India's Test Opener

[andruid]

Hmm, let's see:

Wasim Jaffer - A 'weak attack' and/or 'flat track' bully. Has a fatal technical flaw against outswingers on a good length or fuller outside the offstump (see Brett Lee). Lose him.

Gautam Gambhir - Sadly, a minnow-basher. He did well at #3 in Australia...but that was in the ODI format. I wouldn't recommend his return just yet.

Aakash Chopra - Infinitely better at seeing off the new ball than Wasim Jaffer and did act as a good foil to Sehwag - until October 2004, anyway.

Dinesh Karthik - Hmm...his average has been propped up by runs against Bangladesh. That being said, though, his average against Australia should be ignored (Mumbai 2004) and he has managed runs against a strong bowling line-up in South Africa and an average-to-above average bowling line-up in England. He didn't cash in against Pakistan, but I'm still tempted to pick him.

Rahul Dravid - No. He has a near-perfect technique, but you'd be compromising a strength to cover a weakness.

Irfan Pathan - Certainly not.

I'd go for either Karthik or Chopra, myself. If they're looking for someone to play a Jaffer-like role, then Chopra. If not, then I think Karthik should get a run. Due to the difference in circumstances, I'm not gonna vote on this one.

Why not Ganguly, What is itthat the guy does not know about being an opening batsman.

 

[Richard]

How to do it in Tests.

Ganguly is and has always been a middle-order batsman in Tests, and recently has been a very good one at that.

 

[ret]

How to do it in Tests.

Ganguly is and has always been a middle-order batsman in Tests, and recently has been a very good one at that.

he started out batting in the top order in tests

 

[Richard]

In the top-order, yes, but not the opener's slot.

 

[ret]

In the top-order, yes, but not the opener's slot.

if Dravid can open, Sehwag can open then why can't he?

He certainly appears to be a better option than the ones in the poll .... and can leverage on his batting in the top order in both forms of cricket

and that will open up a slot in the middle order of one for the talented batsmen

 

[Manee]

He is probably going to score a hundred in the next Test, knowing my luck - but is this a gun call or what?

 

[silentstriker]

if Dravid can open, Sehwag can open then why can't he?

He certainly appears to be a better option than the ones in the poll .... and can leverage on his batting in the top order in both forms of cricket

and that will open up a slot in the middle order of one for the talented batsmen

And we'd get a bunny as an opener....

And Dravid may be able to open, but he shouldn't. Ganguly's defense is nowhere near Dravid's.

 

[ret]

Ganguly's defense is nowhere near Dravid's.

so is Sehwag's, so whats the point? and as i said earlier Ganguly has batted in the top order in tests and averages more than 46 so that doesn't go with anything that you have been saying and I m not even bringing in his exploits in ODIs as a top order bat

moreover, recent history of Indian cricket has shown that apart from Sidhu, it has been the middle order batsmen who have been successful opening the innings be it Shastri, Sehwag [with his own technique] and Dravid to an extent

So what you are suggesting is that ignore history, ignore Ganguly's record as a top order batsman in tests and continue with playing specialist openers, most of whom have been proven duds

At the end of the day, batting is about hitting the ball and there is no reason why a talented batsman can't do well as an opener and as history has suggested with Shastri, Sehwag and company

 

[jeevan]

The crazy thing that causes me to every time I think of it is that Chopra and Gambhir open for Delhi, while Sehwag bats down the order. Very rare is the successful manufactured Test opener who remains a down-the-order batsman for his domestic team, though Michael Vaughan did it very briefly.

Believe Sehwag's not even the 3rd choice opener for Delhi, which would be Shikhar Dhawan.

 

[silentstriker]

moreover, recent history of Indian cricket has shown that apart from Sidhu, it has been the middle order batsmen who have been successful opening the innings be it Shastri, Sehwag [with his own technique] and Dravid to an extent

Except recent history of Indian cricket hasn't had too many successful openers. Coincidence?

And Dravid is not a successful opener.

 

[ret]

Except recent history of Indian cricket hasn't had too many successful openers. Coincidence?

And Dravid is not a successful opener.

Nah .... it's expected as India tried out duds like Raman, Rathore, Ramesh, Gandhi, Das, Chopra and Jaffar .... all specialists openers who haven't done justice to their potential at the international level

yeah, Dravid has not been that successful opening in tests and thats why we are discussing Ganguly as an option here .... Dravid's moderate success also shows that opening is not all technique and defense like you are trying to show here .... this only strengthens the case for Ganguly as an opener

 

[jeevan]

so is Sehwag's, so whats the point? and as i said earlier Ganguly has batted in the top order in tests and averages more than 46 so that doesn't go with anything that you have been saying and I m not even bringing in his exploits in ODIs as a top order bat

moreover, recent history of Indian cricket has shown that apart from Sidhu, it has been the middle order batsmen who have been successful opening the innings be it Shastri, Sehwag [with his own technique] and Dravid to an extent

So what you are suggesting is that ignore history, ignore Ganguly's record as a top order batsman in tests and continue with playing specialist openers, most of whom have been proven duds

At the end of the day, batting is about hitting the ball and there is no reason why a talented batsman can't do well as an opener and as history has suggested with Shastri, Sehwag and company

Sehwag does not open because of his solid defense but due to his offense. Which Ganguly (or any one else in the Indian team other than Tendulkar) doesnt match. The Sehwag-opener theory is that the 1 out of 4 or 5 times he does fire, he can take the game away from the opposition and so a chance worth taking.

Two weak defenses in the opening pair will make not just Dravid (who is used to this), but also the #4 (Tendulkar or Laxman) have to come down most of the time with only a couple of overs on the new ball. So you are not just messing Ganguly (which in itself is a bad thing) but also another middle order bat.

BTW Chopra's FC record overall, and certainly his recent form over last 2 years, is actually better than most other contenders (bar perhaps Badri, but certainly including Yuvraj, Kaif) regardless of batting position.

 

[Top_Cat]

Gambhir would seem to be the obvious option in some ways but Ganguly isn't without merit either. A bloke who can bat top-3 in FC cricket can do it in Tests and there are a couple of examples of guys who've done that in Australia alone; more recently, Justin Langer and Phil Jaques come to mind but there's David Boon too. Then you have Michael Vaughan who was good for a while, less successfully Lou Vincent, AB De villiers has been reasonable, Herschelle Gibbs, etc. It's a risky move, given, but it'd have the added element of surprise because no-one would see it coming. Frees up a middle-order spot too for one of the young guns to score quick runs and run a fielding team ragged. Ganguly opening means he can take his time to get runs which is when he bats at his best I reckon.

 

[Burgey]

SS Das FTW.

 

[Googenheim]

In favour of pushing Ganguly to open.

 

[Richard]

SS Das FTW.

So was I, 7 years ago.

 

[Richard]

Gambhir would seem to be the obvious option in some ways but Ganguly isn't without merit either. A bloke who can bat top-3 in FC cricket can do it in Tests and there are a couple of examples of guys who've done that in Australia alone; more recently, Justin Langer and Phil Jaques come to mind but there's David Boon too. Then you have Michael Vaughan who was good for a while, less successfully Lou Vincent, AB De villiers has been reasonable, Herschelle Gibbs, etc.

ABdeV is the other way around to the rest of that lot TBH.

 

[Richard]

so is Sehwag's, so whats the point?

Because one middle-order batsman with iffy technique can open with success, that doesn't mean another neccessarily can.

Same way just because Glenn McGrath started his career poorly, doesn't mean anyone who starts poorly is even remotely likely to emulate him.

 

[gettingbetter]

I just wonder how much longer the merry-go-round can continue. Jaffer should play the next test and then it is time to re-evaluate.

I really can't see Ganguly open, although I can see its merits. I mainly can't see him opening due to the fact that in the selectors minds, if one of the 'batsmen' is going to open, it would be Dravid. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing Pathan open again, although the same problem could occur - success with the bat in Perth, faliure at Adelaide. But it would deffenitely free up space, if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, if a specialist is to be selected, Kathik seems to be the man.

 

[ret]

Two weak defenses in the opening pair will make not just Dravid (who is used to this), but also the #4 (Tendulkar or Laxman) have to come down most of the time with only a couple of overs on the new ball. So you are not just messing Ganguly (which in itself is a bad thing) but also another middle order bat.

BTW Chopra's FC record overall, and certainly his recent form over last 2 years, is actually better than most other contenders (bar perhaps Badri, but certainly including Yuvraj, Kaif) regardless of batting position.

there will always be the case of the glass being half empty .... for me, it's half full and i think it would be a good move to open with Ganguly as explained in my earlier posts .... when he hit that double against Pak, he did say, iirc, that he doesn't get the opportunity to hit big ones as he is usually batting down the order .... this move will at least answer to that complain

i don't rate Indian FC batting records that much coz most teams are NOT packed with quality bowlers and thats why there is a marked difference b/w our domestics and international level .... If I had to pick a specialist opener then I would be Gambhir, who has had a good CB series against Australia and SL .... yeah that was ODI but the point is that he handled quality bowling well and is in form