Before the Indian Premier League got underway everyone knew that India would benefit the most out of it.
Not only in terms of the dollars earned by the BCCI but also in terms of the domestic cricketers playing along side international stars and competing with and against them.
A number of Indian cricketers who have not played any international cricket or even those who have been in and out of the international team have impressed in the IPL.
Soulberry has talked about a few of these players, while
Trideep has also mentioned a few that have impressed him.
I thought about some of these young stars who have so far not tasted international cricket and realised that today India can actually field an international quality 2nd XI.
Till last year, Australia was the only team that could boast of fielding a 2nd XI cricket side that could give the international sides tough competition.
Today India can boast of the same.
Here is India's
Bench Warmers XI.
The Openers:1.
Yusuf Pathan - 9 matches, 239 runs @ 26.55 & SR of 169.50, 3 50s.
2.
Shikhar Dhawan - 8 matches, 209 runs @ 41.80 & SR of 120.11, 3 50s.
While Pathan has played a few T20Is, he is yet to be considered as a regular T20 player or as a squad member for the ODI side.
Following his stint in the IPL and the several match winnings knocks he has played for the Royals, the selectors are bound to take notice.
He bowls handy off spin too and can boast of foxing Adam Gilchrist!
Dhawan has been a regular of the India A side but hasn't made it to the next level yet.
Even though he has batted at 3 or 4 for the Daredevils, I have seen him open with Uthappa for the A side in the past and he's done quite well.
In the on going IPL he has supported Sehwag and Gambhir with aplomb and his stroke play has played an integral part in a number of the Daredevils' victories.
The Middle Order:3.
Swapnil Asnodkar - 3 matches, 131 runs @ 43.66 & SR of 131.00, 1 50.
4.
Subrimaniam Badrinath - 9 matches, 131 runs @ 43.66 & SR of 145.55, 1 50.
5.
Manoj Tiwary - 5 matches, 55 runs @ 55.00 & SR of 122.22.
Asnodkar has played only 3 matches for the Royals and has impressed in each one of his outings.
I'm surprised that he hasn't been given more chances. This short man can really smack the ball.
Badrinath has played in all of the Super Kings' matches but he hasn't had a fair chance to bat in any of his 7 innings.
He has come down at number 7-8, except for the last match where Dhoni asked him to bat at 4.
Given the opportunity, he played a splendid knock of 64 and helped CSK chase down a big total.
Tiwary was part of the ODI squad for the CB series earlier this year and even played 1 ODI.
With the Daredevils' top order firing on all cylinders, he hasn't had much of an opportunity to bat in the IPL. A terrific fielder and a good batsman as he showed in his 39 in the only decent innings he got.
I thought of Suresh Raina but he has failed to impress me. He's played a lot of cameos of 20s and 30s but has crossed the 50 mark only once in 8 IPL innings.
He should have shouldered the responsibility after Hayden and Hussey left, but he hasn't grabbed the opportunity given to him, much like he didn't when he broke into the ODI side few years ago.
The Allrounders:6.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla - 8 matches, 120 runs @ 30.00 & SR of 141.17. 3 wickets @ 29.33.
7.
Ravindra Jadeja - 9 matches, 105 runs @ 21.00 & SR of 136.36.
Shukla has been a handy batsman for the Knight Riders late in the innings and has provided the impetus in the end on more than one occasion.
He has been more than handy with the ball and has looked an accomplised all round cricketer amongst the international stars.
Jadeja has already played a stunning match winning knock in one of the matches for the Royals.
Warne rates him as a future superstar and he impresses me more with every game. A livewire in the field, a hard hitting late order batsman, and a great team man.
Warne hasn't used his left arm spin during the IPL but I've seen him use that in the last 2 U19 World Cups and he's been on top of a number of batsmen.
The Wicket Keeper8.
Wriddhaman Saha - 7 matches, 114 runs @ 38.00 & SR of 148.05, 1 50.
Saha has been brilliant with the bat for the Riders.
His strokeplay is outstanding and he matched David Hussey stroke for stroke during their chase in vain against Punjab the other night. He played an amazing knock of 59 in that game and has shown on more than one occasion that he can be trusted in front of the stumps as much as he can be behind them.
The Bowlers
9.
Manpreet Gony - 9 matches, 11 wickets @ 26.09, Econ 8.44, SR 18.5.
10.
Dhawal Kulkarni - 7 matches, 8 wickets @ 17.87, Econ 7.33, SR 14.6.
11.
Ashok Dinda - 8 matches, 8 wickets @ 21.37, Econ 6.33, SR 20.2.
Each one of these players have opened the bowling for CSK, MI, and KKR respectively and more often than not, have provided their team with the initial breakthrough.
Gony is the fastest of the lot and a potent attacking weapon. He is no mug with the bat either as he has proved with those huge 6s in the last 2 games.
Kulkarni has done for Mumbai what Dinda has done for the Riders. They have been miserly as compared with the other bowlers around, have frustrated the batsmen, and also picked up wickets with the new ball.
And both of them have a deadly slower one.
Reserves: Abhishek Nayar, Vijay Kumar YoMahesh, Siddharth Trivedi, Pragyan Ojha.
I doubt that this team can compete as a test side, but I wasn't selecting a test XI. I was selecting an ODI team / 20-20 team. As one of those, I believe it can compete against the best of them.
Plus, I do not agree with
Rahul Dravid who says that the young Indian players may not be able to take this confidence to the next level.
Dravid should have learnt by now that pure test players cannot play the 20-20 game the way it should be played.
All the batsmen I have listed above have shown that wild slogs and edges is not the only way to score runs in 20-20 cricket. They have impressed with their stroke play along the ground, as well as over the top when the field has been in.
Plus the bowlers who can keep batsmen quiet and pick up top order wickets in 20-20 cricket can do so in ODIs as well.
The Indian Bench Warmers XI: Dhawan, Pathan, Asnodkar, Badrinath, Tiwary, Shukla, Jadeja, Saha, Gony, Kulkarni, Dinda.
Today, Manpreet Gony became the latest international recruit on the back of a strong IPL performance.
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