Your Favourite Obscure Selection

[Arjun]

Noel David - (who?)
Off spinner with a relatively modest first class record picked to replace Javagal Srinath in the West Indies during a tour in the mid-90s.

Oh brother....he was picked just for the bench! He was actually picked for the WI tour as an off-spinner to partner Kumble, but then, some famous players then asked- "Noel Who?" Predictably, he didn't get a match.

 

[honestbharani]

In 44 years of watching and following test cricket, I dont recall a more scandalous selection than Gavaskar (as captain he could insist and get what he wanted in those days) gettting into his team two Bombay cricketers who were not fit to tie the shoe laces of those they replaced.

Ghulam Parker, Bombay opener and a brilliant fielder at cover and the biggest surprise of them all, Suru Nayak ( so called second Chandrashekhar).

Parker played 1 test on tour, scored 1 and 6.

Suru Nayak (the all rounder) faired even "better" playing 2 (of the 3 test series) batting at positions as varied as number 1 to 10 and getting a grand total series aggregate of 19 runs and 1 wicket for 132 runs !!

He left behind Mohinder Amarnath whom he had kept out of the team for three long years already inspite of massive run getting at domestic level against a;ll sides, most heavily against Gavaskar's Bombay.

Mohinder came back after this tour and over the next five years dominated Indian cricket, indian batting and Sunil Gavaskar himself whom he outscored year after year to get 2604 runs at 54.25 runs each and stood as a rock against the pace attacks of Pakistan and West Indies while all others around him looked clueless.

Keeping Mohinder Amarnath out at this, his peak period (he had debut in 1969 and this five year period came from 82-86) is the greatest fraud done on a cricketer and the public by the cricketing establishment of our country. All the accolades that Sunil Gavaskar never fails to pay to Amarnath can not undo the injustice that was done to him with the active collusion of Gavaskar along with the likes of Raj Singh Dungarpur.

What is this with Mumbai players getting other Mumbai players into the side when they are captains? Remember Sachin's preferene for guys like Nilesh Kulkarni, Sameer Dighe and Kuruvilla among others.....

 

[SJS]

What is this with Mumbai players getting other Mumbai players into the side when they are captains? Remember Sachin's preferene for guys like Nilesh Kulkarni, Sameer Dighe and Kuruvilla among others.....

It is a curse of Indian cricket and we need to be grateful to Ganguly for not having seen this in the years that he has been the skipper.

This is one of Ganguly's gratest contributions to Indian cricket.

 

[sledger]

It is a curse of Indian cricket and we need to be grateful to Ganguly for not having seen this in the years that he has been the skipper.

This is one of Ganguly's gratest contributions to Indian cricket.

i could not agree more, ganuly should be praised for the way that he has lead the team, this combined with the fact that he is a decent batsman just makes the suggestion of sacking him from the squad totally ridiculous and barbaric to me, how is that a way of paying him back for al he has doe ?