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India - Road to World Cup 2007
- Thread starter Pratters
- Start date
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
I really must question the logic in resting three frontliners- Irfan, Tendulkar and Harbhajan. Looking at the replacements, it's baffling. Gambhir is not too bad, but the one they should have rested (or better yet, dropped) is Yuvraj, or Venugopal, or maybe Raina. RP Singh is a decent bowler, but doesn't have the swing that Irfan can get, while his batting is far behind. As for that other spinner, he's rubbish. Just plain rubbish. There's that offie who plays for Mumbai and a leggie for Baroda, both of whom are also very hard hitters of the ball. Why do the selectors still have this fixation with just that one left-arm spinner?
It's time they get a new strike bowler in ODI's. Agarkar is way too unreliable to have as a striker. At key moments, he still gets pounced for that odd boundary. His bouncer is a weakness that's easy to hit, even for small men. He's underpowered, yet inconsistent, and that's a combination the team can ill-afford for a strike bowler. Irfan Pathan should take over, or they can recall Zaheer Khan, and Vikram Singh (aka VRV) should open the bowling in the forthcoming ODIs.
Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao were introduced too late, with a massive total behind them. Little wonder then that they tried to smash things around right from ball one. They could have sneaked in a pinch-hitter, but there was none that time- Irfan was rested, while Yadav was strangely played as a super-sub. Talking of Yadav, the coach and his support staff should work hard on adding a few yards of pace to his bowling, so that he can go back to opening the bowlign- he struggles when the ball gets old. With Bangar getting five wickets in the recent Duleep match, they can get him in as a reserve.
It's time they get a new strike bowler in ODI's. Agarkar is way too unreliable to have as a striker. At key moments, he still gets pounced for that odd boundary. His bouncer is a weakness that's easy to hit, even for small men. He's underpowered, yet inconsistent, and that's a combination the team can ill-afford for a strike bowler. Irfan Pathan should take over, or they can recall Zaheer Khan, and Vikram Singh (aka VRV) should open the bowling in the forthcoming ODIs.
Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao were introduced too late, with a massive total behind them. Little wonder then that they tried to smash things around right from ball one. They could have sneaked in a pinch-hitter, but there was none that time- Irfan was rested, while Yadav was strangely played as a super-sub. Talking of Yadav, the coach and his support staff should work hard on adding a few yards of pace to his bowling, so that he can go back to opening the bowlign- he struggles when the ball gets old. With Bangar getting five wickets in the recent Duleep match, they can get him in as a reserve.
adharcric
International Coach
I would've played Yuvraj simply to give him one final chance to secure a place in the side, otherwise he should be axed for Kaif. Well, they did that, Yuvraj failed, and they dropped Rao instead ... why? RP Singh doesn't have much pace, and he's no Chaminda Vaas, so he's nothing special yet. He needs plenty of help from Chappell and co.Arjun said:
Indeed, Kartik can be rubbish at times. He is way too inconsistent, and Ramesh Powar is clearly a better option, with the bat, in the field and even with the ball (he's been getting loads of wickets in the domestic matches).Arjun said:
I actually think Agarkar's been pretty good in this series, but India could certainly do with a better strike bowler. To partner Pathan, they should try VRV, Zaheer or Sreesanth. As the 3rd seamer, they should try out Agarkar, Nehra, RP Singh, etc. I'm not too sure which of these guys would do better as a new-ball bowler.Arjun said:
Even if Yadav adds a few yards of pace to his bowling, he won't open the bowling if he's bowling in the high 120s instead of the low 120s. He needs to bowl well with the old-ball if he wants a place in the team.Arjun said:
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
I haven't read all the posts here yet, but I juz hope you guys don't judge the bowlers who played yesterday based on that one match. Bowling when there is dew is the worst nightmare for a bowler. No swing, no seam movement, no spin, the balls skids on to the bat almost dead straight, doesn't move an inch unless delivered from an angle.......
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Thats the understatement of the year. He was brilliant from the word go.Arjun said:
Just to put it in perspective.
Sehwag has 1 century in last 55 innings as opener !
Ganguly, scored hundreds against minnows Kenya and Namibia in the 2003 world cup. Other than that he hasnt scored a century since September 2002 !
Sachin has one century each in 2004 and 2005.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Honestly, both should have been dropped. Rao doesn't look a good fit in an ODI side, while Yuvraj has been dreadful so far. Difficult to comment.
Double standards. JP Yadav and RP Singh bowl at more or less the same pace, but though JP can bat a lot better, he's the one dropped, while RP Singh and Agarkar still hang on! Still, the coach can work on this aspect as well, can't he? Look at how Ashish Nehra and Balaji have bowled with the old ball. Anyway, not everyone can bowl at serious pace, so Yadav's lack of pace should be no issue, even if he opens the bowling. His exclusion is a shocker and the Indian team will feel the pinch in forthcoming matches. Although VR Singh was a good choice in this side, he's replaced the wrong man- there's no way Electric La La Land that he can score as many runs as JP Yadav, even on a good day- in batting, there's a big gap between the two.
Agarkar's been lucky. He's bowled a lot of rubbish, but the Lankan batsmen were in such dreadful form, there was always one loose shot played against him. The most obvious strike partner for Irfan should be VR Singh, and Sreesanth as reserve. Can't say much on Sreesanth as a change bowler, but he seems a good choice too. RP Singh may come on first-change.
Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
The last time I checked Gambhir was part of the XI and scored a century!Arjun said:
On Yuvraj - I havent stated any thing on him and the point I am making relating to Gambhir is not related to Yuvraj. But as you have brought him up, Yuvraj started off in a blaze in one dayers. People went over board with him.
Why go over board on one century. Is it not better to wait and see if he is good enough or not after he plays more matches?
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Sanz
Hall of Fame Member
Well that was only because SRT was rested, on the other hand Yuvraj is seen as an automatic choice for ODIs despite performing poorly since last year or so. No marks for guessing who is going to sit out when SRT comes back.Pratyush said:
Gambhir is a better batsman than Yuvraj.
Sanz
Hall of Fame Member
Not Really, One has watched Gambhir enough in Test cricket to know that this guy has all it takes to be successful in ODIs and I dont think it's premature to say that about Gambhir.Pratyush said:
Yesterday he had 32 1's , 5 2's, 1 3's , 13 4s and 1 Six in his 103 with a strike rate of 106. He runs hard for his singles, good stroke player, can score on either side of the ground, can hit 4s and sixes as well,is a good fielder and he is only 24. What else one needs from an ODI player ?
Sanz
Hall of Fame Member
And how is he going to prove his consistency if he isn't even played consistently in ODIs ? No one is going gaga over Gambhir's performance, but a look at his batting is enough to say that he has the skills to succeed in ODIs.Pratyush said:
Ironically, the guy you like so much and go gaga over ('Sehwag') hasn't been too consistent either, neither is Yuvraj, so it is only fair that Gambhir is given a chance in place of one of these two.
Sanz
Hall of Fame Member
That's extremely rude and in a way it suggests that you are not able to argue that pointPratyush said:
.This is a discussion board and everyone has a right to say his opinion and that's what I did. It doesn't mean that I am jumping around based on one century. If you have not noticed, I have maintained this view about Gambhir for a while and well before he made his century :-On 4th Nov 2005 :-
"....that SRT should be rested and Gambhir should be given a chance to open. If he does well then there will be competition for opener's slot (since Sehwag hasn't been consistent and now that Ganguly is gone, there isn't really any threat to his place ...."
On 25th Oct 2005 :-
"...Sehwag has not had much success in ODIs, Chappell needs to figure out what's wrong with him and figure out fast else Gambhir who has a potential to be a fine ODI batsman is knocking fast at the openers' slot...."
No I am not. I am just saying that Gambhir has the technique to succeed in ODIs and I have said it before he made his century. You are the one who is saying that he has to do it consistently, well to be able to that consistently he should be there in the team, no ?