ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 SWOT analysis of Team India and Australia

With Sachin Tendulkar planning to quit after this World Cup, the bar is set much higher for the Indian players. Team India stands as one of the favorites alongside a formidable Sri Lanka, a strong South Africa, T20 Champions England and the reigning ODI champions Australia.

So here at Cric City we have done a SWOT analysis on the selection of Indian squad for the upcoming cricket fiesta.

The players selected by BCCI are: MS Dhoni (Captain), V Sehwag (Vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla.

Cricket experts say that bowlers win you test matches while batsmen win you ODI?s. If this is indeed true then India stands a bright chance for they have a splendid batting line up. Sachin ,Sehwag ,Gambhir take up the first three slots while ,Dhoni and Pathan will be at six and seven respectively. Num 4 and 5 slots will be a tossup between Kohli,Yuvraj and Raina. The bowling side has 3 spinners and 4 seamers. The bowling department may not look that strong with Nehra and Munaf there but considering Patel?s recent form he also becomes a force to reckon with. The spin attack led by Bhajji looks good and also the part timers have proved their worth.

Strengths:

Balanced Team: The team is a perfect combination of both experienced as well youth. Though the bowling department looks a little weak, presence of Zaheer and Harbhajan should exude confidence to others in the team. After a long time Indian tail has started wagging which was evident in the last Series as well as the warm up match against Australia.

Home Conditions: Since the World Cup is being played in the subcontinent, the Indian cricket team can expect the maximum crowd support. The Indian stadiums will be expecting a crowd of about 50,000.

Weakness:

Consistency: Off late team India has not being able to perform consistently. A lot of the games show that individual performers have saved the game. If the team India aims to win the WC then they have to perform collectively and every player have to play to their fullest.

Brittle Middle Order: Yuvaraj and Raina are not in good form and have been picked mainly based on their past performance. It is an altogether a different issue that both of them are game changers but their current forms are the weak links.

Absence of a genuine Allrounder: For the past 4 years selectors have been trying to groom one genuine allrounder , but with little sucesss. The fifth bowler slot is absent which makes the team to rely on bowlers like Yuvaraj and company.

Opportunities:

Spinning Subcontinent Pitches: The pitches in the subcontinent are very favorable for spinners and India has opted for 3 spinners. Its part-timers are also spinners. Both Ashwin and Chawla have a chance to shine in their 1st WC and aid Bhajji in the sub-continent conditions. With spinners, India would be restricting the opposition at the same time will be an attacking team.

Virat Kohli: The young star has been in brilliant touch and was India's highest run-getter in 2010 so this is the big chance for him to stand out and fix his place in the team's middle order.

Sachin Swansong: The only accolade missing in Tendulkar's illustrious career. The entire country wants it for him and also the entire team wants to win the cup for him. This should act as an extra motivation for everyone in the team.

Threats:

Injuries: A lot of Indian players have just come back after injuries. Though fully fit their fitness would still be suspect and they would be short of match practice.

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