Arjun said:
One-dayer misfit– Venugopal Rao is one more on the list with Jacob Martin, Hemag Badani, Dinesh Mongia, SS Das, Sadagopan Ramesh and several other one-day misfits to make the Indian ODI side. We saw how he ate up so many deliveries in A.D. and ran so few singles. We've also seen him struggle against quality bowling attacks. Even though he got a 63*, his innings was screaming "Bring back Kaif!"
Please show a little patience and appreciate the fact that Venu at least stood out and offered some resistance for 63 valuable runs. He clearly looks more suited to the test format than the one-day format, but don't write him off so soon. He outperformed everyone in the Challenger Series last year, racking up multiple tons. As for his struggles against quality bowling attacks, you must be referring to the meltdown versus Shane Bond at the start of the season. Well, didn't our ENTIRE batting lineup get brutalized there, especially Ganguly? A player with a few matches under his belt was promoted to the top of the order against Bond, who in my opinion is the most lethal genuine pacemen in the world at his best (on par with Lee I guess, both swing the ball and aim at the stumps, as opposed to Akhtar who just goes wild with bouncers). He may well turn out to be a one-day misfit, but he could just as well turn out to be an integral part of our future test lineup. By the way, remember Suresh Raina's gritty 24 from 62 in the first ODI against England when the English bowlers kept it tight? Surely, Raina is one of the best at rotating the strike in this lineup, but even he struggled there. Just proves that you can't judge a new player so quickly, especially a talented one like Venugopal Rao.
Arjun said:
Strike seamers– Irfan Pathan may be bowling slower these days, but he varies his pace a great deal. We see deliveries from 113 to 136 k's in ODI's, and more importantly, they get the job done. What the team needs is someone bowling fast at the other end. Sreesanth isn't very fast, but he's very aggressive and bowls a good outswinger. Munaf Patel seems a misfit in ODI's, but once he's in top form, he can be a factor. But what do the selectors see in Agarkar that makes them go back to him again? That casino-royale medium-pace has often let the team down in key moments, especially in finals. Not surprisingly, the Indian team has rarely won a tournament where he was the strike bowler, and frankly, his bowling is no factor.
Pathan can't use that "variations" excuse in test cricket because he's not bowling accurately and rarely ever touching 80 mph these days in tests, as opposed to ODIs where he still goes in the low 80s and picks up wickets consistently with his good line and length and lethal swing. He is being bashed too much on the pace issue though, McGrath and Asif don't have much pace either so if Pathan can show some consistency in tests, hopefully that will end the fan abuse. IMO, he's just about proven himself to be a world-class ODI bowler.
Arjun said:
Finders keepers– Dhoni's freakish batting may not please fans of Rahul Dravid, but it works, and how. Averaging over 50, with a very healthy strike rate, his batting has not only been far superior to every other wicketkeeper who has played for India, but has also been more effective than most other specialist batsmen. His attack power is a factor, and should be used to good effect, so Sehwag can breathe easy. Even Irfan Pathan (especially him), Munaf Patel and Ramesh Powar can be used as strikers to complement the slow-goers in the side, when needed.
Actually, Dhoni is not a "freak" in the negative sense as Afridi (and at times Pietersen) is. He can play a composed innings as well. Just because he is innovative and powerful doesn't mean he should be criticized for his unconventional strokeplay. He has shown on numerous occasions that he has a wide range of strike rates: 75 if you're in trouble, 100 if he's promoted up the order, and 500 if you need him to slog at the death.
That shot at Mumbai is the one blotch on his career thus far and I'm confident he'll try to make us forget about it soon ... not with "freak"-batting but with the composed innings he is quite capable of. As for Munaf, he's yet to show that he can contribute with the bat but I hope he proves you right and pleases my eyes soon enough. I'd prefer he get some wickets first.
Arjun said:
Two off the block– "Two off-spinners? That's a predictable attack!" But looking at the duo of Harbhajan and Powar, it works! Both are of different styles, and if one has an off-day, the other works. Powar may not appear a genuine strike bowler, but for someone picked to bowl more than the batsmen, he's bowling like a striker. His batting at eight makes him a key selection in the playing XI. One of the few very good moves the selectors have made so far.
Although they are both off-spinners, they are indeed very different. Bhajji fires it in and can trick the batsmen with the doosra or turn it big. Powar is the conventional offie, flighting it with no pace whatsoever and often beating the anxious batsman in flight. Imagine Kumble and Warne bowling in tandem: both are "leg-break" bowlers, but if you make the mistake of expecting the same stuff from them, kiss your wickets goodbye.
Hence why I asked
