Class of 2007

As the teams start reaching their destinations in Caribbean their prime focus will be on getting key players in fully fit and in form. Game of Cricket despite being a team game is always won or lost by individual performances. If we have a look at last 8 world cups the fact becomes more obvious than before. Even if even just we want to concentrate on modern day one day cricket i.e. WC’s after 1992 we will always find that some tremendous individual performances have managed to win the world cup for their side. Who could forget the heroics of Wasim Akram with that round the wicket superb bowling performance that won Pakistan their only world cup. And 1996 was all about Sanath Jaysurya and Kaluvitharana taking all the bowlers for a ride of their lifetime. Such was their threat that allegations like springs in their bats were believed to be true. And of course 1999 will be always remembered for two men Shane Keith Warne and Herschel Gibbs. One ignited a fire in a low in confidence side while other made a mistake of his lifetime. A mistake that will never be forgotten no matter what he goes on to achieve in his career. 2003 was always Sachin’s world cup. His great performances almost single handedly took India too the finals and failure there meant India had to be satisfied with Runners Up title.

Although team composition and conditions will have a lot of impact on the outcome of the matches in this world cup focus will always be on individuals who can make the difference between good side and winning side. Here I try and list my players for this series.

Before I turn to individual teams I must say 6 batsmen in the elite league of 10000 + will be most watched batsmen this time. Fortunately 3 of them are from India and that is why I believe India stand a good chance. All of them namely Sachin, Sourav, Lara, Inzamam, Jaysurya and Dravid will be most probably playing their last world cup and hence will try and give more than just their best to be on the winning side at the end of 2 months of intense cricket. Although all of them are not on peak of their careers I will still want to put my money on them. After all there is nothing like class, is there?

Same is case with some veteran bowlers like McGrath, Vaas, Murli, Pollock and Kumble who will be trying to give more than their best and as usual I am ready to put my money on all of them (although I am not sure if Kumble will as many games as others).

Apart from them my list of dangerous players will have a lot of players from NZ. Lou Vincent has finally realized his potential and importance of consistency so watch out for him. McMillan, McCollum, Oram (not yet fully fitL), Vettori and Shane bond. My god almost all the team seems to be dangerous!!! J

Srilanka will be second with Sangakara, Dilshan, and Jaywardhane as my strong favorites. For me Sangakara is up their in the running for Player of the tournament. He has matured a lot as a cricketer and has improved a lot in his keeping department as well. He provides the balance that Srilanka needed after retirement of Desilva and Rantunga. Also don’t discount experience of Attapattu at any point of time that could be a costly mistake.

Aussies for me have all players as dangerous as others but Hussy, Gilchirst, Ponting, Symonds, Hayden are stand out performers over the years. And I must say none of the bowlers will feature in this list (since McGrath already covered). My pick from this side will be Michel Hussy and I don’t think lot of people will disagree on this. Just when people were thinking if we can ever replace somebody like Beven ever, came this player in the side and has taken cricketing world by storm. He is a complete package with ability play all round the wicket, play with tail and has ability to finish the close games, a role which Beven played so well for a Decade. Although his record as Captain of side is worst in Australian cricket history, his individual form has never seen a low for last one and half year.

Pakistan’s strength is always in their fast bowling but without Akhtar, Asif and Razzaque there is nothing to talk about their bowling. But in batting they still have a lot of promise in form of Younis and Yusuf. Both of them along with Inzamam can take game so much away from opposition that their bowlers will hardly require any hard work.

English side also seems to have some dangerous players but unfortunately their other team mates are very poor. Freddie Flintoff, Collingwood are enough to scare lot of teams. But my choice for player to watch out is undoubtedly KP or Kevin Piterson. He has had a tremendous last couple of years for England and they will need him badly if they are to give any serious challenge to the title. But I do strongly believe that he is a waste of bowling option if England is dreaming of using his slow bowling in Caribbean.

Hosts don’t have lot of dangerous players but still class of Chanderpaul, Sarwan along with Lara and Mr. controversial Samuels is enough to make them a difficult side to beat especially on their home turf. But my picks are Gayle and Bravo. Gayle can single handedly win matches for hosts and is a very effective bowler as well. Although I believe Bravo is more hyped than his abilities, conditions in WI will make him a dangerous player.

SA side has some very effective player but it’s always difficult for somebody to figure out an individual who has the ability to win the cup. So I will go with experience of Kallis, Boucher and to some extent Ntini. But my favorite is and always has been Pollock. Very few players manage to be still on top of their game at this age but this fellow is not just anybody, is he? He is king of control, line & length and at this moment is touch better than all time best McGrath. His batting has become almost as good as his bowling. Now days I wonder if I should call him batting all-rounder or bowling all-rounder but then I just decide to call him all-rounder. After all he and Kallis have explained the world real meaning of an All-rounder. Also watch out for their captain, who on his day can have a big demoralizing effect on opponents.

Finally over to my team. If I list down dangerous player I must write the full batting line up including Dhoni. This time I will hesitate to call Sachin the deciding factor although I would like him to be one. I think Sourav, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Dravid are also going to be equally important. And I also believe Sehwag is a key player and not a player to hide. In bowlers, watch out for Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan. Zaheer has come back and looked better than ever. Also he would be very keen to wash away the disappointment of poor finals last time. I hate to say this but I think trump card for India will be Agarkar if he is managed and used well by team. Don’t forget for a minute that he was India’s best bowler in last WI series and looked as dangerous as anybody in this game.

At the end if I still have to pick player of the tournament I will listen to my heart than head and have no regrets in saying that my choice will still be Sachin. He is fitting well into his new role at no 4 but my gut feeling says they might ask him to open in some matches especially against Pakistan. And don’t be surprised if he still comes out as best Indian player on display in this mega event. And for the sake of his great career I pray to the god to give him the Cup that he needs the most to complete his list of astonishing achievements.