World Cup 2015: Team India, a Pandora’s box of problems?

Mumbai: Barely 11 days to go for the ICC World Cup and all is not good for defending champions India. The Men in Blue seem to be having a burgeoning number of problems, which is why the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian side is placed at the receiving end of numerous questions, with the mega event just on the horizon.

With a dismal show in the One Day International (ODI) tri-series Down Under against Australia and England, there are concerns over India’s team selection with only four members retained from the victorious 2011 World Cup edition. India couldn’t secure a win, and now are in serious problems with squad selection, apart from dealing with the batting and bowling departments.

Read: Axar Patel, Stuart Binny selected in India's World Cup Team

In the ODI tri-series, India’s batting, specially the middle order has been a major issue and the talking point in the fraternity. According to cricket expert Ian Chappell, Virat Kohli’s spot at number three shouldn’t be debated. The position ought to be left only for the star batsman as this can give him ample time to settle in at the crease and take care of proceedings, if openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan misfire.

Read: Keep Virat Kohli at No. 3 in World Cup: Ian Chappell

Dhawan’s poor form continues, with the batsman failing to trouble the scorers in the recent tri-series, and his inclusion in the squad was one that was insisted by the selectors, that too when they had options of Murali Vijay, who was in exceptional form in the Tests scoring 482 runs in the four match series.

The situation gets worse from here. Reliable batsmen- Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and even for that matter Kohli have looked shaky even after having the backing from Rahane at the other end, who looks to be in good touch middling the ball from the sweet spot. To counter that statement, one would say that probably they didn’t have much time in the middle, but that doesn’t take away the question: Who will salvage the team when in crisis? Countless questions remain unanswered and the situation with the ball also seems quite dim.

Quite a few veterans have expressed their views that the bowling department lacks consistency.

Read: India need to identify frontline pace attack, says Javagal Srinath 

Apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India’s frontline pace attack bowler, who was not so impressive in the tri-series, none of the other bowlers including Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami seem to have capitalised on the bouncy pitches Australia has on offer. And to make matters worse, Ishant Sharma, whose inclusion in the World Cup squad is in doubt due to knee injury, will be decided on February 7. Mohit Sharma, currently looking promising might replace Ishant.

Read: Ishant Sharma to replace injured Mohit for remaining ODIs

But India can find some respite, courtesy Stuart Binny, whose inclusion in the World Cup squad was hotly debated. Binny has been quite the star in Australia with impressive batting and bowling figures and providing the much needed breakthrough for the side at the right time.

If India look to rely on spin, then they can stop building castles in the air. New inclusion, all-rounder Akshar Patel, whose stint at the crease has always been short-lived, put up quite a show at India’s final match in the tri-series Down Under, utilising the bouncy pitches and troubling the Eoin Morgan-led England side. Ravichandra Ashwin played just one match and again was disappointing, both with bat and ball.

‘Catches win matches’ they say and as bitter as it may sound, the fielding department proves to be the only department where the side can defend the title. The batting and bowling departments both have floundered and Jadeja, Raina, Sharma, Rahane and Kohli will look to tighten things on the field and stop letting the opponent team from taking even the sneakiest of runs. But a decent score on the board can only be a tool for these men to start working on-field.

Dhoni and company have got a lot of homework to do and Captain Cool still believes he can pull off a win and possibly clinch the second World Cup trophy as captain. 

Summing things up, the batting capitulation and bowling failure are areas of utmost attention as of now and Dhoni, coach Duncan Fletcher and team director Ravi Shastri need to chalk out a concrete plan if they ever want to find light at the end of this very long tunnel.

One would certainly like India going into the World Cup on a winning note but that’s not the case. However, it remains to be seen whether Dhoni can manoeuvre his men to victory or will it spell doom on the biggest stage in cricket. Is team India, a Pandora’s box of problems?