Cricinfo's all time XIs - India

[aussie]

Would opt for Lax over Hazare any day.

Debatable. But if anyone is going to be replace Hazare, the next best options should be Viswanth for sure, he was a laxman in style, but with a more sound technique. To quote SJS again on this matter from years ago:

http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/1606203-post104.html

Ok. Let me try to enumerate it in bullet points to keep it short for when writing about Gungappa Vishwanath one can forget oneself and write pages.

1. He was the finest player of fast bowling - and I mean high quality fast bowling which means really fast and with movement whether in the air and/or off the wicket - that I ever saw. There are great players of fast bowling like Gavaskar who can see where it is going to a millimeter and leave it unless they think its going to crash on to their stumps or defend it with a rock solid defense.

But Vishwanth would play the most audacious shots of those he would have been applauded for being able to defend successfully. His strokes of the front foot were fabulous but his backfoot play to the finest bowling under helpful conditions against master bowlers like Andy Roberts was nothing short of magic.

2. His technique was flawless. He played each and every stroke in the book (and quite a few that you felt no one would attempt) and played them to perfection. He drove half volleys perfectly but played almost everything else off the backfoot and invariably had time to spare. He showed to the world what a great backfoot player could do against the best of fast bowling.

3. He was as beautiful to watch as someone like Laxman but he had the great technique and flawless footwork that Laxman lacked.

The question then arises, why is he not in my XI. He would never go on batting and grinding the bowling into dust as Gavaskar or a Dravid will do. If the team was in trouble and the bowling was unplayable, Vishwanath would have all his faculties at FULL ALERT and bat as if it was child's play and with great concentration which wasn't apparent because he continued playing those strokes.

But let the bowling become ordinary and easy for any Tom Dick and 'Hari' to handle it and Vishwanath would be bored, p[lay some audacious stroke even for his great standards in 'audacious stroke play' and walk off before the catch had been pouched (or so it appeared),

With the result that he did not make all those big double hundreds that Gavaskar and Dravid will tote up and appear greater Test players to all and sundry. I think, Dravid would be honoured to be dropped from that side I named if he was pipped to it by Vishwanath and I would feel I had not pandered to the statistically minded audience when I named that side.

 

[Sir Alex]

Debatable. But if anyone is going to be replace Hazare, the next best options should be Viswanth for sure, he was a laxman in style, but with a more sound technique.

Sorry if he had a better technique he should've been averaging more than 42...

He is awesome no doubt.. but Laxman is cruelly underrated... averaging 55 against Aussies at their prime is not a joke

 

[Shri]

The better technique did not matter and let him become the best batsman against the top side during his time did it? Technique is over rated.
Edit: @ aussie
Edit2: what he said.

 

[aussie]

Sorry if he had a better technique he should've been averaging more than 42...

He is awesome no doubt.. but Laxman is cruelly underrated... averaging 55 against Aussies at their prime is not a joke

See the SJS explanation.

I dont think Laxman is underrated at all. I'd say he rated just about right.

Plus although his record vs AUS is very good & was one of the best i've always found it quite interesting.

I remember during the 99/00 series, when i first saw him & i always thought given his lack of footwork that he would struggle long-term in tests - then he set the new millenium alive with the 167 @ SCG.

Then come 2001 he has that fantastic series. He then went on to dominate the worst AUS home attack of the 95-2006/07 glory years during the 2003/04, which further helped to bump up his average. But then in 2004 when McGrath & co having studied his technique & success, they basically owned him in India 2004.

He scored some more easy runs easy runs againts an injury plagued AUS attack in IND 08, while doing fairly well vs Lee/Clark at their pomp in AUS 07/08.

So when i think of Laxman in an IND ATXI, where batsmen will be encountering some of the greatest & most intimidsting bowling attacks ever compiled. His record vs AUS when McGrath/Warne/Dizzy etc in 01 & 04/05 where playing (the closest thing to a hypotetical AT bowling attack), tells me he may not be so perfect. Thus i have more faith in Viswanath.

 

[Shri]

 

[vcs]

...
So when i think of Laxman in an IND ATXI, where batsmen will be encountering some of the greatest & most intimidsting bowling attacks ever compiled. His record vs AUS when McGrath/Warne/Dizzy etc in 01 & 04/05 where playing (the closest thing to a hypotetical AT bowling attack), tells me he may not be so perfect. Thus i have more faith in Viswanath.

C'mon, even you can't find fault with anything he did in that '01 series?

He walked on water against McWarne when McGrath was owning the rest of the Indian batsmen and well... Warne was his usual self against India but the way Laxman played him was simply sublime. If Sachin took the bludgeon to him in '98, Laxman diced him with a rapier.

 

[vic_orthdox]

The better technique did not matter and let him become the best batsman against the top side during his time did it? Technique is over rated.
Edit: @ aussie
Edit2: what he said.

Hmmph, depends who you consider to be the best bowling attack of the time. He averaged over 50 against both the Windies (although I'm not sure he ever faced a 4 man pace attack) and Australia.

 

[Cruxdude]

Love Gundappa Vishwanath's name. His first name Gundappa literally translates to Fatso in Tamil.

 

[weldone]

My All-Time India XI:

Virender Sehwag
Sunil Gavaskar*
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Gundappa Vishwanath
Kapil Dev
Farooq Engineer+
Anil Kumble
Javagal Srinath
Subhash Gupte
Amar Singh

Reserves:

VVS Laxman
Vinoo Mankad
Bishan Singh Bedi
Mohammad Nissar

 

[subshakerz]

I agree more or less with the team but it has to be the weakest of the teams selected thus far. Batting is strong and runs deep but the bowling will likely struggle to dismiss any of the other XIs picked. Also, playing three spinners unless its a dust bowl it a big gamble. Can you imagine what happens on a first day if the pitch is hard and the seamers complete their spells? I think the New Zealand XI would give India a run for their money.

 

[subshakerz]

On second thought, after having looked at the teams, I think India should be able to beat Sri Lanka comfortably.

 

[Xuhaib]

Gundappa deserves a place just for the gun name.

 

[SJS]

No he was a British subject.You claimed that he never played intl cricket for Pak so I showed you that he played domestic cricket in Pakistan (and was too old to play Pak's first test) and was a Pakistani citizen.There is nothing racist or whatever about my posts at all.Just that you start crying as soon as you are proven wrong (no doubt the usual multi accusations will start soon).Just so you know I am a proud Indian Muslim of Pak descent.

This is a cricket forum and we are perfectly entitled to discuss as to whether or not Nissar can qualify for an all-time XI Indian side.

Thats an interesting argument.

So we can consider Nissar as eligible for an all time English team by this reckoning. In fact he is not eligible foe any team other than England since he never played for Pakistan anyway and Pakhtoonkhwa hasn't been declared a country yet

Great to know that my grandfather, great grandfather and his grandfather were all British as was my father when he was born. I suppose I should be able to apply for British citizenship on these grounds . . . .

 

[aussie]

Yes i have realized overtime that reading alot of facts can make you a bit tired.

C'mon, even you can't find fault with anything he did in that '01 series?

He walked on water against McWarne when McGrath was owning the rest of the Indian batsmen and well... Warne was his usual self against India but the way Laxman played him was simply sublime. If Sachin took the bludgeon to him in '98, Laxman diced him with a rapier.

I wasn't faulting his 2001 series performance.

I was saying after his faultless 2001 series performance. AUS got back @ him (the McGrath/Warne combo) in the 2004 series & owned him in that series. That puts his record vs AUS into proper perspective, which should tell us he wont be so perfect in a hypotetical all-time match-ups. This Viswanath is the better option if one wants to drop Hazare.

 

[aussie]

I agree more or less with the team but it has to be the weakest of the teams selected thus far. Batting is strong and runs deep but the bowling will likely struggle to dismiss any of the other XIs picked. Also, playing three spinners unless its a dust bowl it a big gamble. Can you imagine what happens on a first day if the pitch is hard and the seamers complete their spells? I think the New Zealand XI would give India a run for their money.

Well i would think that XI picked by the cricinfo panel is the best IND ATXI for a hypotetical home test. Where IND would defiantely prepare dustbowls for their spinners, which could make them almost invinsible.

NZ ATXI wou;d give the IND ATXI a run for their money in greentop NZ conditions for sure. Would probably beat them in such conditons with a pace attack of Hadlee/Bond/Cairns/Taylor or Morrison