It is easy to get riled by his weight or his supposed indifference to fitness drills, but his ability to take wickets is beyond doubt. He is the kind of bowler who can get you the wickets in the middle overs. His variety and loop entice batsmen who, anyway, are uncomfortable playing him defensively. He brings them out of their comfort zone, which is the essence of a good bowler.

This Indian squad has some very fine bowlers but you need clever operators who stand the best chance of breaking a promising stand. Lasith Malinga is a case in point: he went for runs in Rajkot, but also picked up wickets at key moments to shift the pressure on the Indians.

Powar also possesses this ability. He would have pushed for a place even with Harbhajan and Kumble in the squad - now that's good bench strength! He would have been in my team.

On a separate note, I think there is too much of a sameness in the pace attack. Now that Rahul Dravid has made it clear that he wants key players to step up the pace, the onus is on India's big guns to be good finishers of matches.

I suspect if the wickets are low and slow in the West Indies, big hits wouldn't be always possible. It would then be the players' speed between the wickets that could be of critical importance. India came a cropper in the middle overs in the West Indies last year and the message shouldn't be lost this time around.

On tracks where scores of 300 wouldn't always be possible and where the difference between teams could be just a few runs, good fielding and running between the wickets could well be the difference.

I guess fans need to be aware of the conditions which exist in the West Indies. We don't want a situation like last year when India went to the Caribbean high on their performances at home and a win over Pakistan in an away-series, only to be frustrated in there with the ball not coming on to the bat. It happened in game after game as the Indians found themselves unable to force the pace.

Doubts then set in and the high ground achieved at home was quickly lost. India went on a downward spiral till the slide was arrested, again, in a home series last month. It's a cycle which has been playing out too often for comfort.

Most of our cricketers would now take a break for the next couple of weeks, except for those seeking to find form and fitness. Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan need to play as much as they can, and the same is true for Sehwag. They most likely would turn out for the zonal sides in the domestic one-day competition and would draw huge attention. One hopes there would be enough good performances by them to cheer the Indian camp.

In the West Indies, from Trinidad to Antigua to Barbados, the conditions could be very different. One hopes the team has covered most bases and wouldn't be found wanting on different tracks, whether they are seaming and bouncy or low and slow. It's a real issue and no smart team would ignore this possibility.

Yes i do feel for Powar. He has proved to be a more than useful bowler in ODI's, piping Kumble & Harbhajan in wicket taking ability. We need wicket taking bowlers & not defensive bowlers. Its an attacking game and batsmen are going to make a lot of runs, so we need to take wickets. He should be the first choice replacement now, in any such eventuality.

Hi Ravi...yes i do feel for Ramesh..i think he was desperatly unlucky not to be picked for the squad..looking at his recent performances he has done a better job than harbhajan and kumble!...he is also very handy with the bat and could have been the ideal number 8...this would added greater depth to our batting which was found a bit short in the 2nd ODI against sri-lanka with harbhajan comming in at this position...

Ramesh Powar should have been included...for sure
i am surprised... he is one of the countrys wicket taking bowler...

Ramesh was definitely unlucky to be left out. He's been performing really well with the ball in the ODI outings he's been given a chance in and the same cannot be said for Anil Kumble. Anil Kumble is a great bowler and was a great bowler but he's not as good an ODI bowler as he once was. He should have retired from ODI's and just concentrated solely on Tests like Shane Warne did. That would have given talents like Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla a chance to shine. The selectors have disappointingly gone with Anil's pedigree and not really assessed current performances closely enough. Who knows though, Anil could work wonders for the team in Caribbean. I hope so - come on India! Jeetna hai!

what more can one do to find place in 15, other than being pet.

I couldn't agree with RS more. Powar would be in my team any day -- along with Harbhajan and Kumble. I would drop Sreesanth. I would have also picked Kaif or Raina (with a preference for Kaif) ahead of Sehwag. Kaif did well in the West Indies, is a solid fielder and a fast runner between wickets. The Indian team management seems to think that fielding is a secondary quality but in an era where games are increasingly about chasing 300+, a championship team needs a quartet of solid close in fielders (that quartet would be Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina and Kartik).

Yes.

powar should have been in! In place of uthappa or munaf. We have one too many bowlers/batsmen... Powar is unique in that sense coz otherwise there is a lot of sameness in the attack!!!

smart bowler, and looks are decieving!!!!

I agree with Shastri.

I think the selectors should have picked him. I would say it's a gutless move by the selectors. We should play for our strengths which is spin and two spinners should play in most of the matches unless it is a grassy pitch. Another advantage that Powar has is that not many batsman in the world have faced him and this unpredictability is a very good topping for the otherwise very safe selection of 15.

Romesh Powar has that exceptional ability to bowl a very tidy line and length especially during the middles overs (from 20 - 40) and pick couple of partnership building wickets to disturb the tempo of teams like Australia,South Africa and Pakistan. As correctly said he is on par with the existing spinner duo and doesnt need an ommission from the team or be placed on a bench. Probably might be the most unfortunate one to come so close and lose the place.

I concur with Ravi on the omission of Powar from the world cup squad. Powar is not afraid to flight the ball inspite of being belted around the park. He has the ability to pick up crucial wickets and has demonstrated that time and again. Considering the future we should have given confidence by picking him in the squad.

I agree with ravi.. Powar has been performing whenever given the chance.. In the circumstances given powar is a much better odi bowler than anil. lets accept it.. Anil should have retired from ODI's.. Anyway it must be running inside his mind about the sidelining from last worldcup. May be he want to give one final shot at the world cup b4 retiring from both versions of the game.. Cheers to Anil.. He has been a great warior for india.. Wat can we say.. But i am sure Powar will get his recognition soon for his efforts. All the best Ramesh... I feel india missed out a trick by dropping raina..(being an all rounder) instead of Karthik... Its all about allrounders who can perform at any demanding situation.. If we see the teams who have been wnning bigger tournaments solely because of all rounders.. Anyway cant be done much to the selection now.. Cheers india.. Win it atleast this time just one step further than last attempt..

I know he is a good bowler but we can choose only 15 members. kumble and harbajan has more experience than him. i think the team management took the right team so wait and see. if we can choose 17 memebers that would be powar and raina.

Yeah! its really unfortunate that he was left out. Given a chance i would pick him before Kumble and even bajji. He's the best in the one day format, cool customer. Even Bajji can be easily distracted when u hit him for a six. But Powar man what a attitude, he almost sets the batsman up ... he's got the ability to do it....

I agree with Ravi Shastri that Powar is unlucky to miss out from World Cup squad. The Indian team management is to be blamed for poor handling of a promising bowler. Looking at the way Powar bowled in the matches against the West Indies, he easily looked the superior bowler in the team. Powar is a clever bowler and has the ability to fox the batsman in flight which is a rarity these days. A lot also is being made about his batting and fielding abilities. His fielding is made out to be far worse than it actually is. I feel there are a few other members in the team whose fielding ability is questionable. As for his batting I think we should be a little patient as we are with most of the other guys. India will surely miss Powar in the middle overs of the World Cup.

Ramaesh powar might have been performing well for a few matches recently, but one cannot ignore, he has been expensive as well.Although it cant be ignored his mind blowing performance against west indies when india were defending a meger target. There are other players who are still better than him because well... hes really unfit to play (weight wise)

Ramesh Power is unlucky. Given few oppertunities, he had few chances to get himself selected. I like the way he bowls with the loop and spin, which makes the batsman to come out of his shell. It gives Power to get wickets as well as for runs, if the batman is good. Hope he would concentrate to curb runs.
Cheers.

Yes, poor Powar, Kumble should have been left out, as he is good for nothing.

Ramesh Powar is really unlucky.This happens in India as there are a lot of players to be looked at. His case similar to the situation of Lakshman in last world cup. I strongly believe that he should got a ticket to West Indies ahead of Dinesh karthik as I do not belive in having 4 keepers in the team and Ramesh can always be stronger hitter in the slog overs than anyone else in the team, especially while chasing a decent score.

Ramesh was definitely unlucky to be left out. He's been performing really well with the ball in the ODI outings he's been given a chance in and the same cannot be said for Anil Kumble. Anil Kumble is a great bowler and was a great bowler but he's not as good an ODI bowler as he once was. He should have retired from ODI's and just concentrated solely on Tests like Shane Warne did. That would have given talents like Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla a chance to shine. The selectors have disappointingly gone with Anil's pedigree and not really assessed current performances closely enough. Who knows though, Anil could work wonders for the team in Caribbean. I hope so - come on India! Jeetna hai!
What more can one do to find place in 15, other than being pet.

I really enjoy his bowling. He has been a good teaser and performed everytime he has been given a chance. He is unlucky not to find a place in the World Cup Team. Anyway he has no competitors after Kumble's retirement. We will see a lot of him. All the best Powar. All the best India.

Hi Ravi ,

Definitely India should had include Ramesh Power in place of OUR great Virender Sahwag . after the defeat by hand of Minnow Bangladesh . it is proved that if 6 batsmen can not make runs against team like bangladesh so how do we expect the 7th batsman will score run . so playing with 7 batsmen is wrong . in place of Sahwag . india should play with Anil kumble or Pathan depending upon the pitch condition .
If they included Ramesh Power , they have had one option to play with Power , he could be used as allrounder .
but Sahwag he included in team as batsman , but not doing any thing as a batsman . and becoming a cause of down fall of players like Robin and tendulkar and Dravid .
there is unneccessary changes in batting order just to safegaurd of Sehwag.

Ramesh is a well deserved guy in the worldcup suad than the outdated Hurbajan or Agarkar. It is very hard and surprising his omission. May god bless him to find a godfather in the selection committee.