Laxmi Ratan Shukla- time for the blue uniform?

[vcs]

Symonds and Hogg were bits and pieces cricketers when they were picked in 2003. The tournament kick-started their careers as specialists who happened to be multi-skilled, but they weren't amongst the best specialists when they were picked originally. Certainly in the case of Symonds.

I don't remember Hogg playing much in 2003. Did he? Certainly bowled superbly in the 2007 WC though.

Symonds may have been initially picked as a bits and pieces cricketer, but looking at his career in retrospect, no one would dare to classify him as such. Dharmasena is a better example, I feel.

 

[honestbharani]

Joginder Sharma and JP Yadav were tried out based on similar reasoning. Didn't work.

TBF, I do think LRS is a LOT better than them as a OD batsman.. Worth the punt perhaps after the WC as I don't see them messing with the side now.

 

[G.I.Joe]

This is probably India's first XI come the WC:


Sachin Tendulkar
Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
Mahendra Singh Dhoni +
Harbhajan Singh
Praveen Kumar/Pragyan Ojha
Zaheer Khan
Ashish Nehra

If that top 7 can't produce the goods with the bat, I don't see what Shukla/Nayar are going to add, tbh. Are they really that comparable with the ball to Nehra?

 

[Prince EWS]

This is probably India's first XI come the WC:


Sachin Tendulkar
Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
Mahendra Singh Dhoni +
Harbhajan Singh
Praveen Kumar/Pragyan Ojha
Zaheer Khan
Ashish Nehra

If that top 7 can't produce the goods with the bat, I don't see what Shukla/Nayar are going to add, tbh. Are they really that comparable with the ball to Nehra?

I think Arjun's suggesting that Dhoni bats six and LRS bats seven.

 

[ramkumar_gr]

I think Arjun's suggesting that Dhoni bats six and LRS bats seven.

If I remember right, he had had a number of disciplinary issues in the past. I don't think he is anywhere close to selectors' plans.

 

[Arjun]

Think Praveen Kumar can evolve into a good ODI all-rounder. Dhoni must show more confidence in his batting though. Praveen tends to bat too low down the order.

Really don't think he's anywhere near good enough to bat seven, tbh. Gets nosebleeds when he bats eight, even if he does open sometimes domestically.

Praveen Kumar is not ideal, but not out of it totally. He's not good enough to solo with the bat (like Irfan or Yusuf or LRS) but a combination of similar players will help. I'm talking of Praveen-Ashwin-Chawla or Praveen-Vinay-Harbhajan lower down. Limited, but practial, and all adds up. If you wish to bolster your batting, it won't be advisable, and one batsman who can solo and also support the bowlers would be an alternative, which gets in LRS. Also going against the choice of Praveen is that he's a poor fielder and may soon end up a poor replacement for Irfan.

 

[Daemon]

He had a decent tour of Sri Lanka but he has been consistently crap before that. Does anyone believe that in a crunch situation in the semi-final or final of the World Cup Nehra will deliver? And he is too much of a liability in the field as well as being useless with the bat. IMO he is the kind of cricketer who is a complete deadweight in an ODI team. While bits and pieces cricketers get a lot of flack, they are a better option than players like Nehra and RP Singh IMO.

Nehra has been our best ODI bowler by a pretty large margin in recent times. He has somewhere around 15 more wickets that the 2nd highest wicket taker in our team. IIRC he almost always strikes upfront, has a good bouncer and bowls good yorkers at the death too.

Who would you replace him with?

 

[Blaze 18]

Nehra has been our best ODI bowler by a pretty large margin in recent times. He has somewhere around 15 more wickets that the 2nd highest wicket taker in our team. IIRC he almost always strikes upfront, has a good bouncer and bowls good yorkers at the death too.

Who would you replace him with?

Agree on Ashish Nehra. He has been India's best ODI bowler for a while now.

As for Vinay Kumar - please keep him as far from the national side as possible!

 

[jeevan]

TBF, I do think LRS is a LOT better than them as a OD batsman.. Worth the punt perhaps after the WC as I don't see them messing with the side now.

True, but India needs help with the bowling far more than with the batting. The bowler has got to have an ER or SR that is much better than Sehwag/Raina/Yuvraj as one of these will likely make way for him and nobody in consideration will match the batting that these 3 bring - except YKP on his day.

That's probably why Jadeja was persisted with. His batting was **** but his bowling ER was OK

 

[morgieb]

If Nehra's India's best bowler, then their one-day stocks really must be crap....

 

[Arjun]

If Nehra's India's best bowler, then their one-day stocks really must be crap....

Think about this- Pragyan Ojha is hailed as India's next best spinner, followed by Jadeja in ODIs. Frightful, isn't it? At the very least, Nehra has a very good strike rate since his post-IPL comeback.

 

[Arjun]

True, but India needs help with the bowling far more than with the batting. The bowler has got to have an ER or SR that is much better than Sehwag/Raina/Yuvraj as one of these will likely make way for him and nobody in consideration will match the batting that these 3 bring - except YKP on his day.

That's probably why Jadeja was persisted with. His batting was **** but his bowling ER was OK

Jadeja was and still is an abomination of a selection. Worse than Joginder and Yusuf, and given loads of chances more. His economy was only good on spin-friendly decks, and he needed protection all the time. His strike rate was abysmal. It's dreadful, having him as a frontline bowler.

If bolstering the bowling was an option, they could have at least three of Harbhajan, Praveen, Vinay Kumar, Chawla, Ashwin, Irfan and Mishra. Don't thrust any of them solo as an all-rounder, but get all of them to contribute collectively. That's just as good.

However, if batting is still the area to strengthen, Shukla is the man to choose, as he's a stready filler bowler and capable lower-order batsman. He's a more reliable and less delicate bowler than the part-time spinners, and with him on subcontinental wickets, you can get the most out of those wickets with two spinners in the team.

 

[Arjun]

As for Vinay Kumar - please keep him as far from the national side as possible!

Vinay Kumar has played over 50 List-A matches in India, and maintained an impressive average under 27 and a strike rate of exactly 30. In addition, he's a fantastic fielder and also a handy lower-order contributor. All of this should make him an easy pick in the ODI side, which is missing Irfan Pathan. Far, far better than all the Tyagi/Dinda/Umesh/Mithun/Pankaj/Jadeja/Ojha bloopers we see these days.

 

[Arjun]

Here's how Shukla is useful in the ODI setup, in a sample XI-

• Sehwag
• Tendulkar
• Raina
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Gambhir (powerplays)
• Shukla (RM)
• Ashwin (OB)
• Mishra (LBG)
• Zaheer (LFM)
• Ishant (RFM)

For some time, we've seen the Indians cobble up ten overs between part-timers. That's weakened an already weak attack even more, and on helpful wickets, they can't do as much as a full-time spinner in either squad. The batting has never been enough to offset it. With Shukla in the mix, he's a seam-up bowler and also a steady support bowler, who can do without most of the protection. While he'll be a little worse-off on Indian decks, the advantage with two spinners will offset that sufficiently. The batting is also not hurt much, as you have that rock-solid top six, and a steady batsman at seven, who can also turn up the scoring rate.

Here's how he compares with other balancing options-

Seventh batsman, part-time mix- Far better bowler. Batting unaffected by extra pressure of bowling. Will get far more out of a rather difficult batting position.

Yusuf Pathan- Lacks the big striking power, but can play a longer, smarter innings. Being a seamer, can help get in a second, proper spinner. May be suspect with the ball if the pitch doesn't suit seamers, but can make the cut on slow wickets. More reliable long-term bowling option.

Ravindra Jadeja- Hands down, LRS on top. Except for his age and lack of backers.

Ashwin/Chawla- Not really something to compare, as his presence in the side should help them make the side with him.

Praveen Kumar- LRS is a better fielder than Praveen, and also a better batsman. He too bowls medium-pace, though steady. He may lose out as he's not the strike bowler that Praveen is.

Joginder Sharma- LRS isn't a strike bowler like Joginder, but Joginder's bowling is limited, due to lack of power. Shukla's a better batsman by a fair margin, which should tilt it in his favour in ODIs.

Irfan Pathan- Here's one where Shukla comes second-best. Irfan has now become his team's recognised batsman, and after long periods of absence from national duty, has started raking in the wickets. Persistent injuries, however, have hampered his bid for a comeback in the national team, as also old-ball issues. Shukla's a good old-ball bowler.

 

[Blaze 18]

Vinay Kumar has played over 50 List-A matches in India, and maintained an impressive average under 27 and a strike rate of exactly 30. In addition, he's a fantastic fielder and also a handy lower-order contributor. All of this should make him an easy pick in the ODI side, which is missing Irfan Pathan. Far, far better than all the Tyagi/Dinda/Umesh/Mithun/Pankaj/Jadeja/Ojha bloopers we see these days.

Vinay Kumar is another one of the irksome 120 km/h bowlers that India seem to have an unlimited supply of. I am not impressed by what I have seen of him. Maybe he will prove me wrong in future. Maybe. I won't be waiting with bated breath though.

 

[honestbharani]

Vinay Kumar is another one of the irksome 120 km/h bowlers that India seem to have an unlimited supply of. I am not impressed by what I have seen of him. Maybe he will prove me wrong in future. Maybe. I won't be waiting with bated breath though.

TBF, he hits 130+ Ks pretty regularly.

 

[M0rphin3]

TBF, he hits 130+ Ks pretty regularly.

Hardly. Whenever I saw him, he was struggling to hit 130's and mostly bowling in the mid 120's. Pretty accurate though, tbf.

 

[Xuhaib]

love to see IKP in odi's thought he was harshly dealt with yes he was never going to be another Wasim but seemed good enough to be a Razzaq or a Albie Morkal better then that talentless brother of his.

 

[Arjun]

Vinay Kumar is another one of the irksome 120 km/h bowlers that India seem to have an unlimited supply of. I am not impressed by what I have seen of him. Maybe he will prove me wrong in future. Maybe. I won't be waiting with bated breath though.

TBF, he hits 130+ Ks pretty regularly.

Hardly. Whenever I saw him, he was struggling to hit 130's and mostly bowling in the mid 120's. Pretty accurate though, tbf.

He's the best bowler in the 120k range, if so. He's got the stats well in his favour, in FC, OD, as well as batting. India seem to carry medium-pacers Munaf and Praveen, and he adds a lot more. Besides, it's better to have a bowler who bowls good 120k, than a plethora of bowlers (Dinda, Tyagi) who bowl utter rubbish at 135k. Definitely worth it as a regular third seamer for India. Also good on the field. He wouldn't have been such a write-off had Hussey and White not got stuck into him on that flat deck.

love to see IKP in odi's thought he was harshly dealt with yes he was never going to be another Wasim but seemed good enough to be a Razzaq or a Albie Morkal better then that talentless brother of his.

Irfan's getting injured a little too often. He's missed all of Baroda's four Ranji games this season. He's been clipping loads of wickets in domestic games but is either ignored, or injured, or his team gets eliminated early. He's got time this season, as Baroda is doing very well. He serves a different purpose, as a run-scoring strike bowler, as against his brother, who's a lower-order batsman who contributes filler overs and gets wickets. There's nothing wrong with either (as against everything wrong with Yuvraj or Jadeja playing as all-rounders) but they need to be managed well.

Anyway, with talk of Yuvraj being played as an all-rounder to bolster the batting, a move prone to catastrophe, Shukla seems a far more relevant option, if you look beyond that 'only-medium-pace' shortcoming. At present, he's dropped way out of the top ten in the runs tally, beacuse his team missed most of a game, but he's worth it.

 

[weldone]

Here's how Shukla is useful in the ODI setup, in a sample XI-

• Sehwag
• Tendulkar
• Raina
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Gambhir (powerplays)
• Shukla (RM)
• Ashwin (OB)
• Mishra (LBG)
• Zaheer (LFM)
• Ishant (RFM)

I hope Indian selectors don't read this...