Laxman career in Jeopardy

[Sanz]

I can't believe how ungrateful fellow Indian fans can be. Sehwag had a shocking year, why isn't he being dropped? Kaif has been inconsistent in the past (though he's peaking now) as well. Same with Yuvraj.

Ungrateful ?? Common now. Laxman is paid to do his job, If, IMO, he has not done a good job then he should not be there. If Kaif Yuvraj/Sachin/Rahul/Sehwag are inconsistent then drop them, but I wouldn't want that as an excuse to keep Laxman in the team, Kaif/Yuvraj make up for it in the field with their hard work and that can not be said about Laxman.

Laxman has been inconsistent because of his careless approach in ODIs, Almost everytime I see him bat, he starts wonderfully and then throws his wicket away with careless shots.

 

[Sanz]

Laxman may not be a great outfielder, but he's a terrific slip-catcher. The slips are a lot stronger when he's fielding there- it helps getting early wickets, and the Indian new-ball bowlers need all the help they can get.

I guess you have been watching a different Laxman all along. Suggest you to watch THIS GAME to see how great a slip catcher he is .

 

[Sanz]

Me too. Laxman is a class player, be it Tests or ODI's. He's outperformed all the so-called ODI regulars. One just has to look- Badani, Yuvraj, Kaif and Mongia just have 5 centuries between them- Laxman has 6 centuries of his own. He's an aggressive player who likes to keep the momentum going, which is good for ODI's.

Yuvraj has 7 MoM, Kaif 4, Laxman 4. It's ridiculous to compare Laxman with Mongia and Badani.

 

[ReallyCrazy]

As usual, people talk through their hats. They have no idea of facts and they assume that their fixed notions and ideas are actually facts.

- Laxman averaged higher than each and every Indian batsmen during 2004,

- Laxman also scored 4 out of the six centuries Indian batsmen scored against Australia and Pakistan,

- Laxman averaged more than 10 runs per innings extra in ODIs in 2004 than his career average. Every major Indian batsman averaged less than their career avg during 2004 or just matched it. So this was by far his best year ever in the limited over game.

And surprise surprise.....

His strike rate in Australi was higher than everyone except Sehwag and Yuvraj.(higher even than Sachin) !!!

Against Pakistan, his strike rate was higher than everyone except Sehwag (this time higfher than even Yuvraj) !!!

Dont believe it. Check for yourselves.

Here are some revealing figures for the statistically and otherwise challenged

Indian Batsmen in 2004 (ODI's)

PLAYER AVG '04 (Career Avg) 100's in 2004 Str Rate vs Aust ST Rate vs Pak

Ganguly: 32.65 (32.65)..........0...........75..........80

Dravid : 39.4 (39.4)...........1..........75..........62

Tendulkar : 40.6(44.8)..........1..........79..........90

Yuvraj : 30.0(30.0)...........1..........95...........89

Laxman : 41.85 (31.63).......... 4.......... 83..........90

WHERE IS THE JUSTIFICATION FOR DROPPING LAXMAN FROM THE ONE DAYSIDE ? BECAUSE HE HAD A BAD PATCH AFTER PAKISTAN ? IF SO DOES THIS BAD PATCH CRITERIA ONLY APPLY TO ONE PLAYER IN THE INDIAN TEAM ??

SJS, Laxman may have the best average in 2004 but the fact is he is not a reliable player in ODIs. Apart from the OD centuries he has scored, he has always looked ordinary. Dont get me wrong, I like Laxman and IMO he is the most elegant and stylish batter I have seen. But when a guy plays at # 3, we need him to get a partnership going even if he only scores about 35. Laxman has failed to do that too many times. He looks really good and suddenly he gets an incoming delivery and gets bowled. After getting bowled, he looks incredulous!

 

[ReallyCrazy]

What?Laxman is a great player. he is one of the best classic batsman in the world.

here is what bret lee has to say about laxman.

If you get dravid out great,If you get sachin out brilliant,If you get laxman miracle.

lol Laxman is class and the best to watch. He has always done well against Lee. I remember in the VB series how he got two good balls from Lee and hit a beautiful cover drive to the fence and the very next ball (which was almost identical to the first), he hit an on drive to the fence.

But unfortunately, elegance and style alone can't get a person into the team.

 

[Jono]

I guess you have been watching a different Laxman all along. Suggest you to watch THIS GAME to see how great a slip catcher he is .

I'm not sure if you were actually trying to take the p*ss by bringing that one shocking match to define him as a slip catcher or not, but either way this will show how good a fielder he is.

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_dat...BS/SCORECARDS/IND_ZIM_VBS_ODI8_24JAN2004.html

http://aus.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2004-05/RSA_IN_IND/SCORECARDS/RSA_IND_T2_28NOV-02DEC2004.html

 

[honestbharani]

Well, after hearing all the arguments here, I have formed my opinion on this matter. If VVS should continue to play ODIs, it should be in place of Sourav. The others cannot be dropped at the moment, plain and simple and I don't see the others failing for so long that they could get dropped. So, the choice is gonna come down between Sourav and Laxman. Personally, I think Sourav has taken India as far as he can and he has done one terrific job of it. But it is time to look elsewhere for a captain and Laxman might not be a bad choice. Maybe Rahul could be captain and Laxman could be vice captain. What about that idea?

 

[Deja moo]

Why Saurav ? You want to drop perhps the only batsman in some sort of consistency last season in the One dayers ?

 

[honestbharani]

He has been consistent in tests. I am talking about ODIs. He just hasn't been the batter he used to be till 2001 or even early 2002. I don't wanna start a new debate but I think ever since Sachin went back up to open, Sourav's form has dipped and has continued to dip. I think he is simply not suited to bat anywhere in the middle order. He HAS to open to play well and since Sachin is so anxious about batting at the top of the order and the fact that Viru can be most effective only at the top, I don't see where he can bat and still contribute well to the side. That is why. I am a big, big supporter of Sourav, but current form indicates that in ODIs it is between him and Laxman for that no.3 slot.

 

[dudeurfriend]

So if Laxman stays in ODI team,Sourav cannot be shown the door.It could be better if Indian management also adopts the rotation policy similar to Australia.In any case of laxman staying in ODI team he should be given the no 4 or no 3 position in the batting order.This is the only tussle between ganaguly and laxman for the odi's.I dont see a tussle for laxman and ganguly for a place in the eleven.If laxman has to be in the team then Rahuldravid should don the gloves again.....

 

[Jono]

Well we know that Sourav isn't being dropped. And I am extremely against India playing seven batsman. So yes, its tough to drop one of the batsman, but one of them needs to go, maybe just temporarily. Laxman is a possibility, I'm not going to deny that, but he shouldn't be the only possibility when others have done just as poor in the past.

Regarding captaincy, I'm a big supporter of Kaif getting it. Maybe not immediately, but IMO he's the future captain and leader of Indian cricket.

 

[dudeurfriend]

hey Kaif has tremendous potential to become the Captain of Indian Team in near future.I agreee with JONO...

 

[honestbharani]

I think Sehwag is currently ahead of him in the pecking order and was a personal choice of Sourav to be a future captain of India. Remember, he has already led Indian in an ODI once.

 

[Jono]

I agree that he is ahead, but I don't think he should be. The advantage he has over Kaif at the moment is he is an automatic selection in both forms of the game.

My problem with Sehwag captaining is, he's been told on many situations by senior players to not play a shot or play sensible for a little while, and he ignores it and plays his own game. That's fine, he's that sort of player. But at some stage the captain has to guide a player. I can't for the life of me see Sehwag telling the guy down the other end to ease up and stop playing rash shots.

 

[honestbharani]

lol, I would have thought Gilchrist would have had that problem too. But he seemed to do fine. Even Ponting has played daft shots on a lot of occassions, he is doing well too. But I see your point and to an extent, I agree with you. I think the captaincy pecking order should be something like this:


1. Sourav (current captain)
2. Dravid (current vice captain)
3. Laxman (next most experienced as captain, if he can be a certainity in both forms of the game)
4. Kaif
5. Sehwag

 

[Dasa]

He has been consistent in tests. I am talking about ODIs. He just hasn't been the batter he used to be till 2001 or even early 2002. I don't wanna start a new debate but I think ever since Sachin went back up to open, Sourav's form has dipped and has continued to dip. I think he is simply not suited to bat anywhere in the middle order. He HAS to open to play well and since Sachin is so anxious about batting at the top of the order and the fact that Viru can be most effective only at the top, I don't see where he can bat and still contribute well to the side. That is why. I am a big, big supporter of Sourav, but current form indicates that in ODIs it is between him and Laxman for that no.3 slot.

I think it might be worth it for Ganguly and Tendulkar to open, with Sehwag batting down at 5/6. Then the order would be:
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Dravid/Kaif
Sehwag/Yuvraj

Unfortunately for Laxman, if India play 6 batsmen and a specialist 'keeper, he would have to go. Although his OD game has improved immensely, it's just so difficult to find a spot for him. However, if say, Kaif had a drop in form, I'd bring in Laxman straight away.

 

[honestbharani]

I think it might be worth it for Ganguly and Tendulkar to open, with Sehwag batting down at 5/6. Then the order would be:
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Dravid/Kaif
Sehwag/Yuvraj

Unfortunately for Laxman, if India play 6 batsmen and a specialist 'keeper, he would have to go. Although his OD game has improved immensely, it's just so difficult to find a spot for him. However, if say, Kaif had a drop in form, I'd bring in Laxman straight away.

Inspite of Kaif's fielding and the fact that he bats lower than where Laxman usually bats, which means a straight swap becomes difficult?

 

[dudeurfriend]

Hey Dasa,
The right order would be
Sachin
Sourav or sehwag
Dravid
yuvraj
kaif
So people have ur say.....

 

[Gangster]

Laxman should be India's #3 batsman. The order should be, with everyone healthy:

Gambhir
Sehwag
Laxman
Tendulkar
Dravid
Ganguly
Karthik
Pathan
Zaheer
Balaji
Harbhajan

 

[Jono]

Inspite of Kaif's fielding and the fact that he bats lower than where Laxman usually bats, which means a straight swap becomes difficult?

I actually disagree. In my opinion they are a straight swap. Kaif's ODI career has not been what if could have been, because at many times he's had to bat 7 due to our strong middle and top order. However the time will come when he will get the opportunity to bat higher (Ganguly has pushed him higher on some occasions such as in the World Cup). You'll find that Kaif's best performances have been when he has had a long time to bat. The same goes for Laxman.

Its probably pretty obvious now that I'm a huge supporter of Kaif. His recent form in both forms of the game has been amazing, and I think he has a lot more to give in ODIs when he eventually goes up the order.

Right now someone needs to go from our ODI team, I just don't know who it should be.

Laxman should be India's #3 batsman. The order should be, with everyone healthy:

Gambhir
Sehwag
Laxman
Tendulkar
Dravid
Ganguly
Karthik
Pathan
Zaheer
Balaji
Harbhajan

I'm guessing you're referring to tests. I really don't think anyone in their right mind would move Dravid from 3. He's perfect there.