Devender: devender.singh@cho.ge.com: This guy always writs uninteresting stuff. So sad.

Deven: deven1170@yahoo.com: Interesting article that from sanjay. No contradictions to whatever he said but for one. Sachin opening the innings. To me the best batting line up is: Dravid and Saurav to open, followed by Sachin, Azhar, Jadeja, Robin Singh, Agarkar, Chopra, Mongia, Srinath, Kumble. If Ramesh plays, he can open with Dravid or Saurav and others move down in the order. and Khurasia's position would be before azhar if he plays. The instructions for openers should be that, Dravid should anchor the innings to start with and once gets his eyes in, maybe after 7-8 overs, to rotate the strike and get atleast a boundry every two overs. Saurav can be aggressive even in english conditions and should be allowed to play his natural game. Incase the total to be chased is large, as a pinch hitter, Mongia should be sent in at one down.

Sajid Bhombal: sajid@loxinfo.co.th: Once a team is selected, it is OUR team. All team members are our stars. Let us not discuss now who should have been selected and shouldn't have been. That is of no use now. It is like this, once a prime minister is sworn in, he becomes OUR prime minister, irrespective of whether we voted for him or not. So let us cheer for these 15 stars. Come on guys, go there and win the Cup, you will make a thousand million faces smile. Let us, Indians, say it together, Cheers for our team.

Muthu: rmmuthu@hotmail.com: It's a good judgement by sanjay. One word on Azhar's captaincy. Reading the discussions on rediff for the last couple of days, I could understand that lots of fans are furious over Azhar's captaincy. No question that Azhar is not the best captain in the world but still, fans and the press should show the confidence in him. In such a cruch situation, he could have been the only guy to take the load of captaincy to England. Here is where the board can do something. It seems like as Azhar, Anshuman is not a good communicator/motivator. So, it would make sense that we request Krishnamachari Srikkanth to go with the squad to England. Srikkanth is a good communicator and a great motivator. Then the people who travel with the team would be Bobby Simpson, Anshu, Srikkanth, Kokinos and Dr. Chandra. I am not exactly sure if 5 people are allowed to travel but if possible, I would like the board to do so. Or else, if Srikkanth is appointed as coach instead of Anshu, I would prefer that. The body language of the team has to change. As everyone agrees, we have the talent but not the motivation, why not try with a person who can motivate the team. Also, if Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev are not occupied we can have them at the 3 week camp before the World Cup in England. All in all, I want the board to encourage the boys and tell them that we will do the best for you, you need to do the best for the country. ANY TAKERS?

abhishek: abhishek64@rediff.com: my opinin is that sachin would be key player.because he is the best batsman of any type of bowling

cricfan: cricfan@hotmail.com: Poorly written article. For someone who has played cricket at the highest level one would expect better analysis. Anyone could have written this superflous stuff. Manjrekar fails to mention strengths and weaknesses. Fails to mention what it would take to "jell" together. I can't believe you pay for this kind of analysis. I'm sure any one on your staff could have done a better job than what Mr. Manjrekar did in this column.

Salil Joshi: saljos@hotmail.com: Sanjay, I would like to know what went wrong for Vinod Kambli. How do you think selectors justifies not picking him up. do his two days of performance was in consideration? was his experience of about 80 odd one dayers is invain? Or he is just another Sanjay Manjarekar?

Britto Marceline: britto@utstar.com: Dravid is going to be the player in this tournament. He is going to be potential match winner.

Ketan: vketan@hotmail.com: I agree with Sanjay, the selectors got it right this time around This definetly is the BEST 15 we can send given the English conditions. Laxmi Shukla might find this a lil' bit hard to digest BUT he is young, & a few more months should see him in the squad. Mohanty, to my mind is going to be the most crucial bowler for India as the rest of the Fast bowlers already have a reputation WHEREAS not many countries (EXCEPT Pak) r familiar with him, also the fact that he swings the ball a LOT more than the rest, a modern ROGER BINNY to my mind.

Satheesh: iseekall@goplay.com: Definitely,as sanjay manjrekar said, expectations are sky high from the Indian cricketers,but what I would like to say to manjrekar is,dont add fire to the already burning bush and he did that well by demoralising the players with his lot of expectations, and for Indian cricketers what I would like to say is,dont bother about the public expectations, after all you are the one who is in the middle,Just play natural game,apply yourselves better and play positive cricket,not forget to add the killer instinct.Definitely we will bring the cup to home,All the best folks for a successful cup. Regards, Satheesh

Sundaram Krishnamoorthy: krishnam@engr.sc.edu: The squad looks pretty balanced. The key to the Indian team winning will most likely depend on the batting in English conditions. Also Mongia has been the keeper for almost the whole year without a break and lack of rest might affect him significantly. The key to the bowling attack is how well agarkar, robin and the other slow trundlers sachin and ganguly perform. Still I believe we have the talent to win the World Cup.

Abhijit Bidaye: abhi@cbilabs.com: Hi Sanjay, I really enjoy your articles. Don't you think Kambli's experience would have helped India as far as world cup is concern. What was the point wasting money- time on his fitness test, and a place in the team when they had no intention of selecting him. They could have tried other player. Further nobody can say that Kambli got fair chance to prove. Is this the end of Vinod Kambli's career, if so, then it is unfortunate. What will be your take on this?

Chenny: db2db2@yahoo.com: I totally agree with sanjay's view.

trilok hansoty: gymtens.aol.com: i fully agree with sanjay, but he need to discuss when india loose early wicket say withen first 6 over do you think rahul is ideal for #3 slot?

Boston Vasu: vvln@yahoo.com: The opinion about kumble and robin singh are totally biased. Analysis of other players seems to be good. Kambli's absence in the squad will come to light when we face good opponents.

Boston Vasu: vvln@yahoo.com: The opinion about kumble and robin singh are totally biased. Analysis of other players seems to be good. Kambli's absence in the squad will come to light when we face good opponents.

Sridhar Moorthy: moorthy@mgmt.utoronto.ca: Agree with Sanjay's comment on Khurasiya. Should have been taken on foreign tours earlier. Typical selector lack of foresight.

Om Sivanesan: Om.Sivanesan@Concert.com: Hi, Sanjay has no doubt got a very analytical brain. But I for one would say the player with the will to win would take India all the way. If India wins one match convincingly against a strong opposition they would be mentally prepared for a victory as they enter the field almost always with the fear of losing. My best player in the World Cup would be Tendulkar if his health is okay otherwise it will be Srinath. The worst of course would be Azhar. Chances of India winning the world cup are very slim. Let's pray folks!

Sridhar R: nrsri@yahoo.com: Got a good team on the paper. But,mostly,dependent on one man. and Hence, will be good if they reach the quarter-finals.

Gautam Wagle: gswagle@hotmail.com: I guess the selectors have done a worthy job in a while. The 15 players chosen for the world cup are really the best we have at the moment. Sanjay's predictions are accurate enough and match my own views. Among the bowlers, Agarkar and Prasad should be the most damaging of all bowlers. It will be important to learn how to chase since, it is not going to be easy to bat first in the early morning cold and seaming conditions. For that matter, my guess is to open with Saurav and Ramesh to let Sachin bat at 1 down or 2 down depending on situation. If a wicket falls early, Rahul may come in while, if the openers last to take the sting out of the bowl, Sachin may come in to make use of most of the overs. Azhar as captain will be there and all the success of Indian team depends on his performance. Sachin, Saurav, Rahul and Ajay have been scoring runs lately while it is only the Indian captain who is struggling and so is the Indian team. If he comes up with performances of what he is famous for, it wil do the team a great amount of good. He as a middle order batsman should look to score atleast at an average of 40 if not more to give that boost in chasing runs as you can depend on him. We may have to make do without Robin if we go for Ramesh as opening batsman and his worth as a batsman in chasing runs will be lost which makes it important for players like Mongia, Agarkar, Srinath to pitch in with the bat and not cause a collapse as it is the thing that puts of a real cricket fan, going of without a fight. Regarding spinners, either Anil or Chopra may find place in team at a time. Given his experience, Kumble will be first choice but if he is unable to cause concern or throttle runs, it would not be a bad idea to try Chopra in a few games against Kenya or Zimbabwe. Also we may try Rahul as wicketkeeper in few trial matches to accomodate the extra bowler or batsman in crucial games.

Subu Iyer: subu_iyer@123india.com: It is really great reading Sanjay's column. Sanjay is one of the most stylish batsmen India has ever seen. Kudos!! Regarding the current Indian team, I don't think it is a good team. But, then there is no choice. These probably are the best 15 players in the country. I have couple of comments though. 1. Sachin, get well soon. We need you so bad as never before!! 2. Venketesh Prasad should open bowling with Ajith Agarkar. Venky gets pace only with the new ball and can do real well. Ajith on the otherhand gets early wickets. Srinath should start in the 11th over. As Sanjay points out, he is the best bowler for India. Why not use him to rip through the middele order? Thanks for the article. Subu

arjyo sarkar: sarkar@hotmail.com: As I mentioned earlier, I think that Azharuddin, Jadeja and Robin Singh will fail as batsmen, simply because I think that they are not technically sound enough(at least at the moment) to cope with the moving ball. They will all get out(caught behind). Recently Azharuddin's fielding too has been pathetic. If he drops catches the way he has in Indian conditions, one can only imagine what he will do in the cold English conditions. Besides Sachin who I don't need to mention, I think that in the batting front the most important contributors will be Saurav and Rahul. I have my doubts about Ramesh and Khurasiya since they are relatively inexperienced.Ganguly should definitely bowl. Prasad would be the killer.At this point Azhar's presence in the side is a waste. He does not bat well, has not been fielding well and is a totally useless captain. Kambli may have been a better option in his place.

rediff fan: rediff_fan@hotmail.com: well,one thing that immediately comes to mind after reading this article is that while Sanjay Manjarekar has called this 'the best ever selection for world cup' , the individual analysis reads something different. For the most of the players, he has commented 'not an ideal player in these conditions, still expected to perform well'... !!! reads strange.. and contradicts earlier comments... -Rediff -Fan

gank: neelv@hotmail.com: Are you sure about Khurasia being selected ahead of KAMBLI ??? It just sounds like an absolutely ridiculous decision by our selectors.. I'd like to see our Ranji Hero hammer bowlers in England like he did on dead Indian pitches.

Sudhakar G: sudhakarg@netscape.net: I have my doubts on Amay Khurasia's technique in English conditions. He seems to be the left handed version of Raman Lamba.. He has this pronounced shuffle & unless some seniors in the side work him on that I'm sure, he'll be in trouble. Kambli may have been a better fit. I only wish I'm proved wrong.

Sunil Kumar: krsunil@hotmail.com: Hi sanjay has made diplomatic comments here It can be easily seen from his comments that he is not very happy with one or two players, specially selection of Ramesh and Robin. Kambli should be in for his consistency in past. He is better than Ramesh, Khurasia and ofcourse Robin (Robin is no mor playing a role of Allrounder). SanjayI expected better analysis than this. This analysis can be done by any street cricketer. Sunil K

nikhil: ntrilok@hotmail.com: Under the given circumstances the selectors have done the best job they could barring a player or two, and these guys if selected would create the same amount of controversy. The most scary part is that except for Sachin and Srinath this squad does not compare very well man for man with the 1983 squad which really took on some great and might opposition in the west indies, australians and also england which was a very good squad then. Even guys like Hadlee and Cains were playing for New Zealand. Our only hope is that if one takes a closer look across the board most of the teams are facing a serious depletion to talent.

Satya Kurada: skurada@ix.netcom.com: I'm amazed on what you said of Rahul. When will this guy get recognition?????

Shriram Vijayakumar: shriramvj@hotmail.com: The selectors have done well, but with one exception. Azhar does not deserve to be in the team! Azhar is not an innovative, tactical or motivational CAPTAIN. of late, his batting has also been terrible. Azhar is displaying a tendency to slash at balls outside off, with his feet in place, and this could prove to be his downfall in English conditions. Azhar will be a failure in the world cup, but hopefully india will still win!

abcd: abcd@hotmail.com: a perfect descriptionof indian team

sandeep saini: sands@rediffmail.com: Indians have recently finished acting the perfect hosts to the pakistanis. I hope the hospitality hangover gets over by the time Sharjah starts. Saurav Ganguly has to be admired for the sheer guts he displayed coming back to bat after being Shoaibed, more than Sachin Saurav will have to learn to shoulder more responsibilities and let Sachin do what he does the best showing the best Bowlers their limitations.

Chinu Shah: shah@hks.com: Stars to watch: Tendu, Dravid Stars that will fail: JAdeja, khurasiya, robin

Madhavan Rajagopal: jerrym@rocketmail.com: Nothing could be predicted in one day game.Anything can happen at anytime.But still I feel youngsters like Amay Khurasia,Ajit Agarkar has got lot of chance to shine there.Specially Agarkar can be used as a Pinch hitter if we lose the top order in first fifteen overs.Even that holds for Khurasia.Getting more runs in first 15 overs will help us to make a big score r easy to chase the target.Hope Sachin will back into his full form in English soil. I wish goodluck for our Indian cricket team.

Srinivas: sjonnala@ingr.com: The Entire team barring Sachin, Ganguly, Prasad, Srinath, Agarkar and Mohanty will be a Flop and they better know it instead of rising ones expectations. If this can be sent to the indian team then SEND it... and Tendulkar and Ganguly should learn something from Lara's 153 not out to win the 3rd test especially Tendulkar even though he is AWESOME.. Regards, Srini

Chinu Shah: shah@hks.com: Stars to watch: Tendu, Dravid Stars that will fail: JAdeja, khurasiya, robin

Madhavan Rajagopal: jerrym@rocketmail.com: Nothing could be predicted in one day game.Anything can happen at anytime.But still I feel youngsters like Amay Khurasia,Ajit Agarkar has got lot of chance to shine there.Specially Agarkar can be used as a Pinch hitter if we lose the top order in first fifteen overs.Even that holds for Khurasia.Getting more runs in first 15 overs will help us to make a big score r easy to chase the target.Hope Sachin will back into his full form in English soil. I wish goodluck for our Indian cricket team.

Srinivas: sjonnala@ingr.com: The Entire team barring Sachin, Ganguly, Prasad, Srinath, Agarkar and Mohanty will be a Flop and they better know it instead of rising ones expectations. If this can be sent to the indian team then SEND it... and Tendulkar and Ganguly should learn something from Lara's 153 not out to win the 3rd test especially Tendulkar even though he is AWESOME.. Regards, Srini