India-Pakistan combined team to play World XI for three games in USA in June !!

[Gotchya]

The bowling still looks airy. Shoaib is a must i think. The Batting resources are abundant

 

[pskov]

What would the team they play against be like? Australian, English and Bangledeshi players wouldn't be avaliable. Something like this?

Jayasuria
Gayle
Kallis
Lara
Gibbs
Fleming
Boucher
Vettori
Pollock
Ntini
Muralitharan

 

[SJS]

cant be bothered with reading all this thread, so forgive me if this has already been asked..

Are these games for some charity or something?

Does anyone else thing that the all of a sudden surge of World XI vs whoever games is going to dilute interest in the one that matters later on this year vs Australia?

NO.

I think this may have something to do with furthering the Indo-Pak harmonious relations bit becuase of the timing and location from where the announcement was made - by the official team during President Musharraf's visit to Nes delhai last week.

Mr Tahir Khan specificaly mentioned, the fans from India and Pakistan AND others around the world must get to see what explosions would take place if Sehwag and Afridi launched themselves together from the same side !!

 

[Mecnun]

I would play..

Sehwag
Afridi
Sachin
Malik
Dravid
Inzy
Dhoni
Rana
Zaheer
Harbie
Akhtar

 

[Pratters]

There have to be 4 specialist bowlers in a side. Razzaq can play the role of a bowler who can bat a bit but not a specialist bowler guaranteed of completing 10 overs.

So I dont think SJS your side would be able to restrict a team to low scores.

 

[Pratters]

My side :-

Butt
Sehwag
Afridi
Dravid
Inzamam
Youhana
Dhoni
Zaheer Khan
Akhtar
Kumble/Kaneria (whether you want to go with experience or promise. Kaneria hasnt proved much in ODIs yet but he is pretty good)
Rana

 

[Jamee999]

***Disclaimer*** I'm not a great expert of Indian or Pakistani cricket

Shahid Afridi
Sehwag
Tendulkar
Inzy
Dravid(wk)
Yousuf Youhana
Abdul Razzaq
Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Mohammed Sami
Shoaib Akhtar

 

[SJS]

There have to be 4 specialist bowlers in a side. Razzaq can play the role of a bowler who can bat a bit but not a specialist bowler guaranteed of completing 10 overs.

So I dont think SJS your side would be able to restrict a team to low scores.

I suppose you consider Shoaib, Zaheer and Naved as bowlers (since they arent batsmen).

That leaves the others I have included, Afridi, Malik and Razzaq.

Now how do you decide who is a specialist bowler ? By how how poor a batsman he is ?? I hope not.

I think it might not be a bad idea to see how much and how often they are called upon to bowl in ODI's.

A bowler can bowl a maximum of 10 overs or 60 balls.

Then an inings doesnt always last 50 overs plus a particular bowler may not always complete his quota since the non regulars bowl a few too. So what is a good enough number of overs to bowl to qualify as better than a part time bowler ?

Well Shoaib has bowled 7.8 overs mer ODI he has played and Razzaq has bowled 7.4 !! Thats 2 balls per match less than the specialist (bowls only) bowler !!

Malik at 6.6 and Afridi at 6.5 overs per match are not that far behind.

I think the problem is not that they are not regular bowlers but that they do not appear to be wicket takers with Razzaq currently not doing so well. But looking around the two attacks, I dont see too many great ODI bowlers. Might as well go with those who are all rounders in that case.

 

[vandemataram]

My side :-

Butt
Sehwag
Afridi
Dravid
Inzamam
Youhana
Dhoni
Zaheer Khan
Akhtar
Kumble/Kaneria (whether you want to go with experience or promise. Kaneria hasnt proved much in ODIs yet but he is pretty good)
Rana

Kaneria ????? Why Kaneria ?? do you want the Indo-Pak team to chase 400 runs?

 

[Pratters]

I suppose you consider Shoaib, Zaheer and Naved as bowlers (since they arent batsmen).

That leaves the others I have included, Afridi, Malik and Razzaq.

Now how do you decide who is a specialist bowler ? By how how poor a batsman he is ?? I hope not.

I think it might not be a bad idea to see how much and how often they are called upon to bowl in ODI's.

A bowler can bowl a maximum of 10 overs or 60 balls.

Then an inings doesnt always last 50 overs plus a particular bowler may not always complete his quota since the non regulars bowl a few too. So what is a good enough number of overs to bowl to qualify as better than a part time bowler ?

Well Shoaib has bowled 7.8 overs mer ODI he has played and Razzaq has bowled 7.4 !! Thats 2 balls per match less than the specialist (bowls only) bowler !!

Malik at 6.6 and Afridi at 6.5 overs per match are not that far behind.

I think the problem is not that they are not regular bowlers but that they do not appear to be wicket takers with Razzaq currently not doing so well. But looking around the two attacks, I dont see too many great ODI bowlers. Might as well go with those who are all rounders in that case.

Razzaq hasnt really impressed me as a bowler and isnt that dependable.

Ideally you need 4 main bowlers with 2 bowlers within whom you bowl the remaining overs depending upon who is in form and bowling well.

Malik is banned from bowling for the moment. Else he was a specialist bowler to start off with.

 

[Pratters]

Kaneria ????? Why Kaneria ?? do you want the Indo-Pak team to chase 400 runs?

Because Kumble, Bhajji, every other bowler has been out of sorts.

Kaneria is class and could do well with the mantle even though he has a poor initial odi record.

 

[vandemataram]

i dnt think tendulkar deserves a spot over youhana

On present form , he certainly don't deserve it!

 

[SJS]

Razzaq hasnt really impressed me as a bowler and isnt that dependable.

Ideally you need 4 main bowlers with 2 bowlers within whom you bowl the remaining overs depending upon who is in form and bowling well.

Malik is banned from bowling for the moment. Else he was a specialist bowler to start off with.

One could replace Razzaq with Pathan and I would have started with Pathan but for his remarkable slide in recent months.

 

[Pratters]

One could replace Razzaq with Pathan and I would have started with Pathan but for his remarkable slide in recent months.

Even then there would be 4 bowlers and one part timer in Afridi. ehwag isnt too dependable as a bowler as he bowls too less.

It would be better to include Razzaq as a 5th bowler along with afridi, remove a batsman and include another bowler, Pathan in your case, as I have.

EDIT : I havent included Razzaq in my side but really want to as a 5th bowler along with Afridi. But then the bbatting woul be weak. So Had to go with Youhana with Afridi bowing the 5th bowler's role along with Sehwag. Doesnt sound too good even this way for the bowling.

The bowling of both teams really does suck.

 

[vandemataram]

Razzaq hasnt really impressed me as a bowler and isnt that dependable.

Ideally you need 4 main bowlers with 2 bowlers within whom you bowl the remaining overs depending upon who is in form and bowling well.

Malik is banned from bowling for the moment. Else he was a specialist bowler to start off with.

Razzak is a wonder guy in Onedayers, he might have not done brilliantly in the last OD series, but he happens to be the most destructive batsmen in OD cricket.So he should be in!!!

Malik is a very good OD batter, i would like to have him over Butt in my team.

 

[SJS]

Even then there would be 4 bowlers and one part timer in Afridi. ehwag isnt too dependable as a bowler as he bowls too less.

It would be better to include Razzaq as a 5th bowler along with afridi, remove a batsman and include another bowler, Pathan in your case, as I have.

EDIT : I havent included Razzaq in my side but really want to as a 5th bowler along with Afridi. But then the bbatting woul be weak. So Had to go with Youhana with Afridi bowing the 5th bowler's role along with Sehwag. Doesnt sound too good even this way for the bowling.

The bowling of both teams really does suck.

I am assuming Malik will bowl.

I have a very poor opinion of Sami. There is no other medium pacer in both countries to consider. That leaves no choice but to go with what I have or take one of the spinners. I am not sure they are doing so great.

But for the fact that his own country is showing so little confidence in him, I would have considered Murali Karthik. I think he bowled well in the only match he bowled and would have done better if he hadnt been asked to bowl round the wicket.

 

[vandemataram]

My side,

Sehwag
Afridi
Malik
Dravid
Inzamam
Youhanna
Razzak
Moin (wk)
Zaheer
Akhtar (just to turn Inzi,Woolmer and opponents blue )
Kumble.

Moin is in form these days and i prefer him over all the young keepers.
Akhtar should be in the side, whether one like it or not.

 

[Pratters]

I am assuming Malik will bowl.

I have a very poor opinion of Sami. There is no other medium pacer in both countries to consider. That leaves no choice but to go with what I have or take one of the spinners. I am not sure they are doing so great.

But for the fact that his own country is showing so little confidence in him, I would have considered Murali Karthik. I think he bowled well in the only match he bowled and would have done better if he hadnt been asked to bowl round the wicket.

Malik has been banned from the ICC to bowl for the time being.

The fact that some one like Murali Karthik can eb considered for an Indo-Pak XI and even a poor bowler like Sami shows how pathetic the bowling in the two countries is.

There were Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain and Kumble competing for that at one point of time.

 

[SJS]

Malik has been banned from the ICC to bowl for the time being.

The fact that some one like Murali Karthik can eb considered for an Indo-Pak XI and even a poor bowler like Sami shows how pathetic the bowling in the two countries is.

There were Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain and Kumble competing for that at one point of time.

I am told Malik is not banned from bowling. He can bowl off spin and if he gets reported by the umpires for chucking he gets the mandatory 21 days "count"

Yes the bowling is deplorable.

 

[SJS]

It is being claimed that a three-match Asia v Rest of the World series will be played at Houston between June 16 and 19. The venue, the Houston Astrodome in Texas, is a home of baseball in the USA. The series, which consists of two 45-over games and a final 50-over match, was announced at a press conference in New Delhi by an organisation called Cricket World International (CWI).

In an open letter to the organisers, Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, was reported as stating that it was “the right time for the USA to become a major participant in international cricket.” He continued: “This region represents a virtually untapped source of future players, supporters and commercial partners. The ICC’s aim is for cricket to become one of the great and much-loved sports of the Americas in the years to come.”

CWI staged the World Double-wicket Championships at the Houston Astrodome three years ago, before that event was switched to the Caribbean. Subsequently CWI was eclipsed locally by Project USA and ProCricket, and seems to have turned its attention elsewhere.

At the press conference, CWI announced that Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Sami, and Shahid Afridi were already committed to play for the Asia XI in Houston. Former Pakistan vice-captain Yousuf Youhana, incumbent Younis Khan, former captain Rashid Latif, and Shoaib Malik are also set to play. "Talks are on with Sachin Tendulkar, Inzamam-ul Haq, and Shoaib Akhtar also," Hasan Jalil, representing CWI, told reporters.

The World XI will include the West Indian duo of Ricardo Powell and Wavell Hinds, Mahela Jayawardane and Chaminda Vaas from Sri Lanka, New Zealanders Nathan Astle and Chris Harris, retired South African Jonty Rhodes and his compatriot Jacques Kallis, as well as Michael Bevan (Australia), Heath Streak (Zimbabwe), John Davison (Canada) and Steve Massiah (USA).

Doesn't sound great