Starting Xi : India vs WI

My XI for 1st ODI against West Indies tomorrow :

Openers : Gambhir and Vijay

They have never played together in any format. Vijay was replacement for Gauti when latter was banned against Australia in the test series. Providing a good start would be key for Gambhir and Vijay. More onus woud be on Gambhir as senior partner. Replacing Sehwag is not a mean task you see. Now its upto you to decide Vijay is replacement for Sehwag or Tendulkar. Replacing Tendulkar ….

Middle Order :

Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sharma, Pathan, Jadeja

Dhoni is a natural # 3 here in absence of Raina. Yuvraj at 4, Mr Useless at 5 and Pathan at 6. Jadeja at 7. No KKD and no Badri bhaiya.

Bowlers :

RP, Nehra, Harbhajan and Ojha/ Ishant.

Actually opening with Yusuf wont be a bad idea. Take Windies with surprise. i dont quite support the idea of fixed batting order. It has helped us in ODIs in NZ and SL, so why discontinue with it now. It worked for us 7 out of 10 times. So why change just for one failure in England.

Last 9 ODIs India have won 4 and lost 5. To cut down even more, out of last 4 India has won 3 and lost 1. Prior to 2007 world cup. Painful memories.