**Official** Indian Domestic Season 2013/14

[Arjun]

Chawla's played just four matches for Somerset. Let him finish the whole season, and then the season after that, and maybe then he can be back in contention as an India prospect. He's been jack in Ranji, jack in Duleep, jack (or should I say rooster?) in an India uniform, so much that it will take two good seasons to have him playing for India again.

There's still a fair difference in quality and utility between Mishra and the rest, which we seem to ignore just because Mishra's been dire on flat decks, but so was Dhoni's handling of him. There was one instance in Bangladesh, when Mishra bowled well against a Bangladeshi side mocked by stand-in skip Sehwag did scare them on the first day- only to have his name, initially embossed on the team sheet, scratched out and Ojha's name hand-scribbled on that sheet. He always missed out due to Harbhajan's reputation and Ojha's (also Ashwin's) youth- but none of them have done enough to be included even alongside him in the XI, let alone ahead of him.

Another unlucky bloke who's suffered because of age bias and consequently age-cheats is Murali Kartik. He's got 220 FC wickets in England alone, for different counties, at an average of 25 and a strike rate slightly under 60. He should have been playing Tests at the expense of a then-dire Harbhajan.

 

[honestbharani]

Chawla's played just four matches for Somerset. Let him finish the whole season, and then the season after that, and maybe then he can be back in contention as an India prospect. He's been jack in Ranji, jack in Duleep, jack (or should I say rooster?) in an India uniform, so much that it will take two good seasons to have him playing for India again.

There's still a fair difference in quality and utility between Mishra and the rest, which we seem to ignore just because Mishra's been dire on flat decks, but so was Dhoni's handling of him. There was one instance in Bangladesh, when Mishra bowled well against a Bangladeshi side mocked by stand-in skip Sehwag did scare them on the first day- only to have his name, initially embossed on the team sheet, scratched out and Ojha's name hand-scribbled on that sheet. He always missed out due to Harbhajan's reputation and Ojha's (also Ashwin's) youth- but none of them have done enough to be included even alongside him in the XI, let alone ahead of him.

Another unlucky bloke who's suffered because of age bias and consequently age-cheats is Murali Kartik. He's got 220 FC wickets in England alone, for different counties, at an average of 25 and a strike rate slightly under 60. He should have been playing Tests at the expense of a then-dire Harbhajan.

yeah, if England can Boyd Rankin' Murali Kartik, I think they would and have him ahead of Panesar.

 

[Daemon]

Good to see that Gambhir's decided playing the County match is more important than the Challenger trophy.

 

[Daemon]

Been a while since I last saw Nayar. Looks to have improved so much in his limited overs play.

 

[Daemon]

Cannot fathom why captains choose to give Kohli a bowl.

 

[nsniks]

Cannot fathom why captains choose to give Kohli a bowl.

Kohli is captaining Delhi today

 

[Daemon]

Kohli is captaining Delhi today

I swear the commentator just called the Delhi team Delhi Daredevils. Amazing.

 

[Daemon]

Hehe, suck it Kohli. Bhuvi WAG.

Sehwag in at 4, sending a clear message to the selectors here.

 

[Daemon]

****, definitely going to score big today. Have really missed watching him bat.

 

[Daemon]

You ****s need to tune in, srs. He's going crazy.

 

[Cevno]

Gonskis.

 

[Arjun]

Dull start to this match. No wicket for Umesh Yadav, economy of five. The only wicket to fall was that of the wicketkeeper, wide gapbetween bat and pad, castled by a slow swing bowler.

I hope Delhi wins the Challenger Trophy. It will be a more positive result. Delhi's a strong team. The Red and Blue teams are weak mish-mash assemblies of India hopefuls not playing for a win.

 

[Arjun]

Yusuf Pathan's bowling is now beyond dire. There's no way he can make it back to the Indian team with bowling that poor. Nayar's a decent batsman, but, there are plenty of exceptionally good batsmen (Jaggi, Jadhav, to name a few), and his bowling is now just occasional relief for the batsmen, without relief for the bowlers. Rajat Bhatia's the one bloke whom we'd have over all the others, but when the pitches are flat, this doesn't work out at all.

Suraj Yadav is right-arm medium-slow. He couldn't cut it against decent batsmen with decent technique, and it's meat and drink for them. He won't survive one over of the IPL, and that he picked up 43 wickets in 10 games in Ranji goes to show that the IPL can't be ignored as an indicator for national selection, no matter how prestigious Ranji Trophy is.

 

[Arjun]

While a fan's comment on Cricinfo commentary says he's yet to find a complete Indian fast bowler, Cricinfo's assessment of India yet to find a complete spinner is rather harsh. Both Amit Mishra and Murali Kartik are the next best thing after Cricinfo's idea of a complete spinner. They were never given a fair try, often sidelined in favour of lobby-backed and age-cheating spinners. It's one thing to complain about the lack of complete spinners (or fast bowlers) and another to sideline those good enough in favour of those backed by boards, stars, sponsors or dubious age certificates. Besides, the overseas spinners having success in India are hardly 'complete', but still good enough for their sides, so why complain?

 

[Arjun]

Expect India Red to get flattened out of this silly tournament. Absolutely flimsy bowling attack. Plenty are being tonked off Suraj Yadav, Yusuf Pathan and Gurkee Mann, and somehow, gone easy on Nadeem, who's offered single after single. I'd even expect Delhi to win at least by a whisker against this team.

Cricinfo says decibel levels are rising at the ground. Apparently the ground (I can't watch TV) is packed. That's a good sign, even for a completely irrelevant tournament that's no more than a warm-up or workout for some players.

Yuvraj is enjoying his workout, but he's missed the first game with back spasms, and his bowling is still not enough. His team will still win comfortably, though.

 

[Arjun]

Both Yuvraj and Nayar are in red-hot form right now, having scored rapid-fire half-centuries going over 80 and 70, at T20 strike rates. What can we make of this? Flat pitch, poor bowling, neither of them bowl much these days, fitness an issue, and in the Indian team's best interests, five full bowlers is the way to go. Yuvraj may make his way back to the national side, even as a bowler (with the Jadeja gamble now coming unstuck in the CLT20), but I'm not so sure Nayar can add much to the side.

Still, seeing Indian bowling prospects fall apart on a flat deck is rather distressing.

 

[Arjun]

Close, poorly-played match. Average batting, poor bowling, flat pitch. Yusuf has been out of form throughout his recall, while Kage and Jaggi have proved that they're ready for ODIs, after a few more games. There is, however, a question mark on how Bhuvneshwar Kumar can handle the final overs- it's been an area of concern when the ball doesn't move as much as it does when he has it new. Someone with decent pace would have decent returns. Bhuvi, though, will struggle unless he can add those wicket-taking variations, and some pace.

 

[Daemon]

Umesh Yadav's incompetence in the limited overs format is always criminally overlooked. Almost Dindaesque.

 

[Arjun]

Umesh's limited-overs (flat-pitch?) struggles are a matter of concern. None of the ODI-ready bowlers (read Shami, JDU, Awana) really stand a chance on a batting-friendly pitch against decent batsmen. The sooner Umesh is brought back in form, the better.

In other news, Rajat Bhatia takes his seventh wicket in the series, apart from chipping in with useful runs. A little too old, but still very fit. Can follow up to two strike seamers nicely, and fit in two proper spinners.

Pawan Suyal, I've heard, is decently fast. He hasn't had much experience even at the domestic level, though. If he can play more, he'll get better. He'll struggle to get a game for Delhi with so much competition, from Nehra, Ishant, Awana and Narwal.

Awana picks up his fourth wicket. I'd rather have Pawan Suyal or (in that other team) Umesh Yadav running through teams than these ODI-ready blokes scraping easy wickets left and right.

 

[Daemon]

Yeah, he's decently quick for an Indian. Averages in the high 130s, hits 140+ regularly.