entertainment for cricket lovers across the globe. Back in the days of Jacques Kallis & Lance Klusener, South Africa had two world class all rounders in the top seven of their line up, giving them the perfect team balance, which most other teams would really envy. Now all of a sudden there is a drought for them on that front. Their bowling attack looks good with the pace bowling trio of Rabada, Ngidi and Steyn alongside the wily old fox Imran Tahir running his miles across the ground like an enthusiastic teen.

Likely XI

1) Quinton De Kock

2) Hashim Amla

3) Faf Du Plessis

4) Rassie van der Dussen

5) Jean-Paul Duminy

6) David Miller

7) Andile Phehlukwayo

8) Dale Steyn

9) Kagiso Rabada

10) Lungi Ngidi

11) Imran Tahir

Bench

1) Aiden Markram - Reserve Batsmen

2) Chris Morris & Dwaine Pretorious - Reserve Bowling All-rounders

4) Tabraiz Shamzi - Reserve Spinner 

Verdict - 50% Chance of  Semi Finalist (I just hope they decide the fate & not the DuckWorth Lewis system)

Team England Preview - Hosts are clear hot Favorites !!

It's been 44 long years since the first World Cup, and I dont think England has ever entered a World Cup as clear hot favorites. Lets rewind back to the 2015 World Cup in Australia & New Zealand, where England suffered one of their most embarrassing exits without even reaching the knockout stage.

http://crickonnect.blogspot.com/2015/03/embarrassed-england.html

In hindsight had it not been for the humiliating exit in the World Cup 2015, I don't think England would have realized how far behind they are from the rest of the world. So that performance, was virtually a blessing in disguise for them. In the last four years England have really transformed themselves & revolutionized their approach to white ball Cricket under the leadership of Eoin Morgan & coach Trevor Bayliss. This is now England 2.0

So whats been their approach ?! They virtually play 50 overs Cricket like an extended version of T20 Cricket. With a clear attacking mindset & the amount of destruction power in their never ending batting line up, they've been demolishing bowling attacks and made scores of 350 plus in recent times for fun pretty consistently. The only weak link for them has been their bowling attack conceding too many runs & the lack of a reliable wicket taker. Although inexperienced, but I think finally England has an answer to that. Jofra Archer has been phenomenal in the T20 leagues across the globe. It is good to see that England recognized him as a potential game changer & fast tracked his selection process & drafted him into the squad for the mega event.

Likely XI

1) Jason Roy

2) Johnny Bairstow

3) Joe Root

4) Eoin Morgan

5) Ben Stokes

6) Jos Buttler

7) Moeen Ali

8) Chris Woakes

9) Jofra Archer

10) Adil Rashid

11) Mark Wood

Bench

1) James Vince - If any of the top order batsmen are injured, he will be drafted into the playing XI

2) Tom Curran & 3)Liam Plunkett - They could easily play ahead of Mark Wood, depending on how the skipper feels about the conditions

4) Liam Dawson - Reserve Spinning All-rounder for Moeen Ali & Adil Rashid

Verdict - Sure sort Semi Finalists with the best chance to finally get their hands on the  trophy.

MY WORLD CUP SQUAD - INDIA

The countdown has begun !! The biggest Cricketing event is less than 2 months away. With the ongoing IPL, the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and soon to follow Cricket World Cup, this situation is pretty much like a student whose final exams are nearing but has a big fat wedding in the family to attend with the distraction of his NRI cousins visiting.

Well there is a very thin line between player form and workload management of key Indian players as all eyes are glued on the high staked franchise cricket. Should performances in the IPL be considered for selections of the squad at the WC ? Should BCCI give instructions to the franchise owners to manage workload or rest key members of the squad ? As a die hard cricket fan, I'm anxious to see how our administration handles this situation.

The selection of my squad of 15 has been based on 2 factors

a) To have sufficient back ups for each specialized skill

b) To have the flexibility to change the balance of your starting XI based on the playing conditions

My XV

1) Shikhar Dhawan (Opener)

2) Rohit Sharma (Opener)

3) Virat Kohli (Captain)

4) MS Dhoni (Wicket-keeper)

5) Kedar Jadhav (Middle Order batting all-rounder)

6) Vijay Shankar (Middle Order batting all-rounder)

7) Hardik Pandya (Seam bowling all-rounder)

8) Mohammad Shami (Fast bowler)

9) Kuldeep Yadav (Spinner)

10) Yuzvendra Chahal (Spinner)

11) Jasprit Bumrah (Fast bowler)

12) Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Reserve/Additional Fast bowler)   

13) Ravindra Jadeja (Spinning all-rounder / Reserve spinner) -  Depending on the playing conditions, if India wants to go in with 3 genuine fast bowlers, then Bhuvi makes his way into the playing XI & one of Kuldeep or Chahal miss out. In that case, Jaddu being a spin bowling allrounder can be drafted into the playing XI ahead of Vijay Shankar or Hardik Pandya giving India the flexibility to maintain their balance between seam and spin.

14) Lokesh Rahul (Reserve Opener / Top Order Batsmen) - If one of our top 3 are injured, he makes his way into the starting line up.

15) Dinesh Karthik (Reserve Wicket Keeper / Middle Order Batsmen)- He makes his way into XI, if there is any sort of injury to MS Dhoni or if any of the relatively inexperienced middle order are woeful out of form.

Workload Management - The players who are in the squad for India (especially fast bowlers) should only be permitted to play home matches for their respective franchises once the squads are announced. This way they are not tired travelling virtually every second day & have a bit of game time before the biggest event in world cricket.

Do share in your views for the squad you think India needs to lift the CUP at England & Wales this year ! Look forward to hearing from you all.

T20 WORLD CUP 2016 PREVIEW - INDIA & NEW ZEALAND

India 

India are going into this tournament is firm favourites. Besides having the momentum of winning 10 out of the 11 last T20 International games, they have the ideal mix of experience and youth. After whitewashing Australia in their own & the Asia cup triumph, it seems team India can do no wrong. Never before do I remember India looking so settled entering a mega event.

Likely XI – 1) Shikhar Dhawan, 2) Rohit Sharma, 3) Virat Kohli, 4) Suresh Raina, 5) MS Dhoni, 6) Yuvraj Singh, 7) Hardik Pandya, 8) Ravindra Jadeja, 9) Ravichandran Ashwin, 10) Jasprit Bumrah, 11) Ashish Nehra

Bench – Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi & Mohammad Shami

India has one of the most feared batting line ups. Most teams would envy this kind of a star cast. Virat Kohli continues to be redefine the law of averages with his impeccable consistency. Rohit Sharma has the ability to turn a game on its head with his inhuman six hitting powers. Shikhar Dhawan also seems to have caught back form just in time. In his last couple of outings, MS Dhoni showed glimpses of his old self, and the sound of leather on his willow with that emphatic victory six to win the Asia Cup, should just do his confidence wonders.

The return of Ashish Nehra has added invaluable experience to the Indian bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah seems to be a great pupil of Lasith Malinga giving India a worthy answer to their perennial problem of death bowling. Ashwin is Dhoni’s trump card and is used smartly by him either upfront or in the middle overs depending on the match situation and the opposition batsmen. The presence of multi dimensional players like Jadeja, Yuvraj, Pandya & Raina gives India immense depth in batting as well as plenty of bowling options to skipper MS Dhoni so he can optimize the resources depending on how the surface plays. 

                            New Zealand

The Kiwis for a really long time were considered dark horses entering into a mega event. The current side has a pretty settled look and the team has done really in all formats of the game in the recent times. Infact they have really stormed world cricket with their brand of aggressive cricket under the iconic leadership of Brendon Mc Cullum, who just decided to call it a day from international cricket on his home ground days before the world cup. Much like his batting, McCullum’s way of looking at the game never had the word fear or defence. His way of playing with an all out attack attitude rubbed on his teammates as the Kiwis under him saw new highs. In fact a triumph in this world cup could have well been a fairytale ending to his career.

Likely XI – 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 Colin Munro, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner , 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Martin Guptill is now one of most destructive openers in world cricket. Kane Williamson has been their Mr. Dependable across different formats. Ross Taylor provides the much needed experience in the absence of Brendon Mc Cullum. Corey Anderson and Colin Munro provide the hard hitting impetus in the middle order. The fast bowling duo of Trent Boult & Tim Southee have done pretty well for them. Michael Santner, Nathan Mc Cullum & Ish Sodhi provide them with plenty of spin options to pick from. Can this young team adapt to playing conditions in the subcontinent? Being alongside favourites India, dangerous Aussies, unpredictable Pakistan & raging Bangladesh is sure to make it tough going for them.

INDIA’S SQUAD FOR THE ICC WORLD T20 2016

The squad for the Asia Cup and the most awaited ICC Event of the year, the T20 World Cup has been announced. With MS Dhoni’s captaincy under scrutiny in the last year or so, can MSD redeem himself about a decade later in the format where he first announced himself on the big stage. After having done it all, does he have it in him to write another chapter of glory !!?? Here are the men who have been picked & my views on the selections.

The Squad:-

Wicket Keeper - MS Dhoni

Batsmen - Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina & Yuvraj Singh

Bowlers - Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi & Mohammed Shami

All Rounders - Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja,

After having whitewashed Australia in their own den, the emotional Indian fan can proudly say the team has a settled look, thus leaving a spot or two open for contention. The major points of discussion would be the picking of rookie left arm spinner Pawan Negi and the seamer Mohammad Shami, who hasn’t played too much competitive cricket in the last few months. Pawan Negi has been picked up as bowling all rounder ahead of Axar Patel, the former having a better hitting ability lower down the order. Ideally, I would have liked a leg spinner in his place, probably Amit Mishra to make the cut which could have given India a complete variety in spin department, but the selectors thought otherwise.

The pace bowling options of Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Ishant Sharma have all been erratic and inconsistent in the recent times and Mohammad Shami coming off an injury would rather be a better bet than any of these. The experienced Harbhajan Singh after a reasonably good IPL last year and above average performances in his opportunites on the international circuit over the last year is a direct cover for Ravichandran Ashwin. The inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane ahead of Manish Pandey is justified with his consistency of performances across different conditions & formats. The presence of multi dimensional players like Yuvraj, Raina & Hardik Pandya add to the ideal balance of the squad playing in the sub continent.

Likely Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra

The Bench – Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Mohammad Shami & Ajinkya Rahane

With the mega event being played in India at many different venues ; it is a clear indication that the bench strength preferred is in the bowling department considering all the batsmen would be an automatic selection irrespective of the playing surface. In case of any injuries for the top order batsmen getting a replacement would be fast track. Having a good variety of spin & seam bowling options would help India pick different team combinations for different venues & playing conditions.