That is the title of the movie made out King of Pop Michael Jackson’s final rehearsal, played out on his first death anniversary. However, the reference to the ‘This is It’ performance from the Indian cricket team in the Asia Cup has to do with their preparation for the World Cup.
michael jackson hat and glove
The Indian team needed to win the Asia Cup for several reasons. For one, their record in finals of tournaments has not been anything to shout from the rooftops about. Secondly, their reputation had taken a huge dip following the 2010 ICC World Cup and only a win such as the Asia Cup would show the curve back on the rise. Thirdly, there have been doubts expressed about the strength of the Indian team looking into the crystal ball for the forthcoming ICC World Cup 2011.
But there is also a need to remain realistic. While the Asia Cup win was no doubt a worthy reward for the persevering Indians, it cannot be the rock on which the team decides to rest its backside. And it cannot be an illusion to the fact that there is still a great deal of work to be done before India can calmly settle thinking they have the best in place.
The opening place is yet to find a suitable back up to an injury prone Virender Sehwag to partner Gautam Gambhir. Murali Vijay is still wet behind the ears and while Dinesh Karthik seems to be the fall back guy, his position in such a role is still questionable, despite his performance in the Asia Cup final.
India’s middle order needs the return of Yuvraj Singh in firing form and need Rohit Sharma to step up a la Suresh Raina to make a strong case for establishing himself. Sachin Tendulkar will comfortably fill back into his own shoes, which means the rest of the line should be fighting harder for a permanent place.
India’s spinner in chief continues to remain Harbhajan Singh but who will partner him in spin friendly conditions in the sub continent come the World Cup is still a matter of a coin toss. The selectors cannot seem to decide whom to put their faith in – Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha or a late surprise recall for Piyush Chawla always seem to break that boredom.
The pace department is not as settled as it would seem at the outset. While Zaheer Khan has established himself as the sole spearhead, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra are dodging injuries in a bid to stay fit while the selectors have through a gamut of fast medium bowlers without finding a suitable heir.
In that light, the Asia Cup established much of the known. The unknown still remains to be resolved. Therein lies the reason why the Indian cricket team is still something of an unfinished business.
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