England in India - Oct to Jan 2012/13

[Aalay]

Finally a big move by selectors to drop Zaheer. Awana is a good inclusion.However, selection of Chawla and Jadeja is worrying. We once used to take pride in our spin strength but right now, there are no decent spinners around in domestic cricket so we have to go back to the likes of Chawla and Mishra. I don't know why Jadeja got selected? Just because of the two triple centuries he scored this season? I was hoping for Manoj Tiwary to come in because he also scored runs in the practice match against England. Even Rohit Sharma has a better FC record. Dhoni's form is also very scratchy, he just does not look like a test material. We need to look at the likes of Saha and Karthik. Virat Kohli is another one who is struggling at the test format. He is probably one of the best player in shorter format currently but he just keeps struggling in test which is very strange. I don't know what to say about Sachin? Now the interesting part will be who will make debut in Nagpur test? Will it be Dinda or Awana? Ishant was horrible in the last test so will the the 2 new bowlers come in for a must win test?

Squad for T20Is: MS Dhoni (capt &wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Laxmipathy Balaji, Parvinder Awana

So my horrid dream comes true. THE GREAT BALAJI is still in the team. Why Praveen Kumar is being overlooked? Irfan is injured so he is out. Good to see Rahane in the squad.

P.S. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH VARUN AARON? I don't think he has played any cricket since last Decmber.Any update about his injury?

 

[SaiSrini]

Yesssss!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to the English on another thumping victory over the Indians at the holy Eden Park! Soon the dynasty would fall!

Sachin scored 76 in the 1st inns and scored 5 in the secound inns, his worst phase of his 20 year old career continues, hopefully if he is dropped for the fourth test the Indian batsmen may be inspired to perform and probably square the series! Whatever come, the legacy of Tendulkar is tarnished we will remember him in his last playing days as a failure with the bat who was way past his prime soaking up the a place at number four in the lineup blocking youngsters like Rahane!

Never knew that "we" was singular. Thanks for the grammar lesson, Sir!

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Finally a big move by selectors to drop Zaheer. Awana is a good inclusion.However, selection of Chawla and Jadeja is worrying. We once used to take pride in our spin strength but right now, there are no decent spinners around in domestic cricket so we have to go back to the likes of Chawla and Mishra. I don't know why Jadeja got selected? Just because of the two triple centuries he scored this season? I was hoping for Manoj Tiwary to come in because he also scored runs in the practice match against England. Even Rohit Sharma has a better FC record. Dhoni's form is also very scratchy, he just does not look like a test material. We need to look at the likes of Saha and Karthik. Virat Kohli is another one who is struggling at the test format. He is probably one of the best player in shorter format currently but he just keeps struggling in test which is very strange. I don't know what to say about Sachin? Now the interesting part will be who will make debut in Nagpur test? Will it be Dinda or Awana? Ishant was horrible in the last test so will the the 2 new bowlers come in for a must win test?

Squad for T20Is: MS Dhoni (capt &wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Laxmipathy Balaji, Parvinder Awana

So my horrid dream comes true. THE GREAT BALAJI is still in the team. Why Praveen Kumar is being overlooked? Irfan is injured so he is out. Good to see Rahane in the squad.

P.S. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH VARUN AARON? I don't think he has played any cricket since last Decmber.Any update about his injury?

Utter horrid selections done. Jadeja instead of Tiwary? From where does Chawla keep getting picked? For Chawla, I would say Mishra was a better choice. Yes, our spin cupboard is really bare after Ojha and Ashwin, but Mishra is a better choice than Chawla. They keep doing this "left arm spinner for a left arm spinner" theory. That's why Jadeja is picked (replacing Yuvraj's utility of left arm spin and left arm bat). You don't need such swaps when you don't use the fifth bowler well enough.

Happy with Awana's selection though. But will he get a chance with Dinda in the fray? Dhoni's mental state is such that he will go for Ishant and Dinda. I would give Awana and Dinda a chance at Nagpur and let them prove themselves. The successful bowler will work towards become a permanent fixture in the team replacing Ishant. Though, I didn't expect Zaheer to be dropped. Quite a big fall for him from being India's go-to man to being dropped. Probably Dhoni is being handed a lifeline because being the captain of the side, they can't wield the axe on him in the middle of a series. But I won't be surprised if Dhoni doesn't face any axe. He is due for it. And before ppl come and ask me about why I think Tendulkar doesn't deserve the axe, YOU CAN'T DROP TENDULKAR. If you wanted to, you should have done it 10-15 years back. He has proved himself time and again, and dropping him would be a criminal mistake. Talking with him about his future plans and fast tracking his retirement would be the only way to go.

I have lost hope in Aaron. What a waste of talent? Hope Yadav also doesn't go the same way. Praveen, Munaf are all not even temporary fixes. I would also start looking at Pankaj Singh.

 

[cerande]

I would also start looking at Pankaj Singh.

I was thinking the same thing.Pankaj Singh is not even on the fringes despite putting in good performances regularly.

 

[Aalay]

I have just created this thread. Have a look at it:

http://www.planetcricket.org/forums...ebuilding-indian-team-test-cricket-82329.html

 

[War]

http://www.planetcricket.org/forums/2397769-post118.html

Uncertainty for the reasons you stated in bold, along with the fact Gambhir/Sehwag have been owned technically by good fast-bowlers in the last 18 months. They are just a failure away in the first test, from throwing the balance of the entire batting line-up into further shaky state.

Plus we all know how iffy Raina/Yuvraj/Dhoni are as test batsmen. So essentially, only Kohli is in real form going into the first test. Thus England's quicks have much reason to feel they can keep that batting line-up quiet on current form.

Thus as i see it, England batsmen just have to play Ashwin/Ojha and whichever other spinner India may pick, competently & they would win.

Such a task the more i think about it is very manageable, because they don't give me the same fear factor as a spin duo compared to when Kumble/Harbhajan was the main spin duo 5-6 years ago in Indian conditions.

Along with the fact that hard testing England had vs Pakistan & Sri Lanka earlier this year facing Ajmal/Rehman/Herath/Randiv puts them in better position to play spin in India right now, than most people may be willing to give them credit for.

India by default will start favourites, by the looking at their squad, the strength of their "favourites" tag is not as strong as previous Indian sides @ home over the past decade. I would be willing to say now that this is the weakest Indian side in home conditions that i've seen in my lifetime of watching cricket.

Before this series, that is what i thought could happen, while i reckon i was the only english supporter (after KP was recalled to the team) who believe England could step up big in this series & be dominant.

All things to date have come to pass fairly accurately, except for the fact that i didn't wager Panesar being a major player for England. Mainly because i was going on the historical precedence of teams that won in india doing it on the back of 3 quicks playing. But they way Anderson/Finn bowled in kolkotta, if Broad was in form - Panesar probably would not have been needed.

One of the notable area's for India that i always believed from the inception that was as serious a threat to England if they really batted well was the Ojha/Ashwin spin duo.

As much as they are solid spinners, they never gave me the same fear that they could run throw England like when Kumble was around (backed up later by Harbhajan @ his peak). Kumble was legend on indian surfaces - what he did on his own is almost comparable a difficult task to replacing Tendulkar whenever he retires. So to me the "spin challenge" england had to conquer was significantly less difficult than past indian tours or even their 2012 tours to uae & sri lanka when they had to deal with Ajmal & Herath.

At this rate a 3-1 series win looks a formality, with a draw the second likely option. Can't see India being able to muster a performance to draw the series 2-2.

 

[Satan666]

Would be interesting if India comeback to square the series two all, will all the criticisms levelled against them dissipate given their indifference to losses they have suffered overtime?

 

[barmyarmy]

I think these things can turn around pretty quickly. If India win in Nagpur then suddenly where's the crisis?
England have batted better in this series but they're still very capable of collapsing and India have shown they can post decent scores if Pujara gets going. I think it's extraordinary that England are favourites for any test in India. I'm currently thinking where's a 3 test series when you need one?

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Well I officially admit we suck at test cricket and there is need of hell of changes. We need to get rid of few players and get in good inform players.

Our policy should be simple, 3-4 players retained based on their brand value and rest are in the side on the basis of form in domestic cricket. Good to see Awana and Jadeja in the side, yes they are inform and they should have been blooded in.

It was obvious that inplace of all rounder another all rounder was to be selected. I would have been shocked if in place of Kohli Jadeja would have been selected

 

[spooony]

 

[Cricketman]

loljadeja

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

does anyone ever actually find anything from cricinfo page 2 funny? really?

india should be more worried about the quality of it's satirists than it's cricketers.

 

[mrtwisties]

I don't get why people are ragging on Ashwin. He's bowled poorly in this series, sure, but the fact remains that he's got great fundamentals with both bat and ball. If he can bounce back and average ~35 with the bat and ~30 with the ball for his career then the likes of Pragyan Ojha (averages 15 with bat) would need to average 5 wickets at 22 each match to have the same impact on India's net run position.

I'll trade you Siddle for Ashwin, if you like.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

Before this series, that is what i thought could happen, while i reckon i was the only english supporter (after KP was recalled to the team) who believe England could step up big in this series & be dominant.

nope

the series hinges a lot on india's young batsmen, I think one of them will have to step up and play a series that will stamp their authority on their place in the team.

they're missing a load of senior players so it's anyone's guess how they'll cope. Pujara, Kohli, Yuvraj can't just provide little cameos and expect a creaking sachin or a woefully out of form gambhir to do all the damage.

I actually think england could win this and I'm not usually one for over-estimating england.

I can easily imagine a match this series where india turn a slightly tricky pitch into 60 all out or something like that, or a flat track where they end up struggling to make 300 and choke under the pressure of batting for a draw.

well, I'm not an english supporter so maybe you still have a point, but yeah, I reckoned this series was there for england to take.

also, tiwary is injured so that is probably why jadeja got the nod. still think there were better options.

 

[War]

nope




well, I'm not an english supporter so maybe you still have a point, but yeah, I reckoned this series was there for england to take.

also, tiwary is injured so that is probably why jadeja got the nod. still think there were better options.

Ha ye i actually saw your post SBH. Also a few indian fans acknowledged the possibility of england upsetting the odds. That's why i said english fans because in the earlier pages sadly none of them thought england could do so well, even when kp returned.

Jadeja is poor choice, especially when Badrinath is around and still scoring runs. India's test team could be in for a difficult few years.

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I don't get why people are ragging on Ashwin. He's bowled poorly in this series, sure, but the fact remains that he's got great fundamentals with both bat and ball. If he can bounce back and average ~35 with the bat and ~30 with the ball for his career then the likes of Pragyan Ojha (averages 15 with bat) would need to average 5 wickets at 22 each match to have the same impact on India's net run position.

I'll trade you Siddle for Ashwin, if you like.

Ha nah man, give them Hilfenhaus if you want to trade. Sidvicious is a must keep in the oz attack.

On Ashwin though, i have seen some of the indian commentators say during the series that his potential all-round ability reminds them of a young ravi shastri.

Shastri started as a bowler, who should good batting ability & gradually became a competent all-rounder who ended up opening the batting etc. Ashwin's technique looks good enough for him to bat @ # 7 for sure, so maybe in the future he can bat their since india may need to pick 5-bowlers in upcoming tests.

 

[playkid12]

I don't get why people are ragging on Ashwin. He's bowled poorly in this series, sure, but the fact remains that he's got great fundamentals with both bat and ball. If he can bounce back and average ~35 with the bat and ~30 with the ball for his career then the likes of Pragyan Ojha (averages 15 with bat) would need to average 5 wickets at 22 each match to have the same impact on India's net run position.

I'll trade you Siddle for Ashwin, if you like.

You didn't take into account that it might just not matter if Ashwin scores with the bat since India, most of the time, doesn't need the runs - they need the wickets. They produce plenty of quality batsmen. If I was an Indian selector, I'd take a guy that averages 25 in bowling and 2 with batting over a guy that averages 30-31 with bowling and 30 with batting. Why? Because that average in batting just wont be needed if you have enough good batsmen on the team.