Dissecting the 30!

Here is the long awaited list of 30 probables, announced today:
Openers (5): Sehwag, Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa, Gambhir, and Ganguly.
Middle order batsmen (8): Dravid, Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, Laxman, Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath, and Cheteshwar Pujara.
Wicket keepers (3): Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, and Parthiv Patel.
All-rounders (3): Pathan, Mongia, and Joginder Sharma.
Fast bowlers (7): Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Agarkar, RP Singh, VRV Singh, Zaheer, and Ishant Sharma.
Spinners (4): Harbhajan, Ramesh Powar, Kumble, and Rajesh Pawar.

The selection, has been on expected lines baring a few surprises. The names not on WI/SA tours, on this list are Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma, Ishant Sharma, and Rajesh Pawar. Uthappa and Puraja have had a 'smashing' season so far. They have been excellent nick and have scored heavily. Rohit and Badri have had outstanding seasons and have been the highlight of their respective teams (Mumbai and TN). Joginder and Pawar are the highest wicket takers in the season and have performed key leadership roles for their teams (Haryana and Baroda). Parthiv has been very solid this season and most certainly deserves another chance. Ishant is the find of the season. This youngster (6'4") has bowled his heart out and taken key wickets throughout the season.

Two questionable selections are: Laxman and Mongia. The selection committee made it clear that Laxman’s fielding and running liabilities are too glaring to be ignored. If that was indeed the case then why waste a spot in the 30 for him? Similarly Mongia has been out of nick from the beginning of the season and has done little to warrant a spot. These spots could have gone to 2 in-form players: Manoj Tiwari (Bengal) and Jai Yadav (Railways). Both these players have to a commendable job for their teams, Tiwari with the bat and Jai with the ball. While Jai is an experienced and seasoned performer, Tiwari is a newcomer and a star U19 player.

Arguably most glaring omission could be Ranadeb Bose. Bose has bowled exceptionally well this season and is one of the primary reasons why Bengal is in the semi-finals of this year’s Ranji trophy. This young lad deserves a spot ahead of VRV Singh and probably even RP Singh. Other players who could consider themselves unlucky are Amit Mishra (leg spinner from Haryana), Sriram (all rounder from Maharastra), Piyush Chawla (leg spinner from UP), Abhishek Junjunwala (batsman from Bengal), and Rajat Bhatia (all rounder from Delhi).