Our Funarena!

Finally ending a lot of speculation and suspense about the possible heroes who could bring home the third World Cup title the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today in Mumbai announced the 15-member Team India for the World Cup-2015 that starts in Australia and New Zealand from 14 th February. Team selection has not thrown up many surprises and was mostly on expected or speculated lines. Focus on a Young Team India continued to prioritize the selection and most of cricket experts agree that the team is indeed a balanced one. However, there are a few ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ as always. Yuvraj Singh, the hero of the World Cup-2011 victory in Mumbai, did not get the nod despite his current good record in domestic cricket. Two factors—his recent performances abroad and his age—most probably went against him. BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in the press conference that there was a discussion on Yuvraj’s selection.   Rohit Sharma who recently hit the highest ever ODI (One D

The situation seems to be a little funny! Though the news channels are doing everything—talking discussing analyzing forecasting and expertizing the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Final to be played in Mumbai tomorrow between India and Sri Lanka—almost all the time the efforts do not appear to be enough! This is because the Indo-Pak Mohali encounter was hyped so very magnanimously that nothing seems to be enough to justify the Final! The India-Sri Lanka Final appears to be low-key. What do you learn from this? That you should not overdo anything so that you fail to match it later on! Now, if India emerges as the World Cup 2011 Champions the media will have to build it up more on the Pak encounter rather than on the Final! Experts including a disappointed Imran Khan advised all just to enjoy the Final! Both are excellent teams and Sri Lankan skipper Sangakkara admitted India to be favorites to imply that SL is not under pressure. India being favorites and playing at home will have to bear