*Unofficial* India in Zimbabwe 2015

[duffer]

One of my cousins went to school with Venkatesh Prasad's son. Apparently he's a no talent douchebag. Shame, I liked his father.

 

[Pratters]

Prasad was a really fine bowler.

 

[Daemon]

This India side doesn't have a good death bowler, but Bhuvi is a champ - bowled well with the new ball as usual, and performed a role in the last over where he's not used to.

He's been very good of late in the death.

 

[Pratters]

Bhuvneshwar is so suited for death overs. Accurate, not too much pace, variations.

 

[Contra]

Nice to see Bhuvi pick up a few wickets, his stats don't do him justice.

 

[Kippax]

Just on the back of Rabada's success, what's the verdict on Unmukt Chand these days? Are you all leaning towards him making one of the least impressive transitions from being an U19 World Cup megastar since Anwar Ali, or is it still far too early to tell?

What are the familiar dismissals and weaknesses at domestic level that are making him worse than say Tiwary?

 

[Pratters]

India has always been strong at under 19 but many of those players fail to make the transition. We don't have proper coaching to get many of these players developed enough for higher level cricket which is so important between ages 19-23.

 

[harsh.ag]

Just on the back of Rabada's success, what's the verdict on Unmukt Chand these days? Are you all leaning towards him making one of the least impressive transitions from being an U19 World Cup megastar since Anwar Ali, or is it still far too early to tell?

What are the familiar dismissals and weaknesses at domestic level that are making him worse than say Tiwary?

Well, the primary issue with Unmukt's test selection is that he plays as an opener in Ranji, and currently we already have 3 very strong candidates for that. So he is going to have to wait his turn. His form has been quite decent in the last Ranji season. 3 big hundreds and another fifty before Delhi crashed out in the QFs against Mumbai.

Having said that, there are some concerns. He seems quite edgy early on in the innings, when it comes to judging line and with his foot movement. A bit stuck, you could say. Also a confidence player. When going strong, goes big. Gave Gautam Gambhir a serious run for his money as Delhi's best opener this season.

Not much clue about his List A adventures though. Think he failed to impress in the IPL, but tbh I don't remember all that well. Tiwary is definitely better than him in the shorter formats for now, it would seem.

 

[Kippax]

 

[Kippax]

 

[Kippax]

 

[Kippax]

 

[Kippax]

 

[Kippax]

Having said that, there are some concerns. He seems quite edgy early on in the innings, when it comes to judging line and with his foot movement. A bit stuck, you could say.

Yeah I can recall a bit of this ftr. I would've been tempted to let myself fall in love with my savage cut shots and my nimble put-downs for spinners (a bit of a playboy's life down in the middle-order), but hopefully this pursuit of something more diligent and weighty pays off for him in the end.

 

[Prince EWS]

Chand's struggled a lot more in domestic cricket than people expected him to after that U19WC, consistently repping mid 30s averages each season since then and not enjoying his FC stint for India A (I believe he scored some OD runs for them though). His weakness has always been his off stump judgement but I haven't actually seen him bat in a while so I'm not sure if that's still the case.

Tiwary is less exciting given his age and less eye-catching style but he more than deserves a chance here, particularly given he's a better fit (an actual middle order player) and could be pressing for more immediate inclusion ahead of the T20 WC.

 

[longranger]

Why isn't this thread 'official'?

Also, would like to see a young team for today's dead rubber. I'd go with:

Vijay
Rahane*
Pandey
Tiwary
Uthappa
Samson+
Binny
Harbhajan
Bhuvi
Mohit
Sandeep

I rather back Uthappa than Jadhav. Uthappa is a better hitter and can probably do the job.

Let's not forget that the whole aim for this second string team was to find a new #6 for the team. Dhawan/Rohit/Kohli/Dhoni/Raina are set in stone for the first 5. We don't seem as if we've identified a possible #6 as yet.

 

[Arjun]

What's the big deal with Sanju Samson? One look at figures in successive Ranji seasons and you'll not find him anywhere near the top 10, or top 20. Unless people think he's a Kiran More or Nayan Mongia, I'm not sure he's any more convincing than Dinesh Karthik (last year's top run-scorer among wicketkeepers) or Naman Ojha (a consistent run-getter in Ranji), both of whom are full-time wicketkeepers.

Manish Pandey getting a cap is good news. He's been a leading run-scorer in Hazare Trophy, and has also had two decent Ranji seasons, getting plenty for Karnataka. More players from Karnataka's top six should be in the running for India caps right now.

I'd settle with Jadhav as a limited-overs specialist for now, since his OD figures are quite remarkable, and some top Test players need to be kept out of ODI action.

This series has done a lot of good for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose figures were in danger of going under a wicket a match until these two games.

 

[cnerd123]

What's the big deal with Sanju Samson?

He's young and talented.

 

[Arjun]

Hopefully Vijay gets a big score here. The Indian ODI side looks better with a Test/FC opener leading the way, than with a middle-order batsman pushed up to open- of course, Rphit Sharma's figures look great over the past two years, but still not convincing with technique or strike rate. Likewise Uthappa, who's more useful as an opening batsman than as keeper.

EDIT: Just edged Madziva. No footwork, it seems. Lack of ODI action showing.

He's young and talented.

Possibly the only way to get into the Indian side, irrespective of performance and pedigree. These 'Samson for India' chants get annoying.

 

[Prince EWS]

Works with an Indian IP (and possibly other countries):