The All India Senior Selection Committee met in Mumbai today to pick the thirty probables for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. There were no real surprises in the 30 member squad, with the only noteworthy exclusion being former Indian allrounder Irfan Pathan. The selectors have till 19th January to trim the squad to 15, and that will undoubtedly be a much tougher challenge.
The 30-member shortlist includes 12 batsmen which will probably be cut down to half, with most of the team pretty much picking itself. Players like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina are only likely to lose their places to injury at such a late stage.
There are 4 wicketkeepers in the preliminary squad, with Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha and Dinesh Karthik joining the skipper MS Dhoni. Karthik's inclusion is a bit of a surprise after he was overlooked for the home series against New Zealand last month. Chances are that if India does decide to go with two keepers, Parthiv Patel will get the nod as Dhoni's deputy.
Only two allrounders have been selected in the preliminary squad, and Yusuf Pathan after his belligerent century against New Zealand would be the firm favourite to make the World Cup squad. Ravindra Jadeja though could still sneak in as a bowling allrounder.
There are 5 specialist spinners and 7 medium pacers in the bowling unit. India are likely to pick at most 2 spinners - Harbhajan Singh and R Ashwin - the leading candidates. There could be 4-5 seam options, with Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel the only two bowlers almost certain of a spot, injury permitting. The other places could well depend on how the players perform in the run up to the World Cup, and the composition of the final 15.
The list of probables is as follows:·
Batsmen: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Sourav Tiwary, M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan.
Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni, Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik.
Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha.
Medium pacers: Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar.
Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan.
The 30-member shortlist includes 12 batsmen which will probably be cut down to half, with most of the team pretty much picking itself. Players like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina are only likely to lose their places to injury at such a late stage.
There are 4 wicketkeepers in the preliminary squad, with Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha and Dinesh Karthik joining the skipper MS Dhoni. Karthik's inclusion is a bit of a surprise after he was overlooked for the home series against New Zealand last month. Chances are that if India does decide to go with two keepers, Parthiv Patel will get the nod as Dhoni's deputy.
Only two allrounders have been selected in the preliminary squad, and Yusuf Pathan after his belligerent century against New Zealand would be the firm favourite to make the World Cup squad. Ravindra Jadeja though could still sneak in as a bowling allrounder.
There are 5 specialist spinners and 7 medium pacers in the bowling unit. India are likely to pick at most 2 spinners - Harbhajan Singh and R Ashwin - the leading candidates. There could be 4-5 seam options, with Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel the only two bowlers almost certain of a spot, injury permitting. The other places could well depend on how the players perform in the run up to the World Cup, and the composition of the final 15.
The list of probables is as follows:·
Batsmen: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Sourav Tiwary, M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan.
Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni, Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik.
Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha.
Medium pacers: Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar.
Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan.
