Team India: Looking Ahead ... to the Challenger Series?

[adharcric]

Apart from the Irani Trophy, I'm not sure if there are any other domestic tournaments before the Challenger Series, which should ideally be in August just before we go for a tri-series in Sri Lanka and then the Champions Trophy at home. Can someone provide more information about this? (Arjun, you probably know the most about domestic details ...)

Regardless, we can probably start discussing preferred squads for the Challenger Series, as this will serve as our final chance to gauge all of our World Cup prospects.

Well then, go ahead and name your India Seniors, India A and India B 13-man squads.

[adharcric]

India Seniors
V Sehwag
S Tendulkar
R Dravid*
Y Singh
M Kaif
MS Dhoni+
I Pathan
A Kumble
H Singh
M Patel
S Sreesanth
Reserves: G Dhiman, V Yomahesh

India A
G Gambhir
S Ganguly*
S Raina
VVS Laxman
V Rao
D Karthik+
R Powar
P Chawla
VR Singh
RP Singh
A Nabi
Reserves: R Uthappa, Y Pathan

India B
S Dhawan
C Pujara
R Sharma
D Mongia/H Badani/S Sriram*
Sunny Singh
J Sharma
P Patel+
A Mishra
L Balaji
M Kartik
A Nehra
Reserves: Pravin Kumar, Gagandeep Singh

[TIF]

I would like these squads -

India Seniors -

Gambhir
Sehwag
Dravid(c)
Tendulkar
Yuvraj
Dhoni(w)
Pathan
Kumble
Harbhajan
Sree Santh
RP Singh
Reserve: V Yomahesh, Gaurav Dhiman

India "A" -

S Dhawan
Ganguly(c)
Raina
Laxman
Rao
D Kartik(w)
R Powar
Piyush Chawla
Munaf Patel
VRV Singh
Zaheer Khan
Reserve: Wasim Jaffer, V Yomahesh

India "B" -

D Jadhav
C Pujara
R Sharma
Kaif(c)
Jadeja
D Mongia
A Ratra(w)
Pravin Kumar
Yusuf Pathan
L Balaji(if fit)/Abu Ahmed
Abid Nabi
Reserve: R Uthappa, Abu Ahmed

[Arjun]

INDIA SENIORS: This should be the Indian team to field in every match, bar a few changes.

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Dravid
• Tendulkar
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Irfan (LMF)
• Munaf Patel (RFM)
• Harbhajan (OB)
• RP Singh (LMF)
• Sreesanth (RFM)
• RESERVE: Kaif
• RESERVE: Piyush Chawla

INDIA A: This should have the next best players, all close to a national call-up.

• Jaffer
• Jadhav
• Laxman
• Raina
• Venugopal Rao
• JP Yadav (RM)
• Powar (OB)
• Dinesh Karthik (WK)
• Amit Mishra (LBG)
• VR Singh (RFM)
• Balaji (RMF)
• RESERVE: Faiz Fazal
• RESERVE: Ranadeb Bose (RFM)

INDIA B: Rank outsiders, more or less the next best or fresh reserves.

• Uthappa
• Dhawan
• Rohit Sharma
• Mithun Manhas
• Ravikant Shukla
• Pravin Kumar (RMF)
• Joginder Sharma (RMF)
• Yusuf Pathan (LB)
• Ratra (WK)
• Abid Nabi (RFM)
• Nehra (LFM)
• RESERVE: Pujara
• RESERVE: S Nadeem (OB)

[ramkumar_gr]

Originally Posted by Arjun

INDIA SENIORS: This should be the Indian team to field in every match, bar a few changes.

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Dravid
• Tendulkar
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Irfan (LMF)
• Munaf Patel (RFM)
• Harbhajan (OB)
• RP Singh (LMF)
• Sreesanth (RFM)
• RESERVE: Kaif
• RESERVE: Piyush Chawla

INDIA A: This should have the next best players, all close to a national call-up.

• Jaffer
• Jadhav
• Laxman
• Raina
• Venugopal Rao
• JP Yadav (RM)
• Powar (OB)
• Dinesh Karthik (WK)
• Amit Mishra (LBG)
• VR Singh (RFM)
• Balaji (RMF)
• RESERVE: Faiz Fazal
• RESERVE: Ranadeb Bose (RFM)

INDIA B: Rank outsiders, more or less the next best or fresh reserves.

• Uthappa
• Dhawan
• Rohit Sharma
• Mithun Manhas
• Ravikant Shukla
• Pravin Kumar (RMF)
• Joginder Sharma (RMF)
• Yusuf Pathan (LB)
• Ratra (WK)
• Abid Nabi (RFM)
• Nehra (LFM)
• RESERVE: Pujara
• RESERVE: S Nadeem (OB)

Notable omissions are Sanjay Bangar,Yashpal Singh,S Badrinath and Hemang Badani. Thilak Naidu could be a better option than Ratra.

[adharcric]

Originally Posted by Arjun

INDIA SENIORS: This should be the Indian team to field in every match, bar a few changes.

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Dravid
• Tendulkar
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Irfan (LMF)
• Munaf Patel (RFM)
• Harbhajan (OB)
• RP Singh (LMF)
• Sreesanth (RFM)
• RESERVE: Kaif
• RESERVE: Piyush Chawla

INDIA A: This should have the next best players, all close to a national call-up.

• Jaffer
• Jadhav
• Laxman
• Raina
• Venugopal Rao
• JP Yadav (RM)
• Powar (OB)
• Dinesh Karthik (WK)
• Amit Mishra (LBG)
• VR Singh (RFM)
• Balaji (RMF)
• RESERVE: Faiz Fazal
• RESERVE: Ranadeb Bose (RFM)

INDIA B: Rank outsiders, more or less the next best or fresh reserves.

• Uthappa
• Dhawan
• Rohit Sharma
• Mithun Manhas
• Ravikant Shukla
• Pravin Kumar (RMF)
• Joginder Sharma (RMF)
• Yusuf Pathan (LB)
• Ratra (WK)
• Abid Nabi (RFM)
• Nehra (LFM)
• RESERVE: Pujara
• RESERVE: S Nadeem (OB)

I don't think you can have guys like Kaif and Chawla as reserves. That defeats the whole purpose of the Challenger Series .. to test out the top players and see who is the best. The fringe national players (these reserves) need to play in as many of the Challenger matches as possible. That's why the reserves should be named last, as they shouldn't expect much action.

[ramkumar_gr]

Originally Posted by Arjun

INDIA SENIORS: This should be the Indian team to field in every match, bar a few changes.

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Dravid
• Tendulkar
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Irfan (LMF)
• Munaf Patel (RFM)
• Harbhajan (OB)
• RP Singh (LMF)
• Sreesanth (RFM)
• RESERVE: Kaif
• RESERVE: Piyush Chawla

INDIA A: This should have the next best players, all close to a national call-up.

• Jaffer
• Jadhav
• Laxman
• Raina
• Venugopal Rao
• JP Yadav (RM)
• Powar (OB)
• Dinesh Karthik (WK)
• Amit Mishra (LBG)
• VR Singh (RFM)
• Balaji (RMF)
• RESERVE: Faiz Fazal
• RESERVE: Ranadeb Bose (RFM)

INDIA B: Rank outsiders, more or less the next best or fresh reserves.

• Uthappa
• Dhawan
• Rohit Sharma
• Mithun Manhas
• Ravikant Shukla
• Pravin Kumar (RMF)
• Joginder Sharma (RMF)
• Yusuf Pathan (LB)
• Ratra (WK)
• Abid Nabi (RFM)
• Nehra (LFM)
• RESERVE: Pujara
• RESERVE: S Nadeem (OB)

And also i feel Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan should find a place in any of these teams, if not in the seniors.
He ,played a match-winning knock in the last years' NKP Salve final. He played for India seniors , opened the batting and negotiated a very decent bowling attack.

And any thoughts on K.S.Shahabuddin, feel he deserves a break at the highest level.

[ramkumar_gr]

India Seniors

Sehwag
Gambhir
Dravid*
Yuvraj Singh
S Raina
Y Venugopala Rao
M Dhoni+
I Pathan
M Patel
Sreesanth
H Singh

Reserves: M Kaif, RP Singh

India A
Pujara
S Vidyut
VVS Laxman*
H Badani
M Manhas
D Karthik+
JP Yadav
VRV Singh
Zaheer Khan
A Mishra
R Powar
Reserves: Yomahesh, Wasim Jaffer

India B
S Bangar
S Dhawan
Yashpal Singh
S Badrinath
R Sharma
D Mongia*
T Naidu+
Y Pathan
L Balaji
K S Shahabuddin
P Chawla
Reserves: R Uthappa, A Nabi

[adharcric]

Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and RP Singh form the current pace battery.

... and then the guy who will almost surely join them very soon ...

VR Singh ~ rated highly, regularly clocks 140 kph, mainly an outswing bowler who bangs it in

... and the guys who are just about done ...

Zaheer Khan ~ he's lost fitness, pace and consistency .. 90% chance his career is over unless he pulls off a miraculous recovery with Gloucestershire
Ajit Agarkar ~ somehow managed to last this long, but a single failure or fitness issue will likely mean the end of his stint, at the cost of VR Singh

... and the guys who were doing fine before they got injured ...
Ashish Nehra ~ was bowling quite well at the beginning of the Chappell-Dravid era, his only hope is if he returns from Australia a fit man and finds favor with the selectors
Lakshmipathy Balaji ~ was a promising seamer but it will be near impossible for him to knock over the likes of Sreesanth, Munaf and VRV, who are pacier versions of Balaji

... and the domestic performers who are always overlooked ...
SS Paul ~ very disciplined bowler, did well against England in the warm-up match but the lack of pace means his chances of a national call-up are very limited
Gagandeep Singh ~ another wicket-taking bowler, but he'll be overshadowed by his much-hyped, pacy partner VRV
Sahabuddin ~ if the two guys above don't get a call-up, he doesn't stand a chance
Siddarth Trivedi ~ don't know enough about this guy, but if he was pacy he'd be more talked about, so I'm assuming he'll run out of luck as well
Avishkar Salvi ~ needs to dominate at the domestic level ... still, just because he was a top prospect a few years ago doesn't mean he'll be one right now, India's pace standards have rocketed since then

... and the wild-cards ...
Abid Nabi ~ should be higher up, has impressed the likes of Laxman, Lillee and Chappell with his pace and swing, needs to show results at the domestic level, has a real chance because the upside is huge, apparently the quickest seamer in the nation
V Yomahesh ~ impressed in the U-19 setup but hasn't had a long domestic stint yet, should be tried out though, at least as a Challenger reserve
Vinay Kumar & Aiyappa ~ Karnataka seamers who were highly touted at one point, maybe it was just by the lower pace standards of the past
Ranadeb Bose ~ SS Paul's partner who is pacier but rather low in the pecking order of pacemen

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by adharcric

I don't think you can have guys like Kaif and Chawla as reserves. That defeats the whole purpose of the Challenger Series .. to test out the top players and see who is the best. The fringe national players (these reserves) need to play in as many of the Challenger matches as possible. That's why the reserves should be named last, as they shouldn't expect much action.

Frankly, if you want Kaif playing, it should be in another team. As for Chawla, it does not matter which team he represents or whether he even gets a match, since he's not an automatic contender for the Indian XI, or even the bench. There are only four matches in this Challenger series, so it shouldn't be used to prepare a selection frame, but just give the Indian starting lineup a good workout, and maybe a few reserves.

Notable omissions are Sanjay Bangar,Yashpal Singh,S Badrinath and Hemang Badani. Thilak Naidu could be a better option than Ratra.

Bangar's a good option, but where do you fit him? Maybe India-A, given that Dinesh Karthik isn't much of a run-scoring option. Badani and Badrinath are not needed now, since the frame is overflowing with batsmen, let alone Yashpal, a minnow-basher who has barely played a top quality opposition. As for Naidu, his batting isn't much better than Ratra's or Patel's these days, and his wicketkeeping is rather shaky– maybe more than Dhoni. As for Vidyut, he was once a left-arm spinner who could score quick runs, making him a strong contender for the national side. He's abandoned bowling just to focus on his batting, which has become a little too serious, which now makes him no different from the Dinesh Mongia and Badani types.

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by adharcric

Sahabuddin ~ if the two guys above don't get a call-up, he doesn't stand a chance
Siddarth Trivedi ~ don't know enough about this guy, but if he was pacy he'd be more talked about, so I'm assuming he'll run out of luck as well

Sahabuddin is just an average medium-pacer, and other bowlers average less than him. He's a decent lower-order batsman, but that's no real issue either. Sid Trivedi, the B/G Scholarship holder, is very tall and gets good bounce and movement, but seems a freak bowler– maybe a giant Ajit Agarkar. JP Yadav is one more consistent performer with the ball (and a more-than-useful batsman) who's often ignored, though he did get a decent run– but was given the ball second-change and spread-out fields, which is hardly encouraging for a strike bowler.

Avishkar Salvi ~ needs to dominate at the domestic level ... still, just because he was a top prospect a few years ago doesn't mean he'll be one right now, India's pace standards have rocketed since then

He's struggling to maintain his place even in the Mumbai side, and he's been putting up decent figures, but nowhere close to what shot him to fame back in 2002-03.

Vinay Kumar & Aiyappa ~ Karnataka seamers who were highly touted at one point, maybe it was just by the lower pace standards of the past

Aiyappa won the first Scorpio Speedster competition, clocking 135k, but hasn't done much of note playing for Karnataka or South Zone. Vinay Kumar is supposed to be faster, and has performed better. Bose is faster, though not express pace, but he's very aggressive. More wildcard seamers play for Uttar Pradesh. Shalabh Srivastava was in the World Cup winning U-19 side and this young left-arm seamer has done well for UP so far. And don't forget Pravin Kumar, who's been the leading wicket-taker this Ranji and has also scored lots of runs.

[Arjun]

The Irani Trophy was mentioned, so here goes. The Rest Of India side should be a full-strength Indian Test lineup, or one you expect to be. You can have the team that played in the last Test match in Mumbai, or maybe have Tendulkar opening with Raina at five. As for Uttar Pradesh, a combination of RP Srivastava (or another specialist) and Shivkant Shukla should open the innings, while daredevil (and resident Afridi clone) Pravin Kumar comes in at seven or eight.

[Jungle Jumbo]

Originally Posted by Arjun

The Irani Trophy was mentioned, so here goes. The Rest Of India side should be a full-strength Indian Test lineup, or one you expect to be. You can have the team that played in the last Test match in Mumbai, or maybe have Tendulkar opening with Raina at five. As for Uttar Pradesh, a combination of RP Srivastava (or another specialist) and Shivkant Shukla should open the innings, while daredevil (and resident Afridi clone) Pravin Kumar comes in at seven or eight.

Wouldn't Raina be playing for UP? Interesting to see how Piyush Chawla goes.

[adharcric]

Yes he would. UP have 5 national prospects: Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, Pravin Kumar, Piyush Chawla and Rudra Pratap Singh. Should be a good contest.

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by adharcric

Yes he would. UP have 5 national prospects: Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, Pravin Kumar, Piyush Chawla and Rudra Pratap Singh. Should be a good contest.

Mohammed Kaif: The most famous of the prospects, he's got a not-so-flattering FC average and few centuries too. A big score can get him counted as a reserve in the national Test team, and may even strengthen his case for selection in ODI's. He will be leading this team and while he's scored well, they've done well under him, so one may expect good performances from both captain and team.

Suresh Raina: One of the more promising prospects from this supposedly smaller centre in Indian cricket, he's got a wide range of shots and likes to score quickly. He's got the temperament to play a long innings, and often meaningful ones. He can score on all sides of the ground and runs very hard between wickets. Like Kaif, he's also an excellent fielder.

RP Singh: The most relevant of the prospects, his performance will be crucial for the UP side. He's an opening bowler who can move the ball off the pitch and hit the deck hard, at a decent pace. He's been one of the best ODI bowlers for the Indian team, but four bad matches (although not in a row) kept him out of the side. He's also played in two Tests in Pakistan, but suffered on flat pitches with lack of support. Ten wickets in this match will (or should) rush him back into the ODI side and even get him on the bench in Tests. His fielding will give him an advantage over the more hyped Munaf Patel.

Piyush Chawla: Another hyped prospect, he's the one least likely to get a match for India. He's a leg-spinner, but so is Kumble, India's top bowler. He's not yet ready for ODI's as a bowler. He can bat a bit, in a style similar to Kaif or (naming a bowler who can bat) Ashley Giles, not a flamboyant or savage big-hitter, which could help the team more. Another one of UP's better fielders.

Pravin Kumar: He's the dark horse among the prospects, and the only one with no hype at all. He's a bowler similar to his partner RP Singh and most Indian regulars and prospects. He bowls at a little over medium pace, sticks to a line and length, but uses a few variations, but little is known about his bowling. Anyway, he's been the joint leading wicket taker this season, so his chance of an India call-up are not too far. As a batsman, he's the Indian version of Shahid Afridi. The powerful Pathan from across the border has often left the Indian team in tatters, and even wishing for a player like him with them, so his progress should be watched carefully. One can't comment on his fielding since he's not been seen, but being from a good fielding unit, expect a good performance even without bat and ball.