Asia Cup 2014

[ferg512]

I called it, although I said they would come close but not actually win. Afghanistan definitely look like they have some useful players though, wouldn't be surprised if they have a few upsets in the WC.

 

[Lebanna]

I called it, although I said they would come close but not actually win. Afghanistan definitely look like they have some useful players though, wouldn't be surprised if they have a few upsets in the WC.

Between Afghanistan and Ireland and the complete lack of form of certain teams (England & WI...), the World T20 and World Cup are going to be especially interesting this time around.

 

[vaibhavtewatia]

So Umar Akmal did a Misbah today. 250 might just be a bit too much for the rookie team and also considering the wonderful Pakistani bowlers, they'll need some one to stick around till the end.

Impressive bowling from Afghans. Apart from the last 3 overs where they gave away 40+ runs, they were on top of the Pakistani batsman.

 

[IanG]

Come on Afghanistan

 

[asprin]

Well, no matter what, I think Pakistan will win it comfortably. They have the best bowling attack in the tournament and a score of 250 is a bit too much to ask for from Afghanistan.

 

[Parmesh killer]

I wish that Afghanistan wins! I want a competitive cricket which has suspense till the last ball and not a dominating cricket.

 

[Aalay]

The thing is this is not the pitch for Varun Aaron. He does not move the ball much and his main weapon is reverse swing. It's very hard for him to reverse the ball when we are using two new balls from each end. So with his pace, this was always going to happen. He does not have enough variation yet because he hasn't even played that many FC games. So as he plays more, he will gain more experience. However, if he can bring some accuracy without bringing the pace down, he will a brilliant bowler for us and same goes for Umesh Yadav. Hopefully the selectors will persist with him.

Why doesn't India get a former genuine quick from the WI as a bowling coach? Any of the four horsemen of the WI would do, or anyone during that time, really. I don't understand going to county cricket of another country for a coach.

As Ferg mentioned, we need someone like Wasim Akram as our bowling coach. Wasim tbh would be the best option for our bowlers because the main thing is our bowler won't have the language barrier. Plus Wasim is probably one of the best in the business so there is no question there and BCCI has more than enough money to afford him. It surprises me every time we pick a bowling coach because we usually go for guys who are absolutely unknown to us. Eric Simmons and Joe Dawes. I still remember when we were looking for a bowling coach after Eric Simmons, Alan Donald said he was ready to coach India but we went with the legendary Joe Dawes.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Just googled Joe Dawes - This is his final accomplishment: "Queensland's eighth-highest wicket-taker of all time"

God knows what the selection process for selecting the bowling coach is.

 

[used2bcool]

Wasim logically and cricket-wise makes the most sense, but I'm not sure if the BCCI are ready to take that kind of political leap. Being a bowling coach of an IPL franchise is one thing, but having a Pakistani bowling coach for the Indian national team might be a leap too far for the BCCI.

Of the other options, McDermott and Donald are already on contract with other teams. Everyone in India should be discarded offhand because I just don't feel they have the right mentality. I wonder if Courtney Walsh would be interested. Ambrose seems to have distanced himself from cricket, and Holding and Bishop seem quite happy to keep commentating. Another option would be Joel Garner.

 

[Fkab]

Today's match was quite interesting, except we all know the result
AFG doing better day by day

 

[playkid12]

As Ferg mentioned, we need someone like Wasim Akram as our bowling coach. Wasim tbh would be the best option for our bowlers because the main thing is our bowler won't have the language barrier. Plus Wasim is probably one of the best in the business so there is no question there and BCCI has more than enough money to afford him. It surprises me every time we pick a bowling coach because we usually go for guys who are absolutely unknown to us. Eric Simmons and Joe Dawes. I still remember when we were looking for a bowling coach after Eric Simmons, Alan Donald said he was ready to coach India but we went with the legendary Joe Dawes.

Pakistani players aren't even playing in the IPL. The BCCI won't jump and make Akram a bowling coach of the national side. There's way too much politics involved. I'd love it if Akram was our coach, but that's just so far from reality that it's hilarious.

Alan Donald would've be a good option. Vaas is another option if people are pushing for an Asian. I'd still argue that having a WI great would be the best. They were the best in history for a reason.

The thing is this is not the pitch for Varun Aaron.

Let's be honest. Even if the pitch would've assisted him, he would've done horribly in that match. He was just really inaccurate.

 

[Parmesh killer]

This thread has changed my thinking about Indian bowlers. Now I hate our coach! I would recommend India to have a coach who knows Hindi i.e, Indian or Pakistani. Language is a barrier between our bowlers and other international coaches.

 

[harishankar]

At the national level, the coach can only do so much. We need to encourage quick bowling at all levels for domestic cricket in India and for that we need grassroots level coaches who encourage this art.

Unfortunately, given the nature of our wickets, the weather and other factors, fast bowling is not encouraged and we get line-and-length medium fast bowlers who are ineffective at the highest level. Yet, it's not lke we don't produce genuine quicks either. Somehow or the other, injury and other factors seem to take their toll on these cricketers. Indian captains struggle to handle a genuine paceman properly. They are either overworked like donkeys or not given the ball at the right times.

What is more surprising is why we don't have a single world beating leg spinner in our national side. Anil Kumble was unorthodox, but at least he was officially a leg spinner. But since him, nobody has stepped up to the plate. A leg spinner will do well in all conditions and at least a more attacking option overseas on unfriendly pitches.

I am totally amazed at Ashwin's fall in confidence levels since his overseas tours. He must get back to his basics and that means getting back his original bowling action and working on putting more body into his action.

 

[deepuparayil]

Why is every one supporting Varun Aron, when we have Umesh Yadav? He bowls with a pace identical to Aron and have more control.I hope every one remembers his test bowling before the injury, where he cleaned up the lower order. India were struggling to get out tail enders at that time. But I don't know why, suddenly Dhoni lost faith in him and stopped supporting him. He also started to bash him and other pacers in press releases. In my opinion Umesh Yadav is way better than Aron and they should make him a regular in the Indian team.

 

[Parmesh killer]

At the national level, the coach can only do so much. We need to encourage quick bowling at all levels for domestic cricket in India and for that we need grassroots level coaches who encourage this art.

Unfortunately, given the nature of our wickets, the weather and other factors, fast bowling is not encouraged and we get line-and-length medium fast bowlers who are ineffective at the highest level. Yet, it's not lke we don't produce genuine quicks either. Somehow or the other, injury and other factors seem to take their toll on these cricketers. Indian captains struggle to handle a genuine paceman properly. They are either overworked like donkeys or not given the ball at the right times.

What is more surprising is why we don't have a single world beating leg spinner in our national side. Anil Kumble was unorthodox, but at least he was officially a leg spinner. But since him, nobody has stepped up to the plate. A leg spinner will do well in all conditions and at least a more attacking option overseas on unfriendly pitches.

I am totally amazed at Ashwin's fall in confidence levels since his overseas tours. He must get back to his basics and that means getting back his original bowling action and working on putting more body into his action.

I agree to you mate. I also admire a leggie. Off spinners are not as useful. I don't think that India would be able to produce one good leggie in next ten years.
Now talking about pacers. Indians are fools to have batting tracks in home. Even tail can bat here easily. Blaming coaches won't help. There is not a single track in India which favours pacers.