Composition of the Indian Team in the 3 upcoming Series

[mkamdar]

I think the composition of the Indian Team in the 3 series that are coming up should be as follows:

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Laxman
Ganguly
Dravid
Yuvraj
Dinesh Karthik
Pathan
Agarkar
Nehra/Balaji
Kumble/Harbhajan

With Karthik being in there as a wk. I think that is a better option than having Kaif at #7. What you may lose in fielding with Kaif not in there, hopefully you pick up a bit with a specialist wk. Agarkar should get the nod behind Pathan as he has been in England for a while and I think the english conditions are suited to his bowling. He also is a better batsman and fielder that either Balaji or Nehra.

Another option for the batting lineup could be retaining Dravid as the wk and adding Rohan Gavaskar. In the limited opportunities that he has received, I think he has performed well. He is a quick scorer, above average fielder and can bowl a bit. Although, with Tendulkar, Sehwag and Yuvraj - his bowling talents probbaly will not be required.

As far as spinners, I do not think India will include 2 spinners in the playing 11. I would be ok with either of them in there.

Let me kno what you guys think.

 

[Hit4Six]

id keep kaif in there, lose laxman for ODI's *because IMO hes not quite so good at ODI's*, put karthik in there as no.7 tho. Id select Nehra, Pathan and Agarkar for bowling. my line up would look like:

Tendulkar
Sehwag
Ganguly
Dravid
Kaif
Yuvraj
Dinesh Karthik (WK)
Pathan
Agarkar
Nehra
Bhajji

 

[Neil Pickup]

Didn't Laxman get three centuries or something like that in the VB Series?

 

[Hit4Six]

yes he certainly did, and that is a point i forgot~! BUT id place laxman above kaif on sheer fielding ability as kaif seems to hold a lot of the fielding together himself with very rare misfields so to lose him would be a larger loss on the field compared to laxman

 

[Sudeep]

Tendulkar
Sehwag
Ganguly
Dravid
Kaif
Yuvraj
Dinesh Karthik (WK)
Pathan
Agarkar
Nehra
Bhajji

That line-up looks a lot less formidable without Laxman in it. Yes, fielding is an important aspect of the game, but you can't select players based specifically on their fielding skills, especially when the one you're leaving out is a fine batsman.

 

[Hit4Six]

given laxmans track record against the aussies i would then put him in there over kaif but who do u relaly think the team would miss more laxman or kaif if they were no selected?

 

[Dar]

Tendulkar
Sehwag
Ganguly
Laxman
Dravid (wk)
Yuvraj
Kaif
Pathan
Agarkar
Harbhajan
Nehra

India's success has come through playing seven batsmen and i'm going to keep faith in Kaif. With the new tactic of bowling Sachin round the wicket at the death being so successful and Sehwag bowling well only one spinner is needed. And Dravid is a perfectly good wicketkeeper and his batting form hasn't suffered so i personally can't understand playing Karthik.

 

[marc71178]

What you may lose in fielding with Kaif not in there, hopefully you pick up a bit with a specialist wk.

But what about what runs you lose out on?

 

[marc71178]

Didn't Laxman get three centuries or something like that in the VB Series?

But Neil, those included knocks against Australia, who's attack is clearly awful so we should knock them out of the reckoning!

 

[Jnr.]

But Marc, one of those knocks came against the almighty Zimbabweans with Lord Streak, surely it should be in reckoning! :P

 

[ReallyCrazy]

1. Sehwag
2. Ganguly
3. Tendulkar
4. Badani
5. Dravid
6. Yuvraj
7. Dinesh Karthik
8. Pathan
9. Balaji
10. Kumble/Harbhajan
11. Nehra/Agarkar

And no I don't think Agarkar's batting is better than Balaji's as someone said. Agarkar is crap and he should be kicked out forever.

 

[Sudeep]

given laxmans track record against the aussies i would then put him in there over kaif but who do u relaly think the team would miss more laxman or kaif if they were no selected?

Laxman, without doubt.

 

[Sudeep]

1. Sehwag
2. Ganguly
3. Tendulkar
4. Badani
5. Dravid
6. Yuvraj
7. Dinesh Karthik
8. Pathan
9. Balaji
10. Kumble/Harbhajan
11. Nehra/Agarkar

And no I don't think Agarkar's batting is better than Balaji's as someone said. Agarkar is crap and he should be kicked out forever.

Balaji hasn't batted even 1/40th or 1/50th of times Agarkar has, which makes the comparison invalid.

 

[honestbharani]

I like your team, Sudeep, but I am not sure about Kartik as keeper. Maybe in the odd game against Kenya, yes, but unless he has proven himself in such situations in the odd opportunity that he is bound to get along the way, I think we should keep Dravid as keeper. I would like it if Balaji stuck form as a bowler because I think he is a better fielder and batsman than Nehra and the trio of Pathan, Balaji and Agarkar can be quite good as patrollers at the boundary. Also, I would like to give Kaif one more tournament run, and if he fails again, then maybe Rohan can come in.

 

[marc71178]

But Marc, one of those knocks came against the almighty Zimbabweans with Lord Streak, surely it should be in reckoning! :P

My apologies.

Either way, he's quite clearly a choker.

 

[Sudeep]

I like your team, Sudeep, but I am not sure about Kartik as keeper. Maybe in the odd game against Kenya, yes, but unless he has proven himself in such situations in the odd opportunity that he is bound to get along the way, I think we should keep Dravid as keeper. I would like it if Balaji stuck form as a bowler because I think he is a better fielder and batsman than Nehra and the trio of Pathan, Balaji and Agarkar can be quite good as patrollers at the boundary. Also, I would like to give Kaif one more tournament run, and if he fails again, then maybe Rohan can come in.

I never posted a team. That was RC's which I quoted...

 

[honestbharani]

apologies. I meant the team that mkamdar picked.

 

[delkap]

I would hv both Kumble and Harbhajan playing (Pathan, Agarkar/Balaji the other two), as IMO they are better than the pace options we have. Unless the pitch demands 3 seamers...
As for Karthik, I would prefer Dravid, until Karthik has proved himself in some practice and inconsquential games.. Definitely won't pick him straight up for the important Pak game ...

 

[Arjun]

In general, 15 good fielders- fielding can win matches and strengthen even an average bowling attack. That also includes a wicketkeeper who can catch, stump and aid runouts.

There have to be at least 3 genuine all-rounders to choose from. The Indians have repeatedly felt the pinch of lacking a genuine all-rounder for 8 years, so it is about time some concerned officials look for some- they can start with Powar, Bahutule, Jai Prakash Yadav, Sodhi and Bangar.

There should not be more than 3 pace options in the full 15- they all lack pace and yet try for pace, thus losing accuracy. Two should play in the XI. Any extra pace option should either bowl very, very fast (like Shane Bond or Stef Harmison) or contribute with the bat (Cairns or Flintoff), though Pathan can contribute with the bat. Three spin options should be picked. Harbhajan should only play in finals and should be rotated quite often.

 

[Deja moo]

Tendulkar
Yuvraj
Laxman ( on notice )
Ganguly
Dravid
Sehwag
Karthik
Powar/Kumble/Harbhajan
Agarkar
Pathan
Balaji/Nehra