Drinks Break - The Cricket Blog

Runup to the Cup - Part I

Cheer for India. Cheer for Cricket. A Drinks Break Special.

A lot has been written and said about India’s fifteen for the World Cup in April. Should Sehwag have been selected? Why didn’t Powar make it? Is Kumble the correct choice? A billion people – and a zillion opinions. So, for a change, I won’t add to the ocean of comments  and criticism our eminent selection panel has been drowned in ever since they announced the squad on the 12th.

Instead, here is an attempt to understand the steps that possibly led to the selection of the final fifteen – what an engineer would call a flowchart; and an MBA would refer to as a process.

This is a purely creative exercise and has been vetted by none of the five wise men. But as it aims to justify some of their selections, I’m sure they’d appreciate it!

Selection Flowchart

Click on the image for the full chart

 What does the algorithm land us with?
Starting Likely_XI = Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly, Dhoni, Zaheer, Agarkar, Yuvraj, Munaf, Harbhajan

The RED circles show some of the choices the selectors seem to have made …
From Alternative 1: Uthappa and Pathan (from the flowchart, seemingly low confidence in the top six batsman means that a solid number seven bat is necessary – unless Pathan plays, however, the 4 seamers option is unviable)
From Alternative 2:  Sehwag and Uthappa

Therefore, Uthappa makes it in with either Sehwag or Pathan. The Sehwag-Pathan choice in the final XI will depend on the team combination the think tank wants – the aggressive but not-so-successful 5 bowler approach or the more comfortable, but defensive, 7 batsmen one.

This accounts for 12 players, leaving three spots up for grabs, with about a dozen genuine contenders. The table shows what finally happened – and tries to understand why.

The selectors have valued Kumble’s proven record over Powar’s recent efforts; rewarded Karthik and Sreesanth’s attitude and enthusiasm; and told Raina and Kaif that scoring runs is as important as saving them.

PS: Ok, can’t resist putting in an opinion here! Feel sorry that Powar missed the bus this time – he is a genuine off-spinner and is no mug with the bat. As for Sehwag, he’s done little to justify a place; but, as the flowchart shows, if you want to play seven batsmen, his selection becomes inevitable. Otherwise, I think the selectors have done a fair job – the inclusion of Pathan and Sehwag is clearly their biggest gamble, but if it comes off, India could be a formidable opponent this summer.

The MPs screamed, “This is not right!
We demand accountability!
Our cricketers lose without a fight,
They deserve no mercy or pity!”

“Remove them now!”, the chorus yelled,
“They have failed our mighty nation.
Even their coach must be felled,
And sent on an unpaid vacation!”

The common man then quickly replied,
“Oh representatives I must agree!
All those who’ve let our country slide
Must be punished, not set free!”

“But forget cricket, it’s but a game,
I know offenders far worse.
They are our nation’s biggest shame,
Our single-largest curse!”

“I elect them to enrich my land,
They exploit its poverty instead.
In every scam they have a hand,
And every riot they have led.”

“So if you talk accountability then
Leave aside cricketers for now.
Own up yourselves you failed men,
You’ve cheated us silly, and how!”

“And when you leave, please also resign
From all sporting bodies you control.
You’ll find that Indian sport will shine
And regain all the glory you stole!”

I’m no journo, commentator or scribe,
But yes, another of the armchair tribe,
Who (to be cliched) lives-n-breathes the sport
And believes his views are of global import!
These scribbles shall contain my honest take …
So let’s raise a toast to this new Drinks Break!