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JOHANNESBURG: India arrived as the over-hyped kings of the One-day game. But the one crucial loss to Pakistan exposed numerous weak links and raised issues which are likely to fester for a while.

Suddenly, the team doesn't wear a settled look in any department. For many players, including captain MS Dhoni, the tournament will go down as a litany of missed opportunities. TOI breaks down the problems facing the team....

1. POOR BENCH STRENGTH: Since the World T20 win in 2007, India's bench strength has come in for universal praise. A whole horde of fresh faces who could upstage or elbow out the established seniors looked battle-ready. But it hasn't turned out the way everyone predicted. Rohit Sharma's inconsistency has relegated him to the sidelines. Suresh Raina still needs to be protected in conditions suitable for opposition pacers. S Badrinath and M Vijay haven't really carved out an identity on the international stage. Virat Kohli is a work in progress. Dhoni's presence means Parthiv Patel will be a fringe option at best. On the bowling front too, no electric talent has emerged. So, will India go back to some discarded options like they did with Dravid here?

MSD'S TAKE: We made quite a few mistakes. We were off the boil in the first game and that cost us. But we knew the format coming here. We had too many crucial players getting injured at the same time. That unsettled our plans. Our bench strength is a matter of concern.

2. LACK OF GUIDANCE FOR PACERS: The seamers were the horror story of the tournament, and the gradual degeneration of some exciting talents is a matter of serious concern. RP Singh had to be taken off after his first two overs against Pakistan yielded 21 runs. Ishant Sharma's spell let Australia off the hook in the rained-out second game. The replacement in Praveen Kumar is useful in helpful conditions but equally inconsistent. It's the same old story.: Pacers come in, bowl fast and sharp, then gradually burn out or slow down.

MSD'S TAKE: We gave too much width. It's frustrating. You can set a field but the bowler has to bowl accordingly. We will assemble before the Australia series and try to rectify the problem.

3. WHAT'S WITH BHAJJI: In the absence of Zaheer, Harbhajan Singh was expected to rise to the occasion, but he had a forgettable tournament, an off-day against Pakistan costing the team heavily. He gave away 71 runs for just one wicket.

MSD'S TAKE: We turn to him every time but unfortunately he had an off day against Pakistan. We liked playing five specialist bowlers against Australia and Amit Mishra as the second spinner was good.

4. WHERE'S THE BOWLING ALLROUNDER? Both Kirsten and Dhoni have stressed the need for a bowling allrounder in the Jacques Kallis or even Mitchell Johnson mould but the decline of Irfan Pathan means there are no such choices on the horizon.

MSD'S TAKE: We could do with a bowling allrounder because we need our bowlers to bat better. If you look at the Australians, they have Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson who can bat well. It helps their side. If we can have a bowler who can bowl seam up and bat, it would help us to play two spinners and perhaps five bowlers. Irfan Pathan? Please...

5. THE NEED FOR ROTATION: Is overkill leading to the burnout of the pacers? Should all the upcoming quality options be given an opportunity to play? Rotating the pacers in ODIs could keep the likes of Ishant fresh for Tests and enable India to ease Sreesanth and Munaf Patel back in But will some of the regulars like being dropped?

MSD'S TAKE: In rotation, if the bench strength is not strong enough you are likely to lose a few games. Is that acceptable? When it comes to the Indian team you are expected to win each and every game.

6. YUSUF's UTILITY: Chasing 302 against Pak and with Rahul Dravid going steady at the other end, Yusuf had the perfect stage to cement his reputation. But he scored only five. He was dropped for the next game and his future looks uncertain.

MSD'S TAKE: Yusuf is talented and has done well in domestic cricket but he has to perform on the big stage. He has not been consistent.

7. DHONI'S TACTICS: Doubts will continue to be raised over why Dhoni chose to bring in Virat Kohli to bowl ahead of Harbhajan against Pakistan. Also, why was Kohli, who had arrived just a day earlier, sent in to bat ahead of Raina or the skipper himself after Gambhir had got the team off to a good start? The meaningless game against the Windies was the perfect opportunity to test Raina's preparedness on bouncy tracks but that opportunity too was missed.

MSD'S TAKE: We wanted to bring in Harbhajan with a specialist bowler later on as he always bowls with part-timers, which means he can be milked for runs. Kohli was sent up so we could utilise the Batting Powerplay. The moves did not work out as planned.

8. FIELDING WOES REMAIN: The team's poor outfielding and catching continues to be a cause for concern. There were no electric fielders in the CT team apart from, perhaps, Kohli. India continue to give away 30 extra runs on the field and miss the close run-out chances.

MSD'S TAKE: Our fielding needs to improve a lot, also our running between the wickets. I am realistically looking for a 10% to 15% improvement in the field but it won't happen overnight.

9. BIG OCCASION BLUES: Are India mentally fragile on the big stage?

MSD'S TAKE: In a series you only play one team at the same time. Here you are playing more than one strong team. We didn't perform in the World T20 in England and here one bad game cost us.

10. THE SUPPLY LINE: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has replaced conventional options for spotting talent but is it really working out?