India’s newly crowned Fab Five

India had a great 2008 and so it is not surprising that as many as five Indian cricketers made it to Wisden’s Dream Test XI. Here’s a look at India’s newly crowned Fab Five.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni:

Leaving behind Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting, the Indian captain has surged ahead to be named the skipper of the XI. In a short span of time that he has been at the helm of affairs, Dhoni has notched up a record to be proud of. Under him, India have beaten Australia and England at home and New Zealand away – all three of them comprehensively. With the responsibility of captaincy, his batting has taken a backseat. However he has performed in most crisis situations, a sign of a great leader in the making. Under Dhoni, Indian cricket itself seems headed for a dream era.

Virender Sehwag:

 

Ever since being recalled to the Test squad for the tour of Australia last year, Virender Sehwag has made sure that he did not disappoint the selectors. After scoring a ton in that series, he smashed a quite unbelievable triple hundred against the South Africans at Chennai and hasn’t looked back since. Bowlers have had a tough time against him and continue to do so. The Australians suffered at his hands during their return series and though India lost in Sri Lanka, the hosts were not spared some Sehwag bashing. The Englishmen would do well not to remember the name Sehwag for he changed the fate of a Test in an hour of scintillating strokeplay. In short, he has been on top of his game and the Kiwis were plain lucky to escape some pasting in the three Tests.

Sachin Tendulkar:

What does one say about his man? He just keeps going on and on and on. Even after 20 years in international cricket and nearly every batting record in the book, Sachin is still hungry for more. He played the perfect guiding hand to the youngsters in the series wins against Australia, England and lately New Zealand. As long as he stays fit and keeps scoring runs in the consistent manner that he has been doing till now, there is little reason for Sachin to call it quits. However, to prolong his Test career, he must seriously consider retiring from the shorter version of the game.

Harbhajan Singh:

He was a somewhat surprise choice though it has to be said that among the spin options available, he was the best bet especially with Monty Panesar not in his elements. To give due credit to Harbhajan, he has improved his overseas record and is growing as an all-round bowler. He bowled well against Australia in both the series’ played between the two sides last year and his 63 wickets in 2008, made him the right choice statistically as well. Having done well in New Zealand and with a batting record which is improving with every innings, Harbhajan Singh’s career has got a new lease of life. Let’s see how far he goes from here.

Zaheer Khan:

No surprises here! Without a doubt the best left-arm pacer in the world presently, Zaheer will walk into any World XI. His ability to move both the old and new ball combined with pin-point accuracy, has played a humungous role in India’s wins over Australia, England and New Zealand. He has developed the knack of picking up wickets at crucial moments and this has made a huge difference on a number of occasions. Ishant Sharma’s emergence has also helped Zaheer a great deal and there is no reason why he shouldn’t continue in the same vein in the forthcoming series’ as he has also remained injury-free.