Solid Bat

In the one-dayers, Mohammad Kaif should bat up the order, certainly ahead of Yuvraj Singh. Kaif is a great innovator of shots but only when he has spent some time at the crease. Now, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni doing well with the big gloves, Rahul Dravid is relieved of the tiresome job of keeping the wickets and can certainly come to the crease after the fall of the second wicket. It would be best suited to the cause of the team to allow Mohammad Kaif to follow Dravid, since both are excellent runners between the wickets and, by means of quick singles, twos and threes, with the intermittent hits to the boundary, can really keep up the tempo in the middle overs when the field is spread. The natural hitters like Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia and Irfan Pathan can be ideal for merciless butchery of the cricket ball at the end overs. Moreover, Kaif has already been successful up the order, especially in the 2003 World Cup. Whoever the 'think-tank' consists of, Team India should make best use of the tremendous understanding between Dravid and Kaif when it comes to clinical batting in the crucial middle overs of an ODI.