India vs Australia 2013: India Team Preview - Death bowling a concern in an otherwise perfect side

World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh will be a great addition to this Indian side

The big news that came out of the selectors’ meeting at Chennai was the return of Yuvraj Singh to the Indian limited overs squad for the twenty20 and the first three one-dayers.

While it was not entirely unexpected, given Yuvraj’s form after coming back from the fitness stint in France as he scored 389 runs in 6 matches, the five wise-men have been rather cautious in gifting a comeback to the old-guards as form and fitness has been their major criteria for selection.

Four changes were made to the squad that won the Champions Trophy in England with Yuvraj Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami and Jayadev Unadkat coming in place of Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan and Umesh Yadav. The rest of the squad picked itself based on good performances in the Champions Trophy and the tri-series in West Indies.

One of the major reasons for India’s recent success has been the strong showing of the opening pair, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Rohit has seamlessly translated into his new role as an opener, while Dhawan has been a revelation. They are expected to continue their good run and give the stroke-players in the middle-order an ideal platform to launch from.

The middle-order comprising of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja is one of the strongest in the world, and Yuvraj’s return gives a big boost to an already strong middle-order. He was India’s biggest match-winner in the last decade, and a fit-again Yuvraj will walk into any limited overs side in the world.

He replaced Murali Vijay, who has found it rather difficult to translate his test form into the ODIs. He has failed to find the right tempo required for a one-day game, either going too slow or going slam-bang and getting out.

Rayudu will want to prove his merit in the side against a quality opposition and with 7 matches scheduled he should certainly be given a chance. He is also in the squad as a back-up wicket-keeper for captain Dhoni in the place of the dropped Dinesh Karthick.

With not much pace and bounce in the Indian pitches and no real spin threat in the Australian bowling line-up, the Indian batters are expected to provide fireworks on the field during this festive season. If there is one thing they should improve on, it is their finishing skills as they cannot be reliant on their captain always to get it done for them.

Ravindra Jadeja occupies the all-rounder’s slot and has been excellent at that so far. He had a rather poor Champions League, but that is expected in T20 cricket and he has to put that behind him now. With Yuvraj in the squad now, Dhoni has the additional option of using him too as an all-rounder.