*Official* India tour of England 2025 General Discussion

[ankitj]

Ordinary figures for our 4th bowler whether you designate Jadeja/Sundar as one or Shardul/NKR as one. I hope India starts picking better 4th bowler. Jadeja and Sundar can play in top 7 as batsmen, forget they bowl outside subcontinent.

 

[mackembhoy]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1952360437271388391

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

Ordinary figures for our 4th bowler whether you designate Jadeja/Sundar as one or Shardul/NKR as one. I hope India starts picking better 4th bowler. Jadeja and Sundar can play in top 7 as batsmen, forget they bowl outside subcontinent.

Washington really impressed me with the ball, he was by far the best spinner this series in really difficult conditions, he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet. Jadeja didn’t do much, but he’s 36 and you have only 2 more Tests outside of Asia this WTC cycle. Genuinely not sure what Thakur is supposed to be, you can’t be a 4th/5th choice bowler AND a number 8 batter, what’s the point? I get the idea behind Reddy, and he’ll get another go, but he wasn’t good enough this series

 

[govinda indian fan]

Washington really impressed me with the ball, he was by far the best spinner this series in really difficult conditions, he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet. Jadeja didn’t do much, but he’s 36 and you have only 2 more Tests outside of Asia this WTC cycle. Genuinely not sure what Thakur is supposed to be, you can’t be a 4th/5th choice bowler AND a number 8 batter, what’s the point? I get the idea behind Reddy, and he’ll get another go, but he wasn’t good enough this series

Because reddy was forced to bat defensively this series. He is naturally attacking player who did well in Australia. Needs to add 5 miles to speed and improve his temperment. Maybe should play a season of county cricket

 

[govinda indian fan]

My ratings
First india
Jaiswal- 6=started and ended well. Needs to be bit more tighter outside off stump
Rahul -8= looked consistent for first time in his career. Classy player
Sai sudharshan-3= needs to play more freely uber defensive. Might do well at home
Gill-9 = finally showed why he was rated highly. Hope he continues to do well with bat. Need improve captaincy tho
Pant-9=our x factor. Hope he comes back even better
Nair-4= gave his wicket after being set. Might be tempted to give him series vs wi. Gun slip fielder
Jadeja-8=had great series with bat. Disappointing with ball
Nitsh-5=did well at lords with ball but needs to improve with bat
Thakur-4=he is done
Sundar-8= teriffc series with bat and bowl. His knock at oval won the match
Bumrah-7=medicore series according to his high strandeds but hope he comes back well
Siraj-8=lion hearted bowler does donkey work
Akashdeep-7=needs to improve fitness. Won us game at edgbaston
Prasidh-7=picked wickets but need to bowl consistent line and length
Kamboj-2=not international class
Jurel-6= good keeper but must improve batting

 

[govinda indian fan]

For england
Crawley-5=did well in patches but should stop hitting ball in air
Duckett-8= won first game for england. One of best openers in world
Pope-6=all or nothing player. Needs to be consistent
Root-8= atg. Started normally but ended with bang
Brook-8=future atg. Must be bit cautious
Strokes-9=best all rounder in world. Led from front. England's best bowler
Smith-8= has potential to be atg. Great with gloves and bat
Woakes-7= extra marks for bravery at oval. Bowled well
Carse-7=bowled well but gives too many lose balls
Atkinson-8=England's best bowler.
Archer-8=won lords test for england. Great bowler
Tounge-7=bowls waywardly but wicket taker for sure
Overton-2=looked too medicore with bat and ball
Bethell-3= talented but must play more fc
Dawson-4=bowled well in first innings at old trafford but went missing in second
Bashir-2= didn't look good. Bowled rubbish but is young so can improve

 

[capt_Luffy]

I will try:

Jaiswal - 6.5/10: Solid start and end albeit lost form in the middle.
Rahul - 8.5/10: The glimpses of consistency after all this time.
Gill - 9.5/10: I am a hater, but he is safe for now. Great Series despite not being as good as the numbers might suggest. Did fine leading his country for the first time in Tests.
Sudarshan - 3/10: A fine 50 and not much to show for in some pretty flat tracks in debut series. Think will persist with him a bit more.
Nair - 3/10: A fine 50 and not much to show for in some pretty flat tracks in comeback series. Think will give him another shot.
Pant - 9/10: Superb with the bat and kept decently as well.
Jurel - 6.5/10: Kept well and his 2nd innings knock was solid.
Reddy - 2.5/10: Very disappointing performance. Needs to increase his pace a solid 10km to have a realistically meaningful Test career.
Jadeja - 8.5/10: Great Series with the bat. Imo played the best innings here, as well another extremely important 50. Most importantly scored extremely consistently throughout. Nothing bowler though, at best bowler tightly at times.
Sundar - 8.5/10: Can see a long future for him. Very good batting with a couple key knocks and given conditions, did really fine with the ball as well.
Bumrah - 7.5/10: Comeon people! Bumrah was Great in 2 of his 3 matches and bowled a single in the other. Was still the best bowler by quality, only competitor being Stokes. The reason his rating is so low is because he played only 3 games here. Wish to see 4 out of 5 atleast going ahead.
Siraj - 8/10: Went missing at times but what a workhorse! Even today, carrying the stress of almost 5 full Tests, there wasn't any drop in quality. Dude sure can bowl with the same grit throughout. Should be appreciated more.
Akashdeep - 6/10: A very important 66 here and a ten fer in the first win makes it that despite numerous blunders on field and going missing hysterically, still gets a solid 6.
Krishna - 4.5/10: Bowled well in the 5th, but was horrible in the other 2, genuinely making me question why he was still selected.
Thakur - 2.5/10: He is pretty done by now.
Kamboj - 2/10: Not for Tests, at best yet, at worst ever.

 

[Isura]

Yall Gambiring on Siraj even after the series is over. The guy performed above expectations and India don’t win a match without him.

 

[ma1978]

Reflections

what a series - the 2005 Ashes the best I’ve seen but on drama (if not quality of teams), this is right up there. And the quality wasn’t bad, I stand corrected on both these teams. They are flawed but there are a lot of pockets of excellence and the spirited, gladiatoral way the both played was exemplary.

2-2 was the right scoreline but really India lost two tests they had no business losing, England didn’t win two tests they really should have won so virtually every match could / should have had an alternate outcome.

Lots of heroism - Stokes, Siraj, Woakes, Pant, Root( Duckett, Gill, Sundar, Jadeja

Some names we will watch for a long time in Brook, Gill, Sundar

I certainly will remember all of these tests

 

[ma1978]

My ratings
First india
Jaiswal- 6=started and ended well. Needs to be bit more tighter outside off stump
Rahul -8= looked consistent for first time in his career. Classy player
Sai sudharshan-3= needs to play more freely uber defensive. Might do well at home
Gill-9 = finally showed why he was rated highly. Hope he continues to do well with bat. Need improve captaincy tho
Pant-9=our x factor. Hope he comes back even better
Nair-4= gave his wicket after being set. Might be tempted to give him series vs wi. Gun slip fielder
Jadeja-8=had great series with bat. Disappointing with ball
Nitsh-5=did well at lords with ball but needs to improve with bat
Thakur-4=he is done
Sundar-8= teriffc series with bat and bowl. His knock at oval won the match
Bumrah-7=medicore series according to his high strandeds but hope he comes back well
Siraj-8=lion hearted bowler does donkey work
Akashdeep-7=needs to improve fitness. Won us game at edgbaston
Prasidh-7=picked wickets but need to bowl consistent line and length
Kamboj-2=not international class
Jurel-6= good keeper but must improve batting

Bunrah averaged 26 with 14 poles in three matches on the most roady wickets, That’s excellent by any standard

 

[capt_Luffy]

Bunrah averaged 26 with 14 poles in three matches on the most roady wickets, That’s excellent by any standard

And by no standard equal to Akashdeep and ****ing Prasidh Krishna. Think Prasidh won over a few, not me really. His overall series was well sub par even given pitches.

 

[ma1978]

And by no standard equal to Akashdeep and ****ing Prasidh Krishna. Think Prasidh won over a few, not me really. His overall series was well sub par even given pitches.

I think the best that can be said about Prasidh is that he has some skills that are hard to coach and with coaching and more experience he may develop into a valuable bowler, a bit like Umesh Yadav

 

[capt_Luffy]

I think the best that can be said about Prasidh is that he has some skills that are hard to coach and with coaching and more experience he may develop into a valuable bowler, a bit like Umesh Yadav

I frankly don't just seems there. Feel he mentally isn't just strong enough. And do he lacks any kind of consistency...... Has skills but what Good they are if you can't control your line and length?

On a side note, do you guys think Shami won't get a Test again? Or at best something like WI and SA at Home to send him off??

 

[ma1978]

I frankly don't just seems there. Feel he mentally isn't just strong enough. And do he lacks any kind of consistency...... Has skills but what Good they are if you can't control your line and length?

On a side note, do you guys think Shami won't get a Test again? Or at best something like WI and SA at Home to send him off??

if shami is fit he walks into this team and yes I think he has one last go

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

The series scoreline ended in a 2-2 tie @ashley bach

Poetic in a way. A pair of pairs. Two balls, one on each hand…like Gill gesturing to Crawley

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

Bunrah averaged 26 with 14 poles in three matches on the most roady wickets, That’s excellent by any standard

Maybe a 7/10 series by his stratospheric standards, but he was better than Siraj and any other Indian bowler, only Stokes was close in the bowling department

 

[jaydesh]

And by no standard equal to Akashdeep and ****ing Prasidh Krishna. Think Prasidh won over a few, not me really. His overall series was well sub par even given pitches.

He has a knack of picking wickets, but his line and length are still off. Despite that brilliant Yorker on Day 5, there was a difference in class between him and Siraj. I feel the best he can try to do is what Ishant Sharma did from 2014 onward to become a quality seamer, particularly with the older ball. Ultimately he has to have the zeal to learn and shape his technique for the longer format. Going by the fact that he's going for 6-7 runs an over, it remains on his to-do list.

 

[Sunil1z]

Very bad day as an Indian fan . This would be like SS Das becoming captain in 2000 or Raina becoming captain in 2010 . This is the beginning of the end of Indian Test team . Guy who averages 20 overseas is our Test Captain

Very Good post this

 

[honestbharani]

Gonna quietly back The Lord to win us this series.

He didn't.

No major shockers for me in the selection. We have had the cyclic retirements thingy going since the original fab 4 days of Dravid-Sachin-Ganguly-Laxman. We lose an entire generation of players in 1 or 2 years and then we end up having to punt on a young/unproven captain all of a sudden. IIRC, Virat became captain at a time when people questioned his position as a batsman overseas in tests too. Hopefully Gill does just as good a job as Virat did. And maybe ages more gracefully as a batsman in his 30s.

My only surprise is they did not include a couple more (Shreyas and Harshit probably) and make it a 18 member squad.

He did.

 

[Chin Music]

Series ratings:
England
Crawley (3 50s, 290 runs at 32.22) 5/10, what can you say, the Crawley culture wars continue, he’ll have done enough to keep his place in the team, but nowhere near enough to silence the doubters

Duckett (1 100, 3 50s, 462 runs at 51.33) 8/10, you know what you’re going to get with Duckett, he’ll charge at everything, which will lead to some thrilling knocks but also some soft dismissals. Still one of the best openers in world cricket

Pope (1 100, 1 50, 306 runs at 34) 5/10, not unlike Crawley, but whereas Crawley can at least say he is (the lesser) half of England’s most successful opening partnership since Cook and Strauss, Pope doesn’t even have that going for him. He’ll go to the Ashes, I think he’ll get all 5 games but will struggle and then I think the serious discussion over his place in the team will start

Root (3 100s, 1 50, 537 runs at 67.12) 9/10, what can you say about him that hasn’t already been said? He’ll be devastated about the method of his dismissal yesterday evening, but he helped win us our two games, and put us in a winning position at Old Trafford and the Oval

Brook (2 100s, 2 50s, 481 runs at 53.44) 7/10, took advantage of chances at Headingley and the Oval to hit some big scores, but he’s only got one gear

Stokes (1 100, 0 50s, 304 runs at 43.42, 17 wickets at 25.23) 9/10, bowling was hugely encouraging, the only one to get anything going at Old Trafford you understand why he bowled himself into the ground, hopefully he’s fit and firing for the Ashes. Came back into form with the bat at Old Trafford

Smith (18 catches, 1 stumping, 1 100, 2 50s, 434 runs at 62) 8/10, tailed off with the bat, a terrible dismissal just now, but perhaps his overall drop off with the bat is understandable considering he’s been very busy behind the stumps, especially at the Oval when he had some absolute dross being bowled at him

Woakes (11 wickets at 52.18, 64 runs at 10.66) 4/10, clearly not what he was, but I don’t think he bowled that badly until his injury, I think we’ll miss his bowling Down Under. It’s not his primary skill, but his batting has completely collapsed, I don’t know why he continues to come out at number 8 when Carse and Atkinson are clearly better batters

Carse (9 wickets at 60.88, 1 50, 164 runs at 27.33) 4/10, thought he bowled well at Lord’s, but did struggle overall, especially at Old Trafford. His batting is a bonus, but you wonder if he’s been usurped by Tongue

Tongue (19 wickets at 29.05), 7/10, ends up as England’s leading wicket taker, can be wayward, but bowls wicket taking deliveries, I think he’s nudged ahead of Carse in the pecking order now

Bashir (10 wickets at 54.1), 5/10, gets flak for obvious reasons, but I thought he did OK on pitches that weren’t suited to him at all. Whether his height will make him effective in Australia is…up for debate, but like Crawley and Pope, he’s surely going to play

Archer (9 wickets at 28.66), 8/10, lovely to have him back, fitness permitting, he walks into this team, just have to be careful with him!

Atkinson (8 wickets at 20, 28 runs at 11) 8/10, possibly England’s best bowler when fit, thought he came through OK despite having to bowl nearly 50 overs off the back of hardly any cricket, but hopefully won’t have to do much of that again!

Overton (2 wickets at 82, 9 runs at 4.5), 2/10, got a bit better in the second innings, unlucky that England shelled a few catches, but a poor show in the first innings in friendly conditions. Perhaps a bit unlucky to be given out so late in the second innings, but did get a duck in the first innings

Dawson (1 wicket at 140, 26 runs at 26) 5/10, economical (OK, he wasn’t threatening and India were happy to block him in the second innings at Old Trafford) and did contribute a bit with the bat, which you’d think would carry some weight with most teams (especially with an Ashes series to come), but surely won’t with this management

Bethell (11 runs at 5.5, 0/17), 1/10, the gamble didn’t pay off, he looked like a white ball player who didn’t know how to deal with not being able to score, but is that surprising when he’s played so little red ball cricket?

Not going to argue with any of that. What hurt England this series was not getting what might well be our best available attack on the park at the same time. That for me would be Atkinson, Archer & Carse. I would like to see a fully fit Carse in Australia, where his 'hard length' bowling might get some reward out there rather than the slow and low tracks we largely saw this summer. I also see what you do with Crawley and Pope. I think the latter will predictably fail. How on earth he has lasted these years with his head falling over, I don't know. It is one of those things that riles me in my test cricket watching.

Just another think, I did say the other day that I really enjoyed the two non-road tests (i.e Lord's and the Oval) and that the three other games really rather bored me. So although an obviously really tight series, I don't quite get the "greatest non-Ashes series of all time" stuff that has come out.