BCCI's planning for the 2011 World Cup

The Indian squad selected for the totally meaningless tri-series in Sri Lanka gives us a good idea of what the BCCI's plan for the 2011 World Cup is.

There does not seem to be any semblance of planning. The only aspect of the selection which makes sense is that Sachin Tendulkar isn't playing.

Harsha Bhogle points out that India have 8 or 9 ODIs in home-like conditions before the World Cup - 3 (or 4 if qualifying for the final) in Sri Lanka, 3 ODIs v Australia and 2 v New Zealand.

There are multiple gaps to be filled, especially when it comes to backup resources. This tournament, and the next 3 ODI series (including a one-off ODI v/s South Africa) would have been great opportunities to give the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Jaidev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni and Abhinav Mukund a go. A total of 18 players played at most 10 matches since the 2007 World Cup.

There is no dearth of bench strength. Those players are performing at the under-19 and India 'A' levels. But how do you find out how good they are at the ODI level unless they're given an opportunity to succeed (or fail)?

Dhoni, Sehwag & Nehra didn't need to play this tournament. Yuvraj is at #6 on the wicket takers & overs bowled lists since the previous World Cup. That tells you how successful the hunt for bowlers has been.

44 players selected for 103 ODIs, in July tells a story.

Labels: 2011, 2011 world cup, bcci, india, selection