We are almost on the brink of the so called World Championshitp of cricket. A 2 Test series between India and South Africa.
A Series which would also mean the first face off between Paddle and Ms. Print. If you don’t know who they are, look here.
A Series which would leave the Aussies wondering about the point of their self-imposed supremacy.
A Series to watch out for. A series worth writing for.
Sadly, both the teams have unconsciously decided to play spoilsport. South Africa are playing India, when the latter doesn’t have a full strength side, owing to injuries. Can’t blame South Africa.
India are hosting South Africa, when the former is embroiled on a fresh controversy relating to captain-coach relations, a conflict whose roots can be traced back to a dispute over color. Not knowing more about this, I would leave it up to Ms Print.
India have just announced their squad, the notable omissions are Dravid and Yuvraj, with the latter also losing favor over form. The unknown entities are Abhimanyu Mithun and Wriddhiman Saha, though you might know Saha through his stint at the Kolkata KnightRiders IPL Team.
Here is the full team:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Subramaniam Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun, Wridhiman Saha.
Mind you, because of the injuries, only the team for the first test has been announced.
Players in form:
Sehwag, Gambhir, Sachin, Zaheer, Ishant
Players out of form:
Harbhajan Singh
Players who won’t play (probably)
Mithun, Saha, Tyagi
The outcome of this series will determine who gets to be the best test team in the world. If India win, they will get a decent lead over the other teams. If not, they might be toppled.
My verdict: 1-0 to India
Ms Print will be coming up with a South African preview soon. Watch this space.