India to miss the \'rested\' players

Kochi : Between the immediate context of a terrific 2-0 Test series triumph against Australia and next year\'s World Cup, India has 13 One-Day Internationals to finalise team plans for the biggest trophy that has remained elusive ever since Kapil Dev held aloft the cup in 1983.

The first of three-match Airtel ODI series against Australia will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium here on Sunday. The tussle that will also move to Visakhapatnam and Margao later in the week will over the coming months, pave the way for a five-match home ODI series against New Zealand and a five-match away-joust against South Africa.

Coming as it does after two pulsating Tests, the limited-over contests may lack the hype that seeped into the five-day version but given the looming picture of the World Cup, the series will offer glimpses into the future.

In the immediacy of the need to defeat Australia, ranked No. 1 in ODIs, India, the challenger placed at second position, has to iron out a few chinks.

Minutes after derailing Ricky Ponting\'s men in the second Test at Bangalore, Indian captain M.S. Dhoni spoke about the need for enough reserves in the Indian bowling ranks. The current squad will sorely miss the 'rested\' duo of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh while Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar will lead the pack with R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja offering the spin option.

But more than the bowling, the batting has been anaemic in recent times. The quartet of Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja has scored just 177 runs among them through 15 knocks.

The four players need to fire while Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay, who can meld classical batsmanship with ballistic shots, present a batting core that will also rely on Dhoni\'s chutzpah. Shikhar Dhawan, also steps in to the batting mix that will, however, miss the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Dhoni, ever pragmatic, said: "Both teams are not featuring their best players. Australia has rested three or four top players and we too have rested seven to eight players. At the same time it\'s an opportunity for young players and we can also have a look at the areas where we can improve."

Squaring up against the 'Men in Blue\', who will be egged on by a venue clothed in blue thanks to Nike\'s free T-shirts to every spectator, is an Australian team that is itching to discard its memory of losing the Test series.

Captain Michael Clarke, with just 35 runs from his outings at Mohali and Bangalore, has a lot at stake and he will rely on Cameron White and Michael Hussey to strengthen the batting that will miss Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson, who are back home.

The Australians will rely on Doug Bollinger though it remains to be seen whether he has fully recovered from a recent injury. Mitchell Johnson and the persevering Ben Hilfenhaus have gone back and the rest of the attack will have to work hard on a park that favours profuse runs. Last year though, a weak Australian team defeated India 4-2 in the ODI series and Dhoni is aware that he cannot afford any complacency against a dogged team.

For now though, people in 'God\'s Own Country\' have developed a sudden aversion towards the rains. The clouds have struck back with a vengeance over the last two days and forced the cancellation of the practice sessions of both the teams here on Friday.

The teams: India: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and R. Vinay Kumar.

Australia: Michael Clarke (capt.), Cameron White, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Callum Ferguson, James Hopes, Mike Hussey, Tim Paine, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger, Steve Smith, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Starc and John Hastings.

Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and Amiesh Saheba; Third umpire: Sanjay Hazare; Match referee: Chris Broad.

Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.; 1.15 p.m. to end of play.
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