*Unofficial* India in Zimbabwe 2015

[weldone]

Seniors have been rested. Rahane will lead the team. India will play 3 ODIs and 2 T20 Internationals starting from July 10. There will be no Team Director for this tour (i.e. no Ravi Shastri).

Rahane (C), Vijay, Rayudu, Manoj, Kedar, Uthappa, Manish, Harbhajan, Axar, Karn, Dhawal, Binny, Bhuvi, Mohit, Sandeep

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli Rested for India's Tour of Zimbabwe; Ajinkya Rahane to Lead - Cricket News

Good to see Uthappa, Manoj, Harbhajan, Vijay get a chance

 

[Prince EWS]

I don't really see the point of Harbhajan but the rest of those picks are really good.

 

[weldone]

I don't really see the point of Harbhajan but the rest of those picks are really good.

Still better than Axar and Karn for the 3rd spinner in subcontinent? (Axar disappointed in Bangladesh)

Edit: But maynot be a good pick if the focus is on the 2019 England World Cup

 

[weldone]

Chief selector Sandeep Patil told reporters in New Delhi on Monday that the squad was chosen keeping the ICC World T20 2016 in mind.

 

[honestbharani]

I have much less of a problem selecting Harbhajan for limited overs cricket than for test cricket. If truth be told, he is not THAT far off Ashwin in LO games and his hitting ability would be a welcome addition to our lower order.


For tests, on the other hand, I would rather see Mishra get a go.

 

[Contra]

Don't understand the point of Murali Vijay as opener, get the likes of Vohra in ffs, Rahane captaining and opening is also going to be lame as he will be pushed down the order afterwards anyways. Good to see Uthappa back though.

 

[weldone]

Don't understand the point of Murali Vijay as opener, get the likes of Vohra in ffs, Rahane captaining and opening is also going to be lame as he will be pushed down the order afterwards anyways. Good to see Uthappa back though.

Who said Rahane will be opening?

 

[honestbharani]

In an ideal world, Rohit would be our #4. But now Dhoni is there and Rohit will not accept batting at 6 or 7, so we will have to make do without Rahane opening, even though with him as opener, I feel we can be so so much more consistent.

 

[Daemon]

Don't understand the point of Murali Vijay as opener, get the likes of Vohra in ffs, Rahane captaining and opening is also going to be lame as he will be pushed down the order afterwards anyways. Good to see Uthappa back though.

haha, on what basis? a couple of IPL games and his date of birth?

 

[Contra]

Who said Rahane will be opening?

Well its a reasonable guess, although with Uthappa there it could be that he may come 1 down.

haha, on what basis? a couple of IPL games and his date of birth?

With keeping the World T20 next year in mind, Murali Vijay is not meant for limited overs cricket, I know he gunned it in the IPL in the first few years but he's still not the guy I want at the top of the order. Vohra is seriously talented and I feel he's one guy who is worth giving a chance at the top of the order.

 

[honestbharani]

I would have liked to see them try someone younger, like Karun in the side instead of blokes like Tiwary...

 

[Niall]

I would have liked to see them try someone younger, like Karun in the side instead of blokes like Tiwary...

Karun selected for the A squad which will be playing just as the Zimbabwe tour finishes. The Zimmer tour loaded with trundelers, while the a team is pacers.

Saha must feel a little annoyed to miss out on selection on both tours, he has had 2 pretty good seasons with Punjab where he showed he had plenty of gears, also a much better keeper than Robin.

FirstpostSports @FirstpostSports
India A squad: KLRahul, Mukund, Pujara (C), Karun, Iyer, Naman, Shanker, Amit Mishra, Pragyan, Shardul, Aaron, Mithun, Umesh, Gopal, Aparjit

India 'A' squad named for matches in July against Australia 'A' and South Africa 'A'

 

[weldone]

Karun selected for the A squad which will be playing just as the Zimbabwe tour finishes. The Zimmer tour loaded with trundelers, while the a team is pacers.

Saha must feel a little annoyed to miss out on selection on both tours, he has had 2 pretty good seasons with Punjab where he showed he had plenty of gears, also a much better keeper than Robin.

I like the idea of Aaron and Umesh playing in Aus and SA against A sides. Not including Saha in either team is a bad call though - I agree with you. Not sure where I stand on the Vijay call - he deserves it, but a couple of years ago he lost test march concentration due to t20 mindset.

 

[honestbharani]

Best situation for India with respect to the spinners -


Harbhajan, Axar and Karn or Piyush Chawla become the LO spinners - all decent LO lower order hitters too...

Ashwin, Mishra and Jadeja become the test spinners - All decent lower order batters for test cricket (Jadeja included more in hope than reality though)

 

[weldone]

Nah we need Ashwin for all formats, after how he's bowled in Australia test series and World Cup

 

[weldone]

I think there's a good chance this series will be known as "Rahane's arrival in ODI".

 

[weldone]

It's also important to note that selectors have categorically said that Jadeja has been 'dropped' while others have been rested.

 

[Niall]

Nah we need Ashwin for all formats, after how he's bowled in Australia test series and World Cup

Agreed.

Not to sure if I'd just restrict Harby to test cricket either, gunned it at the recent IPL and could be an option with the t20 world cup in India next year.

I know most people online adore Mishra, but I think he is overrated, attack him and he will drop his head very quickly,

I wouldn't be totally opposed to chahal getting a go for the limited overs side in the next year or so either, very handy for Bangalore.

What do we all think of Negi? Done okish for Chennai this year and is a serious hitter as well.

 

[longranger]

I don't think there is a point to let Rahane open when we have kind of nailed down Dhawan and Rohit as our ODI and T20 hitters. Rahane will most probably play a #5 so it makes more sense for him to get some practice.

Suppose he does quite well opening against Zim? What do we do? Make him open against South Africa at the expense of Dhawan / Rohit?

BTW. Dhawan is developing quite a good ODI record. Average of 44 and SR of 90. Good for any opener.

 

[Daemon]

Amla, McCullum and Guptill are probably the only ones better than him atm.