Are Tendulkar and Ponting done? Is it time to call it a day?

In b4 smali posts 'Imran :wub:'

:laugh:

WAC

I definitely think this is a good time to drop Tendulkar (we are due to announce the team for next 2 tests, aren't we?). The younger batsmen have responded well, and in home matches, now is the time to allow them to build some confidence.

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Originally Posted by 8ankitj

I definitely think this is a good time to drop Tendulkar (we are due to announce the team for next 2 tests, aren't we?). The younger batsmen have responded well, and in home matches, now is the time to allow them to build some confidence.

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Totally agree with this. Ok we have performed above expectation but you would think India will still win the series so bedding in some players at home is a good idea. Need to get rid of Yuvraj first though. Be a good idea to remove both though.

Something else that hasn't been mentioned is that these guys have been playing cricket professionally for more than half their lives - they don't know anything else. I don't see why they would retire if they still have a passion and love of cricket, which I am sure they do.

Cannot understand people talking up Hughes as a replacement for Ponting, where would he bat? Surely Khawaja is next in line. Quiney would have to go too, surely. I think Punter is safe for now, but i guess it depends when Watson comes back. We cant have 4 openers (Warner, Cowan, Watson, Hughes, 5 if you include Khawaja who has opened most of his life) in the team.

hughes would go in at 3. out of all the possible problems with hughes, the shift to 3 from opening isn't one of them

I actually want sachin to play his 200 test.. he is like 8 tests away.. I don't think we wil see anybody else playing that many tests anyway at least in our life time..

plus he is a better player than ponting..he has been better player throughout his career.

The end is nigh, one feels. Another cheap dismissal for Tendulkar.

Tendulkar can't play SLA :ph34r:

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Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

Tendulkar can't play :ph34r:

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Fixed

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Originally Posted by Contra

in fact, Dravid was a passenger in the Indian team for several years prior to that England tour.

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Nah, this is bull****.

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Originally Posted by silentstriker

He should have been dropped back then. He was a liability in the side. I care about winning. And if he wanted to come back, he should have played FC cricket, scored runs, and he'd be picked again. Ganguly left and came back. Unlike a lot of other people in cricket, I don't really hold people's age against them.

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And who should have have been replaced with? Kaif? Yuvraj? This is your problem.

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Originally Posted by silentstriker

And just because Yuvraj also isn't Test class doesn't mean Sachin shouldn't be dropped.

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Again, yes it does. You don't drop a player because they aren't a 57 average player anymore. You drop them if they are not one of your best 6 batsman. Right now Yuvraj is batting like **** PLUS he is not test class. Sachin, for all his crapness in this test, scored more than Yuvraj did.

So if you replace Yuvraj with Rahane, who do you think should replace Sachin? I'm a Rohit fan, but are you telling me he is a better bet to win India the next test? (since that is what you are getting at, you're not talking building the future, you're talking win the next test). Same goes for Mukund, do you think he is more likely to win the next test than Sachin?

The fact you think Sachin should have been dropped in 06 and have refused to admit you were wrong is ridiculous frankly.

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Originally Posted by GingerFurball

Nah, this is bull****.

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No it's not, Dravid was struggling badly since the start of the Aussie tour 08 (the one IN Australia), he made the odd century here and there on easy batting wickets but for the most part he wasn't doing nearly as well as most other batsmen during 08-011 (till the end of SA tour).

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Originally Posted by Jono

Again, yes it does. You don't drop a player because they aren't a 57 average player anymore. You drop them if they are not one of your best 6 batsman. Right now Yuvraj is batting like **** PLUS he is not test class. Sachin, for all his crapness in this test, scored more than Yuvraj did.

So if you replace Yuvraj with Rahane, who do you think should replace Sachin? I'm a Rohit fan, but are you telling me he is a better bet to win India the next test? (since that is what you are getting at, you're not talking building the future, you're talking win the next test). Same goes for Mukund, do you think he is more likely to win the next test than Sachin?

The fact you think Sachin should have been dropped in 06 and have refused to admit you were wrong is ridiculous frankly.

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Yea, you do pick the six guys most likely to score runs. I'd back Rohit/Badrinath/Whoever to average more than 24 or whatever Sachin is averaging this year.

As for dropping - if you don't perform, you need to be dropped. If you score runs again, you should be picked again! It's really that simple. Frankly, he was a passenger in the side for far too long and other players could have done better. If he had found his form again in FC cricket, I'd have no problem with immediately putting him into the team again. I don't see why anything except performance should be the criteria for selection. Obviously, you don't want to drop someone after a couple Test matches, but I don't believe in sacrificing the next Test match in order to potentially win one a year from now.