A T20I and three ODIs down in the West Indies, let's now see how this shapes up.
Praveen Kumar's bowling still lacks the strike rate, while his batting is yet unexplored. In three ODIs, he's taken only two wickets, and at a poor strike rate, striking less than the much-maligned Yusuf Pathan, who's bowled half as many overs. He's outperformed Yusuf with the bat, although he's had just one innings. He may be rested for the last two ODIs, keeping rotation and burnout in mind.
The bloke doesnt' cut it as a strike bowler, but he's a huge plus over the Abhishek Nayar clones, and a far better bowler than the part-timers, though the latter goes without saying. He's not much of a batsman, but still adds strength to the bottom five, and two more like him (Harbhajan, Ashwin, Mishra? surprise surprise, all spinners) can balance the side well.
Only one of Praveen and Yusuf/part-timers can play. Yusuf is a better all-round selection, but being more of a batsman and also bowling spin (which is India's strength in bowling), he doesn't add the balance needed for the side. Praveen, on the other hand, is more of a bowler, bowls very good seam-up, at times getting swing like the legendary Kapil Dev, and if he can improve his batting a few notches, he can do what they're trying to get from Yusuf in the batting, while offering a full bowling option, though his bowling is still flawed. India have a strong top six, three good spin options, Zaheer around a little longer and Munaf finding his feet in ODIs, Praveen can be India's multiple man.