The Great Indian Middle Order Crisis Thread

[Teja.]

Stats from Jan 2020:

 

[subshakerz]

England and South Africa seem to be in a similar situation.

 

[ankitj]

Just play the openers in middle order. All new contenders are openers.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Rahane might have turned the corner in PE. Of course him being Rahane it could be yet another false dawn but he looked authoritative in every aspect of his batting in the last game. Hope he really piles on now.

 

[mr_mister]

Just play the openers in middle order. All new contenders are openers.

Rahul
Rohit
Agarwal
Gill
Shaw
Iyer
Pant

 

[ankitj]

Rahul
Rohit
Agarwal
Gill
Shaw
Iyer
Pant

Won't drop Kohli but yes we can go with something like that. Rohit is actually a middle order bat but probably can't be displaced from opening spot for a while at least

 

[ankitj]

Vihari ought to get a chance too. He can't be worse off than Rahane and Pujara. Played great hand in Sydney drawn test which was the last time played for India.

 

[loterry1994]

For me Virat needs to bat up at number 3. He still looks the best of the 3, he always looks good until he gets out to some really reckless shot which he rarely use to. His discipline hasn’t been there the last few years. Rahane looks the worse of the lot and probably been given a longer rope because of his vice captaincy and experience. Pujara seems to have less scoring options now.

If they can sort of their middle order somehow and with their current like of fast bowlers they could really dominate over the next five years.

 

[Shri]

Rohit
Rahul
Gill
Kohli
Vihari
Pant

 

[OverratedSanity]

Rahane might have turned the corner in PE. Of course him being Rahane it could be yet another false dawn but he looked authoritative in every aspect of his batting in the last game. Hope he really piles on now.

Rahanes been turning endless corners in that circle of his for 5 years now.

 

[OverratedSanity]

They've been so bad that I don't care how technically flawed Vihari and Iyer look. Its extremely unfair to not give them opportunities to prove how good/bad they are. Its also really strange how ruthless the team management are with changes to the bowling lineup but so stubbornly loyal to perennially underperforming batsmen.

I also can't help but put on my Kohli h8er hat on and say that Kohli was willing to drop both rahane and Pujara (sometimes very unfairly) when he himself was in great form in 2014-18. Now that his own returns have plummeted he suddenly feels they're both undroppable? Is he worried that asking for them to be dropped would put a bigger spotlight on his own place in the team and put a target on his back to be next to the guillotine? Hmmmm,interesting. I'm only half joking here. It is a very jarring change in philosophy from just a few years ago.

 

[ma1978]

The thing is Rahane has played a pretty critical role in three of our five recent overseas test wins - Melbourne, Lords (that 61 saves our ass at a very difficult time) and now in Pretoria.

 

[sunilz]

Pujara is the only Indian player to feature in every SENA victory since 2010. He is our lucky charm.

 

[Apex Predator]

Pujara has to go.. He's worst among the three. Rahane still has utility in the field & his occasional quick cameos. Pujara just can't score

 

[centurymaker]

Kohli and Pujara are scoring a 50 every 5th innings. Rahane is getting a 50+ score every 10th innings.

Pujara can stay but Rahane needs to be moved on after the SA series as he is still ok overseas but terrible at home. And 'next set of big away tours' won't be until 3+ years!!!

There are batters who will fare far better than him at home in the next 2-3 years!

 

[centurymaker]

With almost no big away series lined up until 3 years from now (as India has played all in last 1 year), this is the ideal time to groom next set of emerging batsmen just like they did in 2012-2013. With majority of cricket at home along with some easier away tours, this is really the time to settle in the likes of Iyer, Gill and co. They will fare well enough at home anyway so India doesn't miss out on much by not having a guy like Rahane at home in the coming years. Pujara could also be moved on in a year or so, maybe a bit after the Australia series at home if he maintains sub 35 avg form.

 

[Apex Predator]

Lol Pujara did f** all at home vs England last year.. In England both Rahane & Pujara scored soft runs in Leeds I guess. Pujara failed again vs NZ & got to play 2 tests... Rahane got dropped in 2nd.
From a naked eye perspective seeing Rahane smashing fierce square cuts & drives seems like he will enjoy scoring random useful cameos in Highveld.. No fan of him but can't see Pujara doing anything in these games. He should be first one to go. He has been struggling since 2019.. At least Rahane has MCG 100 to talk about. Pujara has nothing to show for it
Also Kohli seems keen to keep them both as their struggles makes him look better.
Question marks are raised on them but not Kohli who himself is just as bad for almost 2 years

 

[Apex Predator]

Another myth buster that Pujara is better than Rahane..
Rahane averages 36 since 2018 WI tour
Pujara averages 27 let that sink in...

 

[OverratedSanity]

Another myth buster that Pujara is better than Rahane..
Rahane averages 36 since 2018 WI tour
Pujara averages 27 let that sink in...

You can arbitrarily select any timeframe in the last 3 years to make one of them look better/worse because they've both been bad.

 

[Apex Predator]

You can arbitrarily select any timeframe in the last 3 years to make one of them look better/worse because they've both been bad.

I get that they both have been worse but don't like the way Pujara flies under the radar for such a long time.