Indian Bowling order

[mikka_a]

It seems that indian bowling is full of young people and Zaheer Khan will be back probably against pakistan. India always come with 4 bowlers. 3 are probably guaranteed. Kumble, Khan, Agarkar. Now the 4th one is a debate. If i were the indian selector i would use a rotating system. For ODI's i think they should keep rotating Balaji, Pathan, Kartik and Nehra. Nehra and Kartik are in awful form. Balaji is either too good or too bad. same with Pathan. I was just wondering who will be the bowler india will choose out of these 4. I frankly think that Pathan should be tried in tests and Balaji in ODI's. Pathan has a tendency of taking important wickets. Balaji is good too.

So who do u guys think should be the fourth bowler?

 

[a massive zebra]

No Harbhajan Singh?

 

[ReallyCrazy]

I don't understand why most ppl think Pathan is better than Balaji. What is all this hype surrounding him. I thought Balaji was better than him in the VB series

 

[masterblaster]

Balaji was more economical than Pathan, but Pathan had a better strike rate, and took more wickets, more frequently.

Plus he has the 'aggressive' fast bowlers attitude that Wasim Akram had, which makes him an entertaining player. Balaji is another Srinath/Prasad type soft hearted hard working bowler.

Pathan simply has aggression and has gotten good results, so thats why he has been hyped up.

 

[masterblaster]

Also in an ideal world free of injuries, my Indian bowling squad for Pakistan would be:

Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Ramesh Powar.

Three spinners and 4 quickmen looks good on paper, and these are the best bowlers India has without a doubt.

 

[Jono]

^ Sometimes I think you read my mind. Without any injuries those would be my bowelrs as I don't rate Kartik very highly at all. And Nehra, well I won't bother even finishing off that sentence.

 

[harry674]

harbhajan,agarkar and probably khan are out bcoz of injuries

 

[Greg Blewett]

8.khan
9.kumble
10.harbhajan
11.pathan

 

[masterblaster]

Harbhajan will be sadly out for many months due to a injured spinning finger.

 

[Vroomfondel]

Honestly, I think Kartik is the best spinner we have after Kumble and Bhajji.

Perhaps I'm not being very objective (he didn't do all that well in australia), but I like his attitude, and I really think he should be picked and persisted with.

I think a lot of things went against him on the tour. First, being called up in the middle of a tour couldn't have been good for him. He didn't really have much time to acclamatize or to play any practice games -- he went a played the Sydney test.

Second, the antics of the schoolboy behind the stumps affected him the most, out of all the bowlers. There were so many half chances (stumpings, catches) created through really, really good pressure bowling from Kartik that went for naught. Kartik never got the break that his confidence needed.

Add to this the fact that he couldn't cope with the Aussie tactics of basically hitting him out of the attack; he never got long enough spells, never looked really settled. Poor confidence against good batting does that.

Let's not forget that he looked like our best bowler in the TVS cup -- ref: http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/NOV/006493_TVS2003-04_18NOV2003.html

I really think some amount of confidence from his teammates, and a good spinning partner like powar or even better, Parida (let's not forget that these two owe most of their success to bowling in tandem for Railways) will do him a world of good.

 

[Choora]

I don't understand why most ppl think Pathan is better than Balaji. What is all this hype surrounding him. I thought Balaji was better than him in the VB series

Well Balaji has too many critics on this WS, he was once labelled "the most useless bowler ever" by MB.

Anyway, Pathan is an exciting bowler and i think both Balaji and Pathan will be star of Indian team in future.

 

[warrioryohannan]

I'm very nervous about all our bowlers getting injured. It is essential for Zaheer Khan to play in Pak, as without Zaheer khan the bowling line up will become very weak.Man, this guy is also our senior most pacer.

My best of wishes with ZK, speedy recovery please.

 

[masterblaster]

Well Balaji has too many critics on this WS, he was once labelled "the most useless bowler ever" by MB.

Anyway, Pathan is an exciting bowler and i think both Balaji and Pathan will be star of Indian team in future.

LOL!

Forgive me Choora my friend, forgive me mate!

Ive been very impressed with Lakshmipathy Balaji down under, very impressed. I was just taking out my frustration after his dissapointing test debut against New Zealand (albeit in horrible fast bowling conditions).

I have a lot of new found respect for him now, and wish him nothing but the best for his future career.

 

[Arjun]

At least Balaji's proven to be far better than Blessing Mahwire and Khaled Mahmud, but his lack of pace may be a weakness. Decent batsman and fielder, give he's a medium-pacer first, but that's the problem- only medium-pace. No wonder he struggled in that Test in Mohali, while the faster Butler got a few wickets.

Pathan's another good bowler, but he has to keep his mind off sledging and on his bowling. If he got back to his run-up without clapping and having an argument with Hayden, his figures would have been better and the Indians would have to chase a lot less. Still, he can use the new ball quite well, especially in helpful conditions, but if he were to play on an exhibition match wicket... He can bat and he is the best fielder among the fast bowlers.

I would go in for 2 spinners in Pakistan, since the seam bowlers are of no real pace and the Pakistanis are capable of playing seam bowling quite well. I would have Kumble if fit, but Ramesh Powar will be the main bowler, if not, along with Karthik. Parida or Mishra will make a good reserve spinner, but can Parida field and bat well? That is the question, since the quality is nothing great, so utility matters. Still, the bowling attack has to be supported by top fielding, which is where Yuvraj, Kaif and a whole lot of other players will be crucial. I would also suggest a batsman playing as a regular bowler, if you have only 4 bowlers. They cannot win with bits-and-pieces bowlers, so either they play 5 regular bowlers, or have Sehwag or JP Yadav or Sodhi bowling as much as a regular.

 

[V Reddy]

Well Balaji has too many critics on this WS, he was once labelled "the most useless bowler ever" by MB.

Anyway, Pathan is an exciting bowler and i think both Balaji and Pathan will be star of Indian team in future.

You weren't perfect either . Balaji a world class bowler India needs to become a top side ...........8D

 

[marc71178]

He didn't really have much time to acclamatize or to play any practice games

Not many players get that chance any more.

 

[Richard]

At least Balaji's proven to be far better than Blessing Mahwire and Khaled Mahmud, but his lack of pace may be a weakness. Decent batsman and fielder, give he's a medium-pacer first, but that's the problem- only medium-pace. No wonder he struggled in that Test in Mohali, while the faster Butler got a few wickets.

It was just poor stroke-incidence, nothing to do with pace.
To even consider calling Butler as good as Balaji is a serious joke.

 

[Richard]

OK, whoever dismisses Nehra as a joke-bowler is somewhat misguided. Khan is almost as bad. Neither are that good, but they're both a bit better than some I've seen play for India (eg Kumaran).
Anyone inform us what's happened with Sarandeep Singh? Surely he at his best has to be better than Kartik? And indeed any other spinner aside from Kumble.
As for the seamers, Agarkar is the best IMO, and that about sums up the situation.

 

[Arjun]

It was just poor stroke-incidence, nothing to do with pace.
To even consider calling Butler as good as Balaji is a serious joke

Pace can induce bad shots. Who said Balaji's far better than Butler? At least Butler gets wickets on bad pitches, but Balaji doesn't!

OK, whoever dismisses Nehra as a joke-bowler is somewhat misguided. Khan is almost as bad. Neither are that good, but they're both a bit better than some I've seen play for India (eg Kumaran).

Joke, annoying, frustrating, look at him in action and you'll know why these names come up. Too many wide deliveries. Diagonal run-in, not wicket-to-wicket. Four good balls, followed by 2 hittables. Not to mention lack of any application or ability without the ball. At least Zaheer gets more wickets. Not to mention more runs. And saves. And catches. The decline of the Indian one-day team is due to the decline of Zaheer's bowling. Whenever he has bowled well, the team plays well, as in mid-2002.

Anyone inform us what's happened with Sarandeep Singh? Surely he at his best has to be better than Kartik? And indeed any other spinner aside from Kumble.

With Harbhajan around, why go in for a second off-spinner? That reduces variety. Nor is Sharandeep any better than a Warne or Murali. He bowls the same delivery time and again, which is why he's far short of wickets. He, like Karthik, needs a good captain, who can handle spinners well. Ganguly is not that captain. The same bowlers are better under Dravid. They also need a better wicketkeeper- that 'schoolboy' is a disappointment. And the so-called all-rounder is horrible. Besides, oth can contribute a few runs.

As for the seamers, Agarkar is the best IMO, and that about sums up the situation.

I hope not. He is rather talented, but lack of power always shows. Not to mention, a little man with a big bowling average in Tests is not by any means the right person to spearhead an attack. He may be better than all the other Indian seamers, but not as good as his opposition counterpart, who may just be a learner, like Williams.

 

[Richard]

Pace can induce bad shots. Who said Balaji's far better than Butler? At least Butler gets wickets on bad pitches, but Balaji doesn't!

Pace does not induce bad shots very often. Butler gets wickets through bad shots, very rarely anything but, and he goes for lots and lots of runs in between. Balaji bowls good deliveries more often and goes for less runs in between.
Butler is one of the worst bowlers I have ever seen play internationals so often.

Joke, annoying, frustrating, look at him in action and you'll know why these names come up. Too many wide deliveries. Diagonal run-in, not wicket-to-wicket. Four good balls, followed by 2 hittables. Not to mention lack of any application or ability without the ball. At least Zaheer gets more wickets. Not to mention more runs. And saves. And catches. The decline of the Indian one-day team is due to the decline of Zaheer's bowling. Whenever he has bowled well, the team plays well, as in mid-2002.

Zaheer Khan's bowling has never been good - just it has got wickets at times in ODIs when it didn't merit it. The poor strokes just happen to have been played against him.

With Harbhajan around, why go in for a second off-spinner? That reduces variety. Nor is Sharandeep any better than a Warne or Murali. He bowls the same delivery time and again, which is why he's far short of wickets. He, like Karthik, needs a good captain, who can handle spinners well. Ganguly is not that captain. The same bowlers are better under Dravid. They also need a better wicketkeeper- that 'schoolboy' is a disappointment. And the so-called all-rounder is horrible. Besides, oth can contribute a few runs.

Variety in the bowling attack doesn't matter - what matters is the ability to move the ball. Sarandeep seems to me to be far better at turning the ball and offering different deliveries than Kartik. Naturally, neither is going to be any use in conditions that don't help fingerspinners, just like Harbhajan and Kumble.

I hope not. He is rather talented, but lack of power always shows. Not to mention, a little man with a big bowling average in Tests is not by any means the right person to spearhead an attack. He may be better than all the other Indian seamers, but not as good as his opposition counterpart, who may just be a learner, like Williams.

Agarkar is at least better than Williams. And the fact that his average is so high shows how many good seamers India have.