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NEWS India-West Indies ODI Series 2007>Have the national selectors come up with a winning combination? 15th Jan 2007 22.44 IST By Manish Kumar With only eight matches to go for India before the World Cup, the national selectors led by Dilip Vengsarkar, have played safe and name a squad only for the first two matches of the one-day series against the West Indies. But the selectors have also left more than one question unanswered which saw the exclusion of notably Virender Shewag , Mohammad Kaif , VVS Laxman and Irfan Pathan .
While Sachin has been consistently performing well in this position, Ganguly is not far in the reckoning too. Ganguly, along with Sachin, formed one of the most successful opening pair in ODIs, having amassed the highest number of century partnerships (16) for the first wicket. Together, they have scored 5,308 runs at an average of 45.37 and share the record for the highest first wicket partnership for India in an ODI – 258, against Kenya in 2001. Uthappa has been in the limelight for exquisite performances in the Ranji matches and by naming him and Gambhir, the selectors have granted them a deserved chance to prove their mettle before they do the final pruning for the World Cup. With Yuvraj Singh out due to injury and Kaif not considered, the middle-order – which once used to be the strongest in the world – seems depleted. Suresh Raina ’s complete disregard for technique and consistent failures makes his dependability extremely fickle. This leaves only the presently out of form Indian skipper Rahul Dravid to shoulder the pressure of holding the middle-order together. Unless Sachin decides to forgo his opener’s place or Ganguly continues his raring form even down the order, the middle-order of the team has gaping holes. Amongst the bowlers, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth seemed to be the only automatic selection. Being the star performers in the recently concluded India-South Africa series, they have more than justified their selection. The selection of two wicket keepers in a squad of 15 players is a complete waste of a position. If Mahendra Dhoni plays as a keeper, then Dinesh Kaarthick ’s role in the playing eleven is reduced to a pure batsman. However, there are arguably better batsmen by the name of Laxman and Kaif for instance, who can take on that responsibility. The preferred option should have been selecting one keeper for the first two ODIs and giving the other a chance in the next two. But the selectors have always had a habit of tossing in a googly or two like by naming Sachin as the vice-captain of the team. Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-West Indies ODI Series 2007 Team Page: India Team Page: West Indies | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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