My team and line-up for the 2011 WC

guys.. This team is selected keeping the current trends in mind. Things may change in the next 8 months or so..
To begin with lets look into the openers' slot.
Its a pretty no-brainer. Its the world's best batsman Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and the world's most devastating batsman Virender Sehwag. Though few people claim it should be gambhir and viru, i would strongly go in Sachin. Sachin's record as an opener is just breathtaking and his world cup record in the opening slot too is very convincing. Hope you remember the 2003 world cup. One of the greatest mistakes committed by Greg Chappell in the 2007 world cup was playing Sachin down the order and shuffling the total batting line-up. Dravid too was a party to it and was just a puppet. Sachin is at his best when he opens the innings and you when sachin is at his best he takes care of the rest.
Next comes the one down slot. 1 down, 2 down, 3 down make up all the confusions.. You have Gambhir, Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvi and Dhoni to fill these slots. But i would go in with Gambhir at 3, rohit at 4, yuvi at 5 and dhoni at 6. The explanation to which comes as Gambhir has by far been the most consistent player. His solidity is very much needed in the sub continent conditions. Rohit too has been rock solid and has been very strong technically. He is very much capable of facing the raising deliveries and negotiates spin as well. Yuvi at no. 5 is an automatic choice. He is India's trump card. A player capable of rewriting a game's script. A player capable of giving a twist to the tale. Mahi at no.6 is the only choice. He has an unique ability to play at any position and steadying the sinking ship. He has evolved into a spectacular finisher. The Indian skipper is coming along the lines of the Aussie great Michel Bevan( though the technique is missing in dhoni, still bowlers can't get him easily) At no.7 you need an allrounder. Yusuf Pathan is one option. Consistency plays an important role in this slot. I doubt his ability to play pace. So in the death overs he may find it tough to negotiate a steyn or a dirk nannes or etc etc... You surely need a big hitter and the option of Ravindra Jadeja is ruled out. It may be surprising but the perfect choice would be Raina. Iam sorry to play him at no. 7 but this is the only slot left. No. 4 and No. 7 may be interchanged by Rohit and Raina at times dependin on the match situation.
Now, coming to the bowling department, since the world cup is played in the subcontinent and most of the tracks are dry and dusty and assist spin, we may be forced to go in with 2 spinners and 2 seamers. Zaheer and Bajji are obvious selections. The 2nd seamer and 2nd spinner can be played by Nehra and Ashwin/Ojha. I feel very depressed about the fact that many of our seamers like I.Pathan, RP Singh, Ishanth, Sreesanth and even Agarkar have failed to cement their places. Its very disheartening. It surely rings the alarm bell and i hope the selectors give it an ear. We need a strong pace foundation in place. The BCCI needs to spend some of its black money stuck in the hands of its authorities for setting up these institutions. The NCA needs to expand and open up more branches. All this can only be done by BCCI( world's richest cricket board). So, coming back to the team selection here is the 15 member squad.

1) V.Sehwag
2) S.Tendulkar*
3)G.Gambhir
4)R.Sharma/S.Raina
5)Y.Singh
6)M.S.Dhoni
7)S.Raina/R.Sharma
8)R.Ashwin
9)H.Singh
10)Z.Khan
11)A.Nehra
RESERVES:
1) P.Kumar
2)P.Ojha
3)V.Kohli
4)D.Karthick