ASIA CUP - THE INDIAN SQUAD

One of the best moves of the current selection committee has been to send the message "Perform or Perish" and that no player has a permanent place in the Indian team. Yuvraj Singh's being dropped is not at all unwelcome! I think it was about time he was brought to his senses.He needs to work on his fitness and fielding. He was found dancing with a pop star, a night before the committee had to decide the squad for Asia cup,suggesting he might have taken his place for granted."Business before pleasure" is an old saying. Such frills are acceptable when your on field performance is upto your potential.Yuvraj should have cricket at the top of his priority list.There was a time when he was regarded as one of the best fielders in the world but now,the captain has a potential problem in finding a suitable fielding position for him. Now, its upto him how he takes this decision. Ideally, India would love to see him rejuvenated and hungry for more.Cricket fans would certainly not mind to see Yuvraj the "cricketer" back again!

Perhaps the most perplexing decision has been the selector's persistence with Ravindera Jadeja.He is an "all rounder" with a bowling avg. in the 40's. His batting is a pain to watch. It is baffling to see Irfan Pathan not being given a chance. This tournament would certainly have tested his mental strength and ability to perform under pressure.Indian squad consists of a lone wicket keeper in the form of their captain Dhoni. Wonder how much more funny and embarrassing a situation could get if Dhoni was to get injured on the morning before a match! Zaheer and Nehra, the pair that formed an integral part of the 2003 world cup, still leads the Indian pace bowling attack. Ishant, Sreesanth and RP Singh have lost their way after a good start to their international careers. Dinda has been selected for this cup which is justifies considering his performance in the recently concluded tour of Zimbabwe but how long can he maintain his fitness levels and bowling accuracy remains to be seen.


Harbhajan shall once again lead the spin bowling.Where as Ashwin has a long way to go as far as his bowling is concerned, Ojha hardly seems to cause trouble to quality batsmen. The decision of Sachin Tendulkar to rest himself is a very good one and is completely welcome. It would be good to see the performance of young guns in the absence of the world's best batsman. The axing of Yuvraj Singh should be viewed as a warning signal by the likes of Sehwag, whose batting has always swung between being carefree and careless and Rohit, whose fitness levels leave a lot to be desired.This tournament also provides an opportunity for Virat Kohli to perform in a big tournament under pressure and make a statement. Saurabh Tiwary should be ready to grab any opportunities that come his way and should view this tour as an excellent opportunity to learn and come to terms with the international levels and standards of cricket.