Wake Up, MSD

India's crushing defeat against the Aussies on Friday might just be the wake-up signal its cricket team needed badly.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a shrewd, fearless captain. That is, when he wants to be.

At other times, MSD shows the same defensive and stubbornly- unimaginative approach that had characterised our former captains. He is usually known as a practitioner of the out-of-the-box thinking but periodically his decisions defy his profile.

MSD shies from taking risks, backs his 'favourite' losers and shuns fresh options.

The Barbados pitch and Bhajji

On a lively, hot and pacy Barbados pitch, our great captain had chosen to fire with spinners, two of them were only part-timers. Why, he even opened with Bhajji.

Dhoni thinks Harbhajan Singh is his magic weapon. No, Harbhajan is only a defensive bowler. His wicket-taking days are firmly behind him.

Why have the quick Vinay Kumar in the team then? Will he bench Umesh Yadav, with his consistent 140-145 kph speed, too?

Zaheer is off-colour

Dhoni should realise Zaheer Khan, our spearhead, is not in form. His swing is missing, and so is the pace. Dhoni has to find his substitute/s quickly in this competition.

Rohit is all class

Rohit Sharma's gutsy knock should remind MSD that there is no substitute for class.

MSD's reliance on average cricketers like Dinesh Karthick, Joginder Sharma, and Piyush Chawla might not take the team anywhere.

India's best wicket-takers, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha, are at home, and sitting idle.

Thanks to Chawla's inclusion.

Praveen Kumar
His departure is going to hurt the Indian team. Though he bowls only at around 125 kph, Kumar is a fine swing bowler and uses the slower ones well. He is as wily as they come. 

Dirk Nannes

Among the Aussies, Nannes stood out.  The wiry pacer was simply unplayable in his best deliveries. Time for Australia to take notice of him. Till recently, he did not know who would want him to represent: Australia or Holland?