Predicting the India ODI Team That Starts the 2015 World Cup

Four years after sitting atop the pinnacle of the sport, India head out to the other side of the world to defend their World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand in February 2015.

As miserable as their performance has been in Test whites since holding the cup aloft on that unforgettable summer evening in Mumbai in 2011, India have left no doubts that they are well capable of joining the West Indies and Australia in being able to win successive titles.

MS Dhoni's men have since won 50 of the 87 one-day international matches they've played, including the mini World Cup—the ICC Champions Trophy—with a win-loss ratio of 1.66.

Four years later, the Men in Blue are a completely different outfit from their World Cup-winning squad, with only Dhoni and perhaps a couple more names expected to make the cut for Down Under.

While it may be too early to predict the best India team for the World Cup, considering they are yet to play a triangular series in Australia just before the tournament, this is the best XI from recent performances.

Ever since he was given a long rope by the team management, Ajinkya Rahane has turned into one of India's most reliable batsmen across all conditions.

Rahane's golden run in ODIs began this year during the Asia Cup, and he has scored one century and three half-centuries since.

Even though he has been used in many positions, Rahane looks like a natural opening batsman and that is where he should play in the World Cup.

After a hugely successful Indian Premier League this year, Robin Uthappa barged through to the India team during their short tour of Bangladesh in the summer and carried forward his good form.

However, a mediocre tour of Australia with the India A squad denied him a place for the senior team's tour of England.

Uthappa still stands a chance of making the World Cup squad, with India due to host the West Indies and then travel to Australia for a triangular series. 

The Champions League Twenty20 is also a great opportunity for him to keep his name fresh in the selectors' heads.

Perhaps India's most clueless batsman in recent times, but there is no denying the fact that Virat Kohli would still play a huge role in India's World Cup campaign.

The usually swashbuckling batsman still has time on his side to get back into form before his second World Cup—one that would truly test his credentials as a future great.

Kohli has to make best use of the games against the West Indies to get back into form before India's long tour Down Under.

A back-to-form Kohli in the World Cup would give India their best chance at defending their crown. 

Rohit Sharma has played 40 of his 124 one-day matches for India at the top of the order and averages 43.20 there, compared to his overall average of under 36. He also scored a double century in that position last year.

However, Sharma doesn't appear technically adept to negotiate the fast and bouncy conditions in Australia and New Zealand as an opening batsman.

He struggled against Dale Steyn and Co. in South Africa last year and, but for a half-century, didn't have a very impressive trip to New Zealand either.

Sharma would be more suited to bat in the middle-order, where he can strike in the middle overs and build India's score.

India's limited-overs specialist Suresh Raina comes in at No. 5, a position from where he can build on a start and catapult them to a match-winning score.

He is also equally adept at grafting an innings if the team has started poorly.

Perhaps the only question mark when it comes to Raina is his ability (or lack of) to play the short ball, especially on the pacy tracks Down Under. 

It is an area that the opposition teams would be looking to exploit, and Raina should be working on.

India's Captain Courageous and ice-man Mahendra Singh Dhoni comes in at No. 6 to provide a late surge and finish off run-chases, a task that he has excelled in during his stellar career.

Dhoni is expected to take a call on his career after the World Cup, so he will want to go out with a bang. What better way to bow out than with a second World Cup title as skipper in your kitty!

The exciting and eccentric Ravindra Jadeja rounds up India's batting line-up.

His ability to bowl part-time spin and his excellent fielding credentials make him a vital cog in India's machine.

If there is anything he should work on until the World Cup begins it is his batting, which can't be called reliable yet.

India's frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is a useful No. 8 batsman as well.

While he would be hoping that the pitches Down Under offer him some assistance, if not much, he is still a very useful bowling all-rounder for the team.

India's best seam bowler in the last 12 months has a very important six months ahead of him.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar may be a swing bowler who thrives on seaming conditions, which he shouldn't expect to see in Australia, but if he can still generate sufficient movement and maintain his accuracy as he has done so well in England, he can prove to be a spearhead for India.

Bhuvneshwar is a handy lower-order batsman, but he should work on his primary skill and prepare to bowl in Australian conditions.

Varun Aaron would still be a gamble for India to pick in their squad due to his injury-prone history, but if they can somehow keep him fit then he has the potential to light up the tournament.

Aaron showed enough promise in the couple of Tests he played in England to make Indian fans excited about having him as a regular.

He has the height, he has the pace and he has the movement to be a lethal strike bowler, and that is what he should be aiming for.

The second gamble in this Indian XI is the enigma that is Ishant Sharma.

He can make you cringe on a day and vociferously cheer on the other. His match-winning and record-breaking performance in the Lord's Test against England was one of the rare displays of brilliance that India fans crave to see more often.

Ishant would have happy memories from his first tour Down Under where he had Ricky Ponting's number. Given that tour was more than six years ago, Ishant should build on his confidence generated from the tour of England and hope the selectors give him another go in ODIs, the last of which he played in January this year.

Shikhar Dhawan's indifferent form across all formats in the last few months earns him a drop from the XI and relegates him to being the drinks carrier.

Dhawan needs a superlative performance in India's remaining ODIs before the World Cup if he is to displace any of the openers, which includes Rohit Sharma.

On his day, Dhawan can win a match single-handedly. Unfortunately for him and his team, that day hasn't come too often in the recent past.