Year 2011 and India's 'slowest' World Cup squad

The day I entered the numero uno month of 2011, the air felt somewhat different, but for the good. It was pleasant, just like the aroma I snuffle at the flower shop to pick a rose that my son often presents to his class teacher.

But the reason for that 'different' feeling was different. No, it's not that I am behind sending that flower. I have a better life that that! And it has two nuclei: family and cricket! And I strictly avoid prioritisation when it comes to these two heartthrobs of mine, giving equal importance to each, without letting the other one suffer.

See, I once again drifted from what I was talking about: that 'different' feeling 2011 brought with it. So let me take you to the business end of this piece. It is the year of cricket World Cup and January 17 was the date Indian think-tank decided to sit down and prune the preliminary squad of 30 to final 15.

The excitement moved nicely to the point when Kris Srikkanth's voice came from somewhere behind the media mikes that covered his face. The team was a good one but on analyzing after every name sank in, it appeared to be India's 'slowest' till date. Let me define how!

Cricket is no longer a single-specialty game. Unless you are a Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara or Shane Warne, playing even a T20 game, let alone the World Cup, is a dream that any player can blow a bye-bye kiss to.

The most evident of present-day examples is that of Rahul Dravid, who continues to hope of breaking back into ODIs, with no real possibility in the air. And his exclusion from the World Cup squad - which was decided a good two years back itself - is the final nail into his limited-over career's coffin.

But how does that make India's 2011 World Cup squad slowest? Hang on, I'm coming to that!

In today's bang-bang cricket, matches can be won or lost with that extra run saved on the field and while India is among the top three title-contenders for the mega event, a big question mark hovers over their fielding capacity when compared to serious challengers South Africa, Australia and England.

Out of the 15 selected to do the job, we can handpick 10 who can't be relied upon, and all of them are outfielders who are in the line of fire when it comes to the death overs and close finishes.

Without any doubt over their commitment, not even one among Indian bowlers (Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Piyush Chawla) is a serious outfielder. While a couple of them may have strong arms and another couple good catchers, it can at best be only a saving grace in those humdingers where ground fielding decides the winner.

The other three completing that lit of 10 are Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.

Sachin is not getting any younger, at least with his fielding, and his arm - which used to churn out rocket throws - is also not the same.

Virender Sehwag can often be seen giving up a boundary chase easily and not bending enough for those quick pick-up and throws in the ring. Yusuf Pathan may be a good catcher but is yet to establish himself as a reliable outfielder.

What's good is the presence of Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli in the field. They can provide the spark that a team often needs by way of plucking a stunner or inflicting a direct hit when the wind is blowing against you. That can easily rub onto others and turn a match on its head.

So while India's batting looks as solid as a rock and bowling unit well-suited to the subcontinent pitches, their fielding needs to take a leaf out of Navjot Singh Sidhu's book, who addressed his son's grievance and started flying like a hawk while at the doorstep of retirement. Who knows, Team India may even be laughing like Sidhu on April 2.

Have a Happy New Year and World Cup!