The world cup team we need..... - Page 2

I am not a cricket enthusiast. I wish we get a good team.😛

Originally posted by: Maya_M

I am not a cricket enthusiast. I wish we get a good team.😛

I am not a cricket enthusiast anymore. I wish we get a consistently good team.

disclaimer notice- any resemblance to any other quote is purely coincidental.
this is an attempt not to plagiarise. i was only inspired😉

Originally posted by: abhijit shukla

None of the 1983 members were gloryseekers except may be Gavaskar..that too not at the current players' scale. They put their cricket before their endorsements also..

I dont blame them...a sports career is a short lived one...and if cricketers are in demand for endorsements why should they refuse...

the only problem is that we ourselves have put all the cricketers on a pedestal and we are the ones who are complaining when they fail to reach the expectations...they did fine in the first test match against SA and suddenly all TV channels are doing a 360 degree turn and praising them...so blame it on the media or blame it on the audiences...

Problem is that we have now become a nation of "arm chair crtickers...ooops cricketers"...!

Hmmm...the kind of Cricket our team is playing since last few months, usse to lagta hai ki hamari team tourists bankar jaayegi aur wapis aayegi. 😆

Sehwag Uncle 😆 , he is one to whom i belive 😉 ,

Indians depart with a billion hopes, prayers

The game's followers hope Dravid's team would emulate Kapil's Devils of 1983

The highlight of India's show in 1983 was the toppling of the Windies in final

Dravid's team will have to surmount high expectations and some tough opponents

— Photo: AP

GOOD LUCK TEAM INDIA: The Indian team seems well-rounded in batting and bowling, with a fair number of players keen to perform multiple tasks, somewhat similar to the utility members of 1983. Mumbai: The Indian team left for the West Indies for the World Cup carrying a billion hopes and prayers of the country's cricket-crazy fans. The game's followers hope Rahul Dravid's team would emulate Kapil's Devils of 1983 by returning home with cricket's biggest catch. Twenty-four years ago, a team that was hardly expected to cause a ripple in cricket's showpiece event, turned the game upside down with its sterling show. The highlight of that brilliant display was the toppling of two-time world champion — the all-conquering West Indies — from its pedestal in a memorable final at Lord's. Burden of expectations That team did not have the burden of expectations as the cricket fans in the country then were yet to be bewitched by the shortened form of the game. The players themselves did not believe they had the wherewithal to conquer the world and were thus able to perform without the added pressure of huge expectations. The triumphant run of that team — despite a few hiccups on the way — has since transformed the lukewarm interest of the fans in the one-day game into something akin to religious following. It is this extreme pressure that Dravid's team will have to surmount as well as the tough opposition on the field in the West Indies to make its tryst with eternal glory. Anything less than a title triumph will be considered a failure, perhaps unfairly, by the vast majority of the fanatic followers of the game in the country. Bitter experience Four years ago, the Indian cricketers, many of whom are part of the present squad, had a bitter experience of what a poor run could lead to in the form of a violent backlash from fans back home. The house of Mohammad Kaif, who is not part of the current team, was even stoned by irate fans after the Sourav Ganguly-led squad huffed and puffed to beat a weak Netherlands in the opening league match and then lost timidly to Australia. Coming as it did after the team's disastrous outing in New Zealand a few months earlier, the fans' anger knew no bounds. Sachin Tendulkar, who was later named the Player of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, even had to utter a public statement that the squad would try its level best to return home with the Cup to assuage the hurt feelings back home. Dramatic turnaround There was a dramatic turnaround in its performance thereafter and the team went all the way to the final before bowing to the superior all-round skills of the Ricky Ponting-led Australians. The fans then were quite satisfied with the vastly improved performance of the team even though it lost in the final, but the hype surrounding the current team is such that many followers expect an Indian summer in the Caribbean. Coach Greg Chappell and captain Dravid have built a squad that seems well-rounded in batting and bowling, with a fair number of players keen and available to perform multiple tasks, somewhat similar to the utility members of Kapil Dev's 1983 side. Quite a few in the current team may not be around when the World Cup returns to the sub-continent in 2011, and the West Indian sojourn offers them the best chance to add the game's crowning jewel to their list of trophies. But as Chappell said so succinctly, the potential to adorn themselves with glory is there, if the players withstand the pressure. Will it happen is the all-important question.

— PTI

My team comprises of

Saurav Ganguly as the captain coz he has that killer instinct and fighting spirit that is needed . He is quite gutsy I would say

Rahul Dravid -Vice captain as he is the perfect foil to saurav as they have complete different personalities while saurav is aggressive , rahul is calm and patient

Sachin Tendulkar- as Buffie said he is the backbone and if he does well the team automatically gets motivated to perform.

Dhoni : good wicketkeeper and a good batsman , much needed player

Mohammed Kaif : I think he was left out of the WC squad which is sad bcoz I think he is a brilliant player and a fielder with good brains so hopefully by some miracle I hope he gets through

Yuvaraj Singh : though i dont like him , he is a good left hand batsman and I hope he shines for our team and he is a good fielder.

Dinesh Mongia : good player and useful wicketkeeper as well

Laxman : good player with experience would stabilise the middle order

Zaheer Khan : could be destructive if he gets a good opening spell and is very dangerous when he gets into his groove , def must

Irfan Pathan : again good bowler with good variety and spirit

sreeshnath : promising youngster with good agresssion that is much needed for the team

Harbhajan Singh : Good spinner and hopefully witll shine and I am picking him coz we have very less choices in the spin dept

so my order would be

opening

Sachin and Saurav : they would always be deadly and they are experienced and have the best record in opening

one down Rahul Dravid

2 down : Mohammed Kaif

3 down Yuvaraj singh

4 down Laxman

5 down Dhoni

6 down Irfan pathan

7 down : Harbhajan Singh

8 down : Zaheer Khan

9 down : Sreeshnath

They could add another batsman or bowler as per the requirement and opposition . I would not pick sehwag coz he has been getting away with his poor performance and also he shows a lot of attiude . so would drop him although i know that wont happen in the indian team selection board.