***Official*** India in Pakistan

[GladiatrsInBlue]

Gul can be a good choice on a grassy wkt.It will be better if Pak play him in place of Rana, as i think Asif shouldn't be dropped.

 

[SJS]

Are you implying that India has been lucky to maintain a draw thus far, simply due to these dead tracks? .

NO. Not at all.

Just that it would have been a better contest between bat and ball but India overcame in 2004 this time their batting is only stronger than before.

 

[TIF]

The Indian ODI team will be announced when the 3rd test match and the Ranji finals will be under progress from 29 January-2 February. Now what you think the ODI team should look like for India -

Batsmen -
1. Sehwag
2. Gambhir
3. Tendulkar
4. Dravid
5. Yuvraj
6. Kaif
7. Raina
8. Laxman (still a much better option in ODIs than Ganguly and Venugopal Rao)

Wicket-Keeper -
9. MS Dhoni

All-Rounder -
10. Irfan Pathan

Pacers -
11. Zaheer
12. RP Singh
13. Agarkar
14. Munaf Patel

Spinners -
15. Harbhajan Singh
16. Anil Kumble

 

[SJS]

The Indian ODI team will be announced when the 3rd test match and the Ranji finals will be under progress from 29 January-2 February. Now what you think the ODI team should look like for India -

Batsmen -
1. Sehwag
2. Gambhir
3. Tendulkar
4. Dravid
5. Yuvraj
6. Kaif
7. Raina
8. Laxman (still a much better option in ODIs than Ganguly and Venugopal Rao)

Wicket-Keeper -
9. MS Dhoni

All-Rounder -
10. Irfan Pathan

Pacers -
11. Zaheer
12. RP Singh
13. Agarkar
14. Munaf Patel

Spinners -
15. Harbhajan Singh
16. Anil Kumble

We might, just might, see JP Yaadav return.

I would personally like to see Romesh Powar in the squad too but its unlikely that the selectors will consider him seeing how they have ignored him since the last Pakistan tour.

I dont think Laxman will find a place in the squad.

Ganguly is a borderline case.

 

[honestbharani]

Sehwag
Sachin
Dravid
Kaif
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Pathan
Bhajji
Agarkar
Kartik
RP Singh
Zaheer
JP Yadav
Raina
Venu


That is my 15 man squad. If they pick a 16th guy, it could be a reserve wicket keeper.

 

[yohanna]

Sehwag
Sachin
Dravid
Kaif
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Pathan
Bhajji
Agarkar
Kartik
RP Singh
Zaheer
JP Yadav
Raina
Venu


That is my 15 man squad. If they pick a 16th guy, it could be a reserve wicket keeper.

What are the chances of Munaf Patel getting a place in the squad? after all the talk about the need of an express fast bowler by Chappel, maybe India should just try him out (if he's doing good in Ranji Trophy)

 

[yohanna]

NO. Not at all.

Just that it would have been a better contest between bat and ball but India overcame in 2004 this time their batting is only stronger than before.

Yeah i think it would have been a great contest. Even though i hate Pakistan losing to India, i would still prefer Pakistan going 2-1 down to India rather than playing a 0-0 draw.

 

[honestbharani]

What are the chances of Munaf Patel getting a place in the squad? after all the talk about the need of an express fast bowler by Chappel, maybe India should just try him out (if he's doing good in Ranji Trophy)

He might be tried. I guess he could be the 16th member of the squad.

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

So far three domestic matches have been played, two of them ended in 2 & 1/2 days!! while the third one ended on the fourth day.The wkt favors pace bowler, and if they don't shave of the grass then this wkt is likely to produce result.

It can be a great test match.

Inzi will make sure that his beard remained unshaved, but the grass of the pitch is shaved.

I think Inzi is just trying to prolong his career by trying his level best to avoid defeat against a vastly better old rivals.

 

[adharcric]

Of the 16 spots, I think 12 are certainties.

Rahul Dravid (c)
Virender Sehwag (vc)
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Mohammad Kaif
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
***Batsman***
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk)
Irfan Pathan
Ajit Agarkar
Rudra Pratap Singh
***Seamer***
***Seamer***
Harbhajan Singh
***Spinner***

***Batsman***
Venugopal Rao (seems like a test batsman, but has shown promise)
Sourav Ganguly (great one-day batsman in his hey day, including him would bring another headache)
VVS Laxman (classy batsman who can deliver big, but his fielding and running has been held against him)

***Seamer*** (2)
Zaheer Khan (seems to be back in form, definitely a strike bowler when at his best)
Munaf Patel (pacy bowler who has had a great Ranji season and can bat as well)
Sree Santh (fiery fast-medium bowler who has loads of potential, but may be a risky selection in a series like this)
Vikram Rajvir Singh (pacy bowler who has had fitness issues of late, otherwise seems to be a Chappell favorite)
Jai Prakash Yadav (all-rounder, has been a containing bowler at the international level, lack of pace goes against him)
Joginder Sharma (all-rounder, another bowler with potential but needs to do more at the domestic level because he's not a tearaway pacer like Munaf or VRV)

***Spinner***
Murali Kartik (can be great or pathetic, very inconsistent but the selectors seem to like him)
Anil Kumble (still India's best bowler, perhaps he should be given a go here due to the "experience factor")
Ramesh Powar (toiling wicket-taker who can bat as well, he's been overlooked by the selectors for far too long)
Piyush Chawla (young prospect, selectors clearly have their eyes on him already, hasn't been groomed enough at the domestic level yet)

I would go with VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Ramesh Powar. Venugopal might be a better fielder and runner than Laxman, but I'd think this slot will be for a supersub type player so that's not such an issue. Agarkar shouldn't really be in there, but he's putting up the numbers so can't take him out. Hopefully VR Singh is fit so the selectors are compelled to include at least one of the genuine "fast bowlers". Kumble might still have something in him, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him selected here one last time.

 

[Arjun]

How about this selection:

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Irfan (LMF)
• Tendulkar
• Dravid (C)
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Munaf Patel (RFM)
• Harbhajan (OB)
• RP Singh (LFM)
• Zaheer (LFM)
• RESERVE: VR Singh (RFM)
• RESERVE: Powar (OB)
• RESERVE: Kaif
• RESERVE: Raina

Alternatives to this selection could be Joginder Sharma (RMF) for Muna, or Yusuf Pathan (LB) for Munaf, or VR Singh for Zaheer and Sreesanth as the reserve seamer. Questions may be raised over Zaheer's fielding, as also Munaf's, but on that front, things are alright otherwise.

That stupid-sub rule is most effective when least used. The playing XI should have five bowling options and batting till eight, no matter whether they field or bat first. If they can sneak one in, then they're free to do so. Otherwise, they can just replace a batsman or bowler who's done for the day with someone like Yuvraj or Raina, who's very effective on the field.

A freakish alternative would be to have the #1 specialist wicketkeeper as a sub, used this way–

• If the team bats first and he's the 12th player, it's fine, then substitute Dhoni when they come out to field
• If the team fields first and he's in the playing XI, change him when they come out to bat.
• If he's not in the XI and they bat first, he doesn't play.
• If he's in the XI and they bat first, then sub him for the batsman.

Otherwise, there's not much point in using this rule. You would have to be lucky to get it right.

Anyway,

Munaf Patel (pacy bowler who has had a great Ranji season and can bat as well)

Can bat....and how. He's a six-hitter, and he's built like Justin Kemp, at six foot four, and he's finished this season with an average of 23 and a strike rate of 85, being among his state team's top scorers.

Sree Santh (fiery fast-medium bowler who has loads of potential, but may be a risky selection in a series like this)

Agarkar himself is a risky selection, if you've seen his performance in the last series. Playing Sreesanth in place wouldn't make a difference

Jai Prakash Yadav (all-rounder, has been a containing bowler at the international level, lack of pace goes against him)
Joginder Sharma (all-rounder, another bowler with potential but needs to do more at the domestic level because he's not a tearaway pacer like Munaf or VRV)

• Lack of pace goes against all the pacers, and hopefully that won't be the case with Munaf, Sreesanth or VR Singh
• Both can bat a lot better than every other pacer, bar Irfan, while Munaf is an unknown quantity.
• Joginder Sharma's an outswing bowler, like Balaji, and bats like Kaif, and that's more than what can be said of India's premier ODI seamer, who relies on batting errors and uneven bounce, and can't bat for toffees unless it's a good day.

Murali Kartik (can be great or pathetic, very inconsistent but the selectors seem to like him)
Anil Kumble (still India's best bowler, perhaps he should be given a go here due to the "experience factor")
Ramesh Powar (toiling wicket-taker who can bat as well, he's been overlooked by the selectors for far too long)

Taking experience into consideration, Kumble's the best choice. His fielding will be a weakness, though. Otherwise, it's Powar over Karthik. Easily. Harbhajan makes the team, while Powar is on the bench.

 

[pug]

Why open with Gambhir? Tendulkar and Sehwag opening with Kaif in the middle order sounds decent for ODI

 

[Armadillo]

Will Shoaib Malik play in the third test?

 

[TIF]

Looking at how Zaheer Khan has been bowling over the last few months including the 2nd test match, he also looks to be certainity in the ODI side. It is only the extra pace-bowler slot which remains and the extra-batsman slot. The contenders for these 2 slots are -

Extra pace-bowler:

Munaf Patel
Sree Santh

These are also all-rounders:
Pravin Kumar
JP Yadav
VR Singh
Joginder Sharma

But as Chappell has said that we need a tearaway pace-bowler, so Munaf Patel or VR Singh will get in, but looking at Munaf Patel as he injury-free and also has a strong built and can hit the big shots easily, it looks as if Munaf Patel is the favourite for this slot.

Extra batsman:

Laxman
Ganguly
Venugopal Rao
Shikhar Dhawan

Out of these, Laxman is experienced and Ganguly is out of favour by Chappell. Also, Laxman has done well in the tests and has also looked comfortable against Akhtar and Kaneria, so he should be the right choice for the extra batsman. He scores his runs at a good strike-rate and only his fielding is the main problem. But still, it looks like Laxman is the favourite for this slot. Also, there might be another slot for an extra batsman left as Gambhir isnt a certainity due to his recent poor form, so Ganguly/Venugopal/Shikhar Dhawan, might have some chance in there. But the selectors will look to give Gambhir one more chance as he hasnt got a chance at all in tests.

 

[honestbharani]

Will Shoaib Malik play in the third test?

no. His father has unfortunately passed away. In fact, I think it was kinda insensitive of the Pak team management to call him up when his father was so sick juz because of the POSSIBILITY that they might get rolled over. I am pretty sure that his dad's life must have meant A LOT to him. I am amazed we haven't even seen an apology from Woolmer or Inzy as yet. They KNEW his dad was critical and yet called him away from his bedside. Not very sensitive, IMHO.

 

[marc71178]

A freakish alternative would be to have the #1 specialist wicketkeeper as a sub, used this way–

• If the team bats first and he's the 12th player, it's fine, then substitute Dhoni when they come out to field
• If the team fields first and he's in the playing XI, change him when they come out to bat.
• If he's not in the XI and they bat first, he doesn't play.
• If he's in the XI and they bat first, then sub him for the batsman.

Otherwise, there's not much point in using this rule. You would have to be lucky to get it right.

But why would you not want Dhoni's batting?

Anyway,Can bat....and how. He's a six-hitter, and he's built like Justin Kemp, at six foot four, and he's finished this season with an average of 23 and a strike rate of 85

Oh wow, a whole 23 @ 85 (!)

 

[TIF]

How about this selection:

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Irfan (LMF)
• Tendulkar
• Dravid (C)
• Yuvraj
• Dhoni (WK)
• Munaf Patel (RFM)
• Harbhajan (OB)
• RP Singh (LFM)
• Zaheer (LFM)
• RESERVE: VR Singh (RFM)
• RESERVE: Powar (OB)
• RESERVE: Kaif
• RESERVE: Raina

Alternatives to this selection could be Joginder Sharma (RMF) for Muna, or Yusuf Pathan (LB) for Munaf, or VR Singh for Zaheer and Sreesanth as the reserve seamer. Questions may be raised over Zaheer's fielding, as also Munaf's, but on that front, things are alright otherwise.

That stupid-sub rule is most effective when least used. The playing XI should have five bowling options and batting till eight, no matter whether they field or bat first. If they can sneak one in, then they're free to do so. Otherwise, they can just replace a batsman or bowler who's done for the day with someone like Yuvraj or Raina, who's very effective on the field.

A freakish alternative would be to have the #1 specialist wicketkeeper as a sub, used this way–

• If the team bats first and he's the 12th player, it's fine, then substitute Dhoni when they come out to field
• If the team fields first and he's in the playing XI, change him when they come out to bat.
• If he's not in the XI and they bat first, he doesn't play.
• If he's in the XI and they bat first, then sub him for the batsman.

Otherwise, there's not much point in using this rule. You would have to be lucky to get it right.

Anyway,Can bat....and how. He's a six-hitter, and he's built like Justin Kemp, at six foot four, and he's finished this season with an average of 23 and a strike rate of 85, being among his state team's top scorers.Agarkar himself is a risky selection, if you've seen his performance in the last series. Playing Sreesanth in place wouldn't make a difference

• Lack of pace goes against all the pacers, and hopefully that won't be the case with Munaf, Sreesanth or VR Singh
• Both can bat a lot better than every other pacer, bar Irfan, while Munaf is an unknown quantity.
• Joginder Sharma's an outswing bowler, like Balaji, and bats like Kaif, and that's more than what can be said of India's premier ODI seamer, who relies on batting errors and uneven bounce, and can't bat for toffees unless it's a good day.

Taking experience into consideration, Kumble's the best choice. His fielding will be a weakness, though. Otherwise, it's Powar over Karthik. Easily. Harbhajan makes the team, while Powar is on the bench.

Arjun, this is a real strange post by you

You are normally a person who likes to see big hitting and want players who can play the big shots more to get a place into this Indian team and yet when we have one in Dhoni, you do not want to have his batting, especially his big hitting and would want him as a super-sub. You always want to see the runs coming in big shots, yet here you do not want players who can play those big shots like Dhoni. Its a real strange idea to have Dhoni in as a super-sub. I would go in with Munaf Patel as a super-sub in these matches as -

If we bat first - Its simple, we sub Munaf after we finish our batting.
If we bowl first - If one of our bowlers has an off day, he can be super-subbed by Munaf. Also, he can be used as a big-hitter lower down the order if required when the required run-rate will be on the rise by super-subbing him with a defensive tailender. He can play those big shots then.

 

[billie424]

no. His father has unfortunately passed away. In fact, I think it was kinda insensitive of the Pak team management to call him up when his father was so sick juz because of the POSSIBILITY that they might get rolled over. I am pretty sure that his dad's life must have meant A LOT to him. I am amazed we haven't even seen an apology from Woolmer or Inzy as yet. They KNEW his dad was critical and yet called him away from his bedside. Not very sensitive, IMHO.

very true .....very treu

 

[Choora]

Agarkar or Ganguly? Razzak or Faisal??

Looks like India has decided to dump Bhajji from the test lineup.It will be interesting to see who is going to replace Bhajji, should it be gang or should it be Ajit??

I would personally go with Ajit as Ganguly is out of form.


Pakistan are likely to open with Akmal and Butt.In place of Malik they can either bring in Fasial Iqbal or have Razzak in the team to be the fourth pacer after Akhtar,Asif and Rana.

I think Razzak should be preffered over Faisal

India

Sehwag
Dravid
Laxman
Tendulkar
YuvRaj
Dhoni
Pathan
Ajit
KHan
Kumble
RPS

Pak

Butt
Akmal
Younis
Yousuf
Inzi
Afridi
Razzak
Akhtar
Rana
Asif
Danish

 

[Choora]

Will Shoaib Malik play in the third test?

To be honest his absence will be blessing in disguise for Pak team, as Malik has failed badly as a keeper, and i think Hameed,Farhat, Akmal are all better equipped to open the innings than Malik.