As for present form, India should've not reached super 8. But if you look at the form in the past 3 years, they should have reached the semifinals.
Now for Arjun's article, I agree with most of his comments except for the comment that Indians do not need fitness and stamina. This becomes extremely important if you have some players you cannot do with. Take the example of Irfan Pathan, who was difficult to replace when he got injured.
Every single team in the world cup is playing like a team. There is a reason that team factor is getting all the emphasis. It is important that India also do the same. Building a team with younger players is easier than with seniors.
If we give up the idea of Gods playing cricket for us and let the team play, then you wouldn't have hero worship and effigies burnt. Like West Indies is playing like a team with a great batsman like Lara in it. It should be the same for Indian team.
About Sachin, I wonder why he always comes in the picture. It's not just coincidence that if he fails, the rest of the team fails. If Dravid also fails, then we definitely lose the game. It's not the case with Australia or South Africa. If Gilchrist or Ponting fail, they have 3 others who will win the game for them. Same with South Africa.
If Sachin has lost the eye for fast bowling, I wonder why we cannot find someone to replace him. If we cannot find someone in India, lets look if any player in other teams can take up his role. Let us count, who can be the possibilities - Ponting, Lara, Kallis and .....?
Let's face it, he is the best batsman by far. You can feel it more when Dravid fails. Let him groom players who can take up at least 70% of what he has done for Indian cricket.
Hope for the best for the future of Indian Crickt. And keep Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly, you cannot replace them just by the drop of the hat.
