Team India: who should stay, who should go

New Delhi: Five matches, three wins, one tie and one loss. And now almost a must-win game against the West Indies awaits.
India have the uncanny knack of keeping their fans on the tenterhooks. And it's no different this time as well. While a quick glance at the numbers shows that all hope is not lost yet; put the performances in perspective and it is a cause of worry, especially as we approach the business end of the tournament.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have by far been the pick of the Indian batsmen. Barring the mix-up in the opening game against Bangladesh that led to Tendulkar's run-out, the opening pair has been in top form. They have scored the big runs every time India has batted first and given the side just the foundation they need to run up a mammoth score.
Sehwag currently is the top-scorer in the tournament with 327 runs (average of 65.40) in his kitty, while Tendulkar is just three runs behind (average of 64.80).
However, the two have not set the field on fire during India's chases against Ireland and the Netherlands and it has affected the team's ability to overhaul even low scores against these two teams.
The saving grace in these matches has been Yuvraj Singh, who has proved his all-round ability with 171 runs and seven wickets from five games, including a five-wicket haul and three half-centuries, two of which saw India home in the games against Ireland and the Netherlands.
Gautam Gambhir is also another player who has been getting the starts, but has been unable to go the distance and convert them into big scores. In five games so far, he has scored 197 runs, but Gambhir the finisher is missing from the scene. He has left the job half done.
Youngester Virat Kohli, despite getting an unbeaten hundred in the opening game against Bangladesh, has managed to add just 55 more runs in the remaining four games. It hasn't helped that his position has been shuffled to give Yusuf Pathan a chance up the order and this is a key problem for India.
If they have decided to go in with a particular batting order, it doesn't make sense to change it. Yusuf's move up the order hasn't helped him or the team. He has scored 63 runs in five games with a top score of 30. His bowling too has been nothing to write home about with one wicket for 139 runs from the 28 overs he has bowled in the five games.
Wouldn't Team India be better off with Suresh Raina in the side. If it's the bowling that the team management is looking at, Raina too could roll his arm. And this is a decision they must take before the game against the Windies.
Skipper MS Dhoni's form too has been worrisome. He has scored just 96 runs from five games. Two unbeaten innings has pushed his average to 48, but the Dhoni, whose 'helicopter shot' is the thing of cricketing folklore, hasn't been in flowing form. While his wicket-keeping has been top class, his batting has been disappointing and scratchy.
India have also been plagued by the stubborn selection of the bowlers. Zaheer Khan, who has played all five games, has been lethal (12 wickets) as well as economical (economy rate of 4.31), but the other bowlers have not been able to strike this balance.
Harbhajan Singh finally picked up three wickets in the game against South Africa to bring his tally of wickets to five from five games. Hardly the kind of stuff you would expect from your frontline spin bowler. The saving grace is his economy rate of 4.41.
Munaf Patel has picked up nine wickets from four games, but has bled almost six runs an over, while Yuvraj has picked seven wickets for just over five an over.
Despite persisting with Piyush Chawla, the leggie has only managed four wickets from three games at a not so economical economy rate of 6.21. He's just a shade better than Ashish Nehra who has got just one wicket from two games and enjoys an economy rate of 6.36.
When you look at this number, it's surprising that Dhoni decided to give Nehra the last over in the game against the Proteas, especially when Bhajji had an over left and was beginning to come into his own for the first time in the World Cup.
S Sreesanth, who has just got one game, and R Ashwin - touted as the suprise weapon - will surely be thinking just what they need to do to get into the team.
India cannot afford another slip up and they must get their final combination in place for the game against the West Indies. For too long, the team has been selected on a gut feeling. It's high time the logic of the numbers took over.

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