Indian Cricket Dhaba

[icyman]

I will phase out Rohit at the end of this year and Virat by mid next year. I really dont think either will be good enough to command a place in the best 11 around the 2027 WC time.

They are nearing the end of their usefulness for sure. However, if one has to phase them out, it might be better to do it now, rather than let them play until the timeframes you have mentioned.

Rohit going off by end of the year leave less than a year for the new opener to get accustomed to. Virat going off in mid 2027 is too strikingly close to the World Cup. Remember, this time the CWC is happening in Nov-Dec in South Africa, unlike 2003, which took place in Feb/March.

 

[govinda indian fan]

Kohli is still india best player when ball does something. Pitches in cwc are going to be bowler friendly. We need experience of virat&rohit

 

[icyman]

Kohli is still india best player when ball does something. Pitches in cwc are going to be bowler friendly. We need experience of virat&rohit

Relying on history won't help here. Virat's tendency to clam up might be more pronounced in 2027 than it was in 2023. We can't afford him to bat himself into a shell, which would make matter difficult for the other batsmen.

 

[Abhay423]

Kohli is still india best player when ball does something. Pitches in cwc are going to be bowler friendly. We need experience of virat&rohit

How did you come to that conclusion? Last year, early season Australian pitches had a bit of juice in them and Kohli scored 2 ducks. Even in his peak, he wasn't the best player of lateral movement. I would say get rid of both.

 

[Thala_0710]

Barring the age concerns I'm not getting why we would be willing to let Rohit and Kohli go. Their form hasn't really gone away like that at all. Infact you could argue Shami has been let go by the selectors too soon in ODI cricket

 

[centurymaker]

Gambhir is the Big Boss now. Changes are bound to happen.

Rohit and Kohli will have to stay in good form till the end to keep their spots, which looks a tough ask. Best to judge them on how they go in overseas conditions, particularly in England in July (and then New Zealand in October if needed). If they don't "look" good there, they'll be moved on. I personally see Rohit being ditched sooner than Kohli. Gambhir right now needs any reason to ditch them to be honest.

IPL will have a say as well. Gambhir did say in his PC that he will have the World Cup blueprint ready in 2-3 months. If these guys look mediocre in IPL, I don't see Gambhir giving them many chances post IPL. Rohit had a poor series against NZ and if he follows it up with a mediocre IPL and then poor series in England, it's game over. In fact, like last year, Rohit may even be asked to announce his retirement after IPL itself. So he may have already played his last game. I wouldn't rule out this possibility.

 

[centurymaker]

Rohit Sharma in South Africa:
13 innings, 1 fifty+ score, averages 19!



Virat Kohli in South Africa:
18 innings, 9 fifty+ scores, good avg and SR.



Based on these stats and the fact that Kohli does have a preference for bouncier conditions, sticking with him for a while does have merit. Let's see. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is pretty much a goner. He is hopeless in SA conditions. (Even in Test Cricket).

 

[Daemon]

don’t think it’s worth discussing dropping kohli right now.

he’s playing one format and one league only, it’s going to extend his shelf life. wc games aren’t usually slog fests either so his strike rate will be fine.

small matter of him also being our best batsman rn.

 

[ashley bach]

Kohli scores ODI hundreds for fun. Isn't he still the best player on the planet?

 

[centurymaker]

I want him for the WC, but Gambhir may have different ideas. Ultimately Gambhir is going to decide. So in the next one year, if Kohli gives him any reason to doubt his form/position, Gambhir may be quick to act. Any other coach, Kohli would be almost certain to play next wc, but it's different with Gambhir. He's constantly taking indirect digs at Kohli/Rohit and let's not forget the narrative that had been set before the ODI series vs Australia last October that it was likely to be their farewell series.. How sweetly it backfired on Gambhir and co. But Gambhir is certainly not done.

 

[icyman]

The main concern is for the person who takes over post Gambhir, ie, post the CWC 2027. That is, if Gambhir relinquishes his position. Under Shastri, we had Dravid running an efficient NCA. However, when Dravid took over, the NCA has not churned out the pipeline that we used to have. Back then, Bharat Arun had a battery of pacemen at his disposal. Remember the 2021 BGT when Rahane led us to the win? We had the likes of Natarajn and Saini in the team, both have disappeared since. The reserves then, had Nagwaswala and Kartik Tyagi- again disappeared.

The question to be asked is- what exactly has Laxman done at the NCA all these years? Why don't we have a steady inflow to the main team? The issue is prevalent in all departments- we dont have upcoming spinners, no batsmen that one can think of, no stars from U19 who can be pushed up. Instead, the names of nepo kids like Riyan Parag are doing the rounds. This is worrisome and the transition might be really difficult, as most of the side is now on the other side of 30.

 

[govinda indian fan]

The main concern is for the person who takes over post Gambhir, ie, post the CWC 2027. That is, if Gambhir relinquishes his position. Under Shastri, we had Dravid running an efficient NCA. However, when Dravid took over, the NCA has not churned out the pipeline that we used to have. Back then, Bharat Arun had a battery of pacemen at his disposal. Remember the 2021 BGT when Rahane led us to the win? We had the likes of Natarajn and Saini in the team, both have disappeared since. The reserves then, had Nagwaswala and Kartik Tyagi- again disappeared.

The question to be asked is- what exactly has Laxman done at the NCA all these years? Why don't we have a steady inflow to the main team? The issue is prevalent in all departments- we dont have upcoming spinners, no batsmen that one can think of, no stars from U19 who can be pushed up. Instead, the names of nepo kids like Riyan Parag are doing the rounds. This is worrisome and the transition might be really difficult, as most of the side is now on the other side of 30.

Ganguly destoryed indian cricket by removing shastri. Gambhir is clueless about test cricket. There are just hoping ipl brings some stars

 

[govinda indian fan]

Our pace bowling reserves are good but spinners is a issue. There is one chinaman spinner called shivnag kumar. Zeeshan ansari is other one

 

[icyman]

Ganguly destoryed indian cricket by removing shastri. Gambhir is clueless about test cricket. There are just hoping ipl brings some stars

What rubbish! Shastri was not able to bring home any trophies and was all talk, no results. It made sense to move from the Shastri Virat combine as they were known for exaggerating their statements.
Ganguly's leadership saw Dravid in the driver's seat and that worked for India. You surely can't deny that it didn't.

 

[icyman]

Our pace bowling reserves are good but spinners is a issue. There is one chinaman spinner called shivnag kumar. Zeeshan ansari is other one

Who all are there in our pace reserves? The guys you mentioned, honestly not heard of them. So, if you can shed some more light on this. Be grateful for that.

 

[honestbharani]

Always super, all the time: the CSK way
Ambati Rayudu and Matthew Hayden talk the philosophy and culture that built the monolith that is Chennai Super Kings

www.thecricketmonthly.com


We are the best

 

[icyman]

We are the best

Were! Not at present. CSK was really strong earlier on. With MSD's waning powers and the captaincy changes + not being able to modify their style of play, they have slipped further down the pecking order.

 

[centurymaker]

Looking at the Indian schedule for the 2026/27 season, it's pretty clear that they have increased the number of ODIs.

3 x Afg June
3 x Eng July
3 x Ban Sep
3 x WI Sep/Oct
5 x NZ Oct/Nov
3 x SL Dec
3 x Zim Jan
= 23 ODIs

Also, India will be sending close to a full strength side to the Asian Games in Japan this year (in the last week of September). The Asian Games final is on the 3rd Oct and then the T20 series vs WI starts on the 6th Oct.

While India's T20 side will be busy playing in Japan, India's ODI team will be playing ODIs vs West Indies at home. There are only a few individuals who feature in both sides thesedays, so having both teams (ODI and T20) play at the same time won't be an issue at all.

 

[govinda indian fan]

Looking at the Indian schedule for the 2026/27 season, it's pretty clear that they have increased the number of ODIs.

3 x Afg June
3 x Eng July
3 x Ban Sep
3 x WI Sep/Oct
5 x NZ Oct/Nov
3 x SL Dec
3 x Zim Jan
= 23 ODIs

Also, India will be sending close to a full strength side to the Asian Games in Japan this year (in the last week of September). The Asian Games final is on the 3rd Oct and then the T20 series vs WI starts on the 6th Oct.

While India's T20 side will be busy playing in Japan, India's ODI team will be playing ODIs vs West Indies at home. There are only a few individuals who feature in both sides thesedays, so having both teams (ODI and T20) play at the same time won't be an issue at all.

Looking at the Indian schedule for the 2026/27 season, it's pretty clear that they have increased the number of ODIs.

3 x Afg June
3 x Eng July
3 x Ban Sep
3 x WI Sep/Oct
5 x NZ Oct/Nov
3 x SL Dec
3 x Zim Jan
= 23 ODIs

Also, India will be sending close to a full strength side to the Asian Games in Japan this year (in the last week of September). The Asian Games final is on the 3rd Oct and then the T20 series vs WI starts on the 6th Oct.

While India's T20 side will be busy playing in Japan, India's ODI team will be playing ODIs vs West Indies at home. There are only a few individuals who feature in both sides thesedays, so having both teams (ODI and T20) play at the same time won't be an issue at all.

Schedule is heretic. I would rather send ipl stars like priyansh arya, vyshak etc to asian games. Anyway pak/ban/sl are crap so we would play with afghans in final

 

[centurymaker]

They want to give the main team exposure of playing for medals and playing on mysterious pitches and in unique conditions (Japan). They would have to adapt well from game 1 itself (straight knockout). It's a good challenge in preparation for LA 2028.