Is India Set for Sri Lanka: A Team Review and Situation Analysis

Is India set for Sri Lanka???

Maybe, Maybe not

The Indian team should be able to repeat what it did a few months back and win the trophy but still the question Remains

Let's start by looking at the team that is going to reach the Sri Lankan airport

M.S. Dhoni

He has had what I could call a dream run as a captain. Though he hasn't won every series but still has ensured India as a team never falls apart. His batting also has been a great source of inspiration for the rest of the team. Playing crucial knocks when the team required it throughout the last year.

This is a rare thing for most Indian captains to be the linchpin of the batting attack at the same time provide strategic leadership. He can lead the team through any circumstance according to me.

Virender Sehwag

Smash Smash Defend Smash Smash. The reason why I add 'defend' in between is that Sehwag has really learnt how to play when he cannot attack. He is the weapon against the new Murali-Mendis duo. He is one person that even the opposition recognize as the Abhimanyu who can not only break through the chakrvyooh but can also come out of it.

(For those who do not know about indian mythology, I basically mean to say that sehwag can not only break the chains that would be forged by Murali and Mendis but can also ensure he does not go so far in demolishing them that he demolishes himself.)

Gautam Gambhir

I really Hope that he opens with Sehwag. He has already made a name as a good batsman who really has matured. He has formed a great opening combination of which he is the solid car on which wipers Like Sehwag clean of attacks. He has also played Murali-Mendis well.

Though during the one day series last year he could not bring out the same form he brought during the test matches. 

Sachin Tendulkar

He is the only one who did not play in Sri Lanka last series(in ODI's) out of all the experienced Batsmen in the team. I would like to see how he plays. Though I have little doubts he being in form, but when we have seen what Murali-Mendis can do, form would be not the main focus.

Yuvraj Singh

He according to me is the weak link in the Indian Batting line up. He really struggles against spin and despite he being in 'form' i doubt if he will make substantial contributions. Most importantly it is his attitude that i am scared of. I have been feeling this for a long time that he is not always serious about performing.

Zaheer Khan

I really doubt whether he will not come good. An excellent series last time and the way he has been bowling I think he can only better it.

Ishant Sharma

For me he is the man who has a real test on his hands. India's quickest bowler so far. Can he along with with zaheer rip through the Lankan top order and crumble the Tail. I think he would.

The rest

These are the players who are not definite performers but can definitely contribute. The untested Rabindra Jadeja has a chance to prove himself good enough in this series so that he gets his own space on the articles. Suresh Raina is one other lad who had played well the last time India came here.

The others inn the rest may be the handy players who might just ensure that the trophy is definitely ours

What I do not think was right was to keep Irfan Pathan. he really has not performed on the international seen consistently for a long long time. I love hm for the bowler he was and wish to see him back, but as a writer and a reader of the game, I have to be truthful.

The situation

India is often known to go from highs to lows in a Giffy. Can a successfully 2008 lead to a dread full 2009?? But maybe Dhoni has this on his mind and will do his best to ensure that the spiders which make these webs of complacency each and every time the team is on a high do not creep in.

I feel that India should win the series though with difficulty. This is what makes it all the more interesting. Also I am not sure about how to take the news that Harbhajan Singh would not be a part of the seen. He has been pretty non-leathal for a fairly long time though still somehow has succeeded.

Interesting Questions are being formed and the answers lie ahead and these answeres will form new questions and so on. How the Indian team would do is a never ending debate...