Indian pace trio??

[Manee]

Munaf was very unimpressive yesterday.

Indeed. He was disappointing. The second innings is his big opportunity. I know it would not be rational to pick him if he does not perform in that innings. I just believe that he is our best possible option, if he finds some form. Someone who can build pressure with some simple good line and length bowling is the ideal third seam bowler, imo, to play against England. I think Sreesanth is too likely to cost us if he loses rhythm and I think England will bat outside their crease to Praveen which will shoot Dhoni up to the stumps and eliminate the chance for wickets.

 

[Manee]

Munafs ability to bowl well also comes into question.

Disagree, he was unlikely not to pick up more wickets in the first innings against West Indies.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

If the conditions are swinging and in favor of seamers then i will take Praveen because he is more likely to make the batsman play every ball,swing it both ways and utilise the conditions to the fullest.

From what I've seen of Praveen in these three tests, the conditionality of the argument is redundant.

He is one guy with such good wrist release position for inswing as well as outswing that I think he can swing it in most conditions, if not all. Pitch dependent guys are more the ones who look to move it off the deck. In PK's case, because he seems to swing it out-of-the-hand, I also think the atmospheric factor wouldn't play that much of a role. In this comparison, a Jon Lewis would be the exact polar opposite of a Praveen Kumar, for instance.

It's my personal belief (you may feel free to agree or disagree) that a genuine swing bowler worth his salt should be able to wake up at 3 am in the morning, grab a ball and be able to swing it naturally. He shouldn't be reliant on pitch conditions or cloud cover or even the ball type (SG or Kokkaburra or whatever). He should just have it flowing in his blood, so to speak!

IMHO, PK has it. He looks to be a genuine swing bowler just because of that action and release position. If anyone has a chance of scything through a top order with swing, I think it'd be PK ahead of Sreesanth or anyone else.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

It's also worth mentioning in this context that Praveen Kumar averages 23 or 24 with the ball in first-class cricket.

In all fairness, there are a few soft oppositions there, but a fair majority of his games are played on what may be described as flat decks. It is generally understood that batting averages are inflated in Indian Ranji and Duleep matches. By that same logic, a bowler's average needs to be weighed in properly too.

A swing bowler that performs so well in Indian first-class structure over an extended period of time is clearly doing something right. A reasonable comparison would be to gauge how his peers - Sharma, Nehra, Aiyappa, Sreesanth, YoMahesh, Balaji, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Rakesh Patel - have performed in a similar structure over a fair number of games.

Some of these men were touted as poster-boys for Indian cricket's salvation simply because they were perceived to possess an X-factor (however one defines it).

What you would discover is that everyone pales in comparison. Surely that should indicate a thing or two. One cannot help get the feeling that the general public would have been kinder if the guy was a yard or two quicker. Well, I choose to disregard this mad obsession with pace over effectiveness.

 

[centurymaker]

he tends to bowl at around 74-77 mph= 120ish.
bit too slow for my liking

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

he tends to bowl at around 74-77 mph= 120ish.
bit too slow for my liking

Point is that Chanderpaul, Bravo, Barath and the others don't seem to like his bowling either.

If I were the skipper, I'd pick a less attractive bowler who runs through the top-order so effectively. A Sami or a Tino Best with his 90+ mph pace is a liability that I'd love to do without.

 

[Spark]

I think you're overrating pure swing here tbh. It'll do against weak batting lineups but against Cook, Trott, Bell, you need more.

 

[Cevno]

From what I've seen of Praveen in these three tests, the conditionality of the argument is redundant.

He is one guy with such good wrist release position for inswing as well as outswing that I think he can swing it in most conditions, if not all. Pitch dependent guys are more the ones who look to move it off the deck. In PK's case, because he seems to swing it out-of-the-hand, I also think the atmospheric factor wouldn't play that much of a role. In this comparison, a Jon Lewis would be the exact polar opposite of a Praveen Kumar, for instance.

It's my personal belief (you may feel free to agree or disagree) that a genuine swing bowler worth his salt should be able to wake up at 3 am in the morning, grab a ball and be able to swing it naturally. He shouldn't be reliant on pitch conditions or cloud cover or even the ball type (SG or Kokkaburra or whatever). He should just have it flowing in his blood, so to speak!

IMHO, PK has it. He looks to be a genuine swing bowler just because of that action and release position. If anyone has a chance of scything through a top order with swing, I think it'd be PK ahead of Sreesanth or anyone else.

I have certainly been the biggest advocate of Praveen on here way before the current series ,but seriously I can't see him swinging it much beyond the new ball in all conditions.
He can reverse it later on for sure ,but in flat conditions i have my doubts about him being more than a containing bowler who can chip in later with 2/3 wickets.
You could say Sreesanth's not much better either in such conditions,which is something i have been saying for a while now but seriously you are overrating the ability to swing out of the hand here.

All the swing bowlers are dependant like any other bowlers on the conditions.The seam bowlers are more affected by the pitch conditions while the swing bowlers are equally affected by both Atmospheric as well pitch conditions.
No matter what type of swing bowler you are conditions are bound to play a part and so does the amount of carry you are getting the pitch. This even applies to the likes of Zaheer Khan,James Anderson and Dale Steyn who can combine movement of the pitch and in the air together at decent to high pace.

 

[shankar]

I prefer Sreesanth. But it should be decided on the basis of their performance in the tour match.

 

[Blaze 18]

Zaheer and Ishant (after his performance here) are certainties. That means there's one spot up for grabs and three bowlers (Praveen, Munaf and Sreesanth) fighting for it. Personally I feel an England tour may be a bit too much for Praveen Kumar at this stage in his career. I think it's too tough a tour for a newbie. Munaf did okay on the tour to England in 2007 so I guess that should count in his favour; however, his fitness is always a concern. If, God forbid, Zaheer and Munaf both breakdown in the middle of a test, we're dead screwed. I am pretty sure India will go with Sreesanth, at least for the first test. I am not a fan of the guy, but he did bowl well in the last test he played in South Africa. He's not as injury prone as Munaf and is much more experienced than Praveen. Experience is really important in big tours such as this one IMO.

 

[centurymaker]

Zaheer and Ishant (after his performance here) are certainties. That means there's one spot up for grabs and three bowlers (Praveen, Munaf and Sreesanth) fighting for it. Personally I feel an England tour may be a bit too much for Praveen Kumar at this stage in his career. I think it's too tough a tour for a newbie. Munaf did okay on the tour to England in 2007 so I guess that should count in his favour; however, his fitness is always a concern. If, God forbid, Zaheer and Munaf both breakdown in the middle of a test, we're dead screwed. I am pretty sure India will go with Sreesanth, at least for the first test. I am not a fan of the guy, but he did bowl well in the last test he played in South Africa. He's not as injury prone as Munaf and is much more experienced than Praveen. Experience is really important in big tours such as this one IMO.

sree did well last time iirc

 

[Cevno]

No he didn't . Wasted most new ball oppurtunities with Wayward bowling.

Even RP singh outperformed him comfortably.

Provided dogged crucial resistance with the bat though.

 

[grecian]

I'd go for Agarkar, Nehra and Balaji.

 

[Cevno]

Zaheer and Ishant (after his performance here) are certainties. That means there's one spot up for grabs and three bowlers (Praveen, Munaf and Sreesanth) fighting for it. Personally I feel an England tour may be a bit too much for Praveen Kumar at this stage in his career. I think it's too tough a tour for a newbie. Munaf did okay on the tour to England in 2007 so I guess that should count in his favour; however, his fitness is always a concern. If, God forbid, Zaheer and Munaf both breakdown in the middle of a test, we're dead screwed. I am pretty sure India will go with Sreesanth, at least for the first test. I am not a fan of the guy, but he did bowl well in the last test he played in South Africa. He's not as injury prone as Munaf and is much more experienced than Praveen. Experience is really important in big tours such as this one IMO.

He didn't even play and wasn't even in the test squad.

Just played 2 ODI's in the whole tour.

 

[Rush]

He didn't even play and wasn't even in the test squad.

Just played 2 ODI's in the whole tour.

I think he may have been referring to the 2006 series.

 

[Cevno]

Maybe.He said tour of England though and 2006 series was at home.

Besides Munaf is a completely different bowler compared to then.

 

[Blaze 18]

He didn't even play and wasn't even in the test squad.

Just played 2 ODI's in the whole tour.

Apologies. I mixed him up with RP Singh.

 

[GIMH]

i'd go for agarkar, nehra and balaji.

+1

 

[jeevan]

I'd go for Agarkar, Nehra and Balaji.

Go ahead and pick them for your team, then

 

[G.I.Joe]

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