This Indian team competing for World Cup seems very special. The strength of this team can be very well imagined from its bench strength. One of the finest exponents of spin bowling Ashwin, the lion hearted quickie Mohammed Shami, explosive batter Surya Kumar Yadav and hugely talented Ishant Kishan are not finding a place in playing X1. And what about the captain of gold medal wining team in Asian games, Ruturaj Gaikwad and sensational find Yashasvi Jaiswal. Other members of the Asian games gold winning team included Arshdeep, Prasidha Krishna, Jaydev Unadkat, Avesh Khan and Shahbaz Ahmed, all eminently eligible to be part of the first playing XI for the country. And let’s not forget that Akshar Patel and Rishabh Pant are injured but may be available soon. I don’t think that our selectors were spoil for so much choice ever before.
The current combination is indeed a winning one, capable of lifting the World Cup. Yesterday’s dominating performance against arch rivals Pakistan reaffirms the preparation and talent of this team. They just need to stay fit and focused and avoid complacency and overconfidence and we can give befitting farewell to our great heroes of the post Sachin era – Virat and Rohit, whose services may not be available in the next World Cup.
Victory over Pakistan is just another game, a part of the journey and not an end: There are still important matches against England, NZ, Bangladesh and Srilanka to be played and won. Yesterday’s victory has raised our expectations from our heroes.
Fire all cylinders Bumrah and Siraj and repeat sublime batting Virat, KL Rahul and Rohit. We 140 crore Indians are there to cheer for you.
Arvind Arya blog 