Have India gone soft?

[SaiSrini]

Ravindra Jadeja should be sacked (but he has found favor from the captain, who likes him so much). His bowling seems to be nothing special and his batting has also not improved. Time to try out Ashwin or some other player who will be an allrounder (bring Irfan back).

Uthappa should be back in the team. He is also concentrating now on his keeping so if Dhoni has problems, Uthappa can be backup and Dhoni can also relieve himself of the keeping duties and field. And his batting should suit the shorter formats. And I feel AngryPixel might be right in wanting Agarkar back. Maybe try him out again. He has built up lot of experience. When he clicks, he can be really good. When he doesnt click, he is almost as bad as our current crop of bowlers. So maybe try him out and see if he can make a comeback. We need bowlers who can bowl well in ODI's and T20's and both Ishant and Sreesanth are hopeless there. Praveen seems to have cemented his spot in ODI's and T20's.

 

[Dare]

Hold Indian fans haven't given up on Agarkar yet? If India wants to go backwards then sure bring him back.

 

[BKB1991]

Why did Mithun only bowl 4 overs when the pacers got so many wickets, so much assitance, from the track? Fast bowlers accounted for 7 NZ wickets - 13 wickets in the match - there was clearly some zip for the quicks. Why did Dhoni go with so many overs from crappy part timers like Jadeja, Yuvraj, and Sehwag when we had so many overs left available from a front line bowler? I'm starting to seriously doubt Dhonis captaincy here.

Mithun had a heat-stroke.

 

[tech.007]

Hold Indian fans haven't given up on Agarkar yet? If India wants to go backwards then sure bring him back.

i completely agree to your statement.That's what india has done and they will not learn

 

[Flame_Blader1]

I completely agree with Cricketman. Our team selection sucks. Rohit sharma should seriously be dropped, what a garbage batsman. Mithun needs to go as well. Uttappa needs to be brought back when he is fully fit. I think he is ready for the finishers role. Jadeja is slowly becoming more crap. The 1 reason I use to like him was his bowling but now he has even started to bowl crap.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Ravindra Jadeja should be sacked (but he has found favor from the captain, who likes him so much). His bowling seems to be nothing special and his batting has also not improved. Time to try out Ashwin or some other player who will be an allrounder (bring Irfan back).

Uthappa should be back in the team. He is also concentrating now on his keeping so if Dhoni has problems, Uthappa can be backup and Dhoni can also relieve himself of the keeping duties and field. And his batting should suit the shorter formats. And I feel AngryPixel might be right in wanting Agarkar back. Maybe try him out again. He has built up lot of experience. When he clicks, he can be really good. When he doesnt click, he is almost as bad as our current crop of bowlers. So maybe try him out and see if he can make a comeback. We need bowlers who can bowl well in ODI's and T20's and both Ishant and Sreesanth are hopeless there. Praveen seems to have cemented his spot in ODI's and T20's.

I agree with Jadeja being of no use given where he bats and his bowling seems to do no good for Indians. I like the idea of Irfan to be back as well. I have always been a supporter of Irfan Pathan and that guy has the talent. We all know he is very good with the bat to bat at no. 7 or 8. The bowling is a bit of a worry for him. But, he can be brought in as first change bowler as he did show his capabilities during the T20 WC 07 playing that role.

I don't quite know where you will fit Uthappa though. Our team generally looks like this (ODIs and T20s) -

Sachin
Sehwag
Gambhir
Yuvraj
Kohli
Raina
Dhoni
Jadeja
Harbhajan
Kumar
Nehra

In place of Jadeja, Irfan can come in. I just don't see Uthappa making into this team even is Sachin has opted for rest. Rohit Sharma is in the line next with Karthik being used as an opener.

Coming to Agarkar, I don't think he has anything left in the international scene now. We just can't give up hopes on Sharma and Sreesanth. Both have to be handled in a right manner. They are/were good aggressive bowlers. With Nehra in flow and Praveen performing consistently and after Zaheer returns, I think we have a good pace attack. I don't know what has happened to RP Singh. He may well be another option to look at. Mithun seems a one for the future.

In spin department, Harbhajan is there. I agree with Ashwin getting regular chances. He seems a good thinkable bowler and has performed well in limited chances he has got in the IPL. Besides, we have Mishra and Ojha who are also just learning. Mishra as we all know like any other leg spinner will need some time to come into his own.

I wish if we just handled our bowlers a bit better.

 

[Bounce]

^ In T20s, Gambhir and Sehwag shall open with Uthappa coming in for Sachin and batting at the middle order.

For ODIs, we can consider leaving out Kohli for Uthappa.

 

[Gaurav_7]

We cannot/should not leave Kohli out for Uthappa. In T20s, yes he can come in. But, I don't see him coming into the ODI front. Kohli has definitely been consistent enough to be in the side and would be unfair to him if he is left out.

 

[Bounce]

Kohli has definitely been consistent enough to be in the side and would be unfair to him if he is left out.

Not very sure about this. All I can remember his two consecutive centuries, nothing else.

 

[AkshayS]

What Kohli for Uthappa, forget about it, that guy has shown guts in INT. Cricket. We just can't leave him, surely one of the better players for future.

I think There is a serious need to bring back Sachin and Zaheer whenever they are fit, even the best batting lineup looked crap in last match. I just couldn't get why Kohli was dropped for Sharma, tweaking decision. I think Mithun don't have anything to do till the world cup scene, but he can surely be a bowler of future, I can't say anything about Ishant who is just crap now but Sreesanth have the guts to be back in the lineup.

For the world cup we should retain the trio of Zak, Nehra and Praveen which is the best pace attack india can have. Despite Bhajji not performing, we can't leave him, he can be economical at times.

In batting, India should just hope that no one gets injured. The lineup should be:

Sehwag
Sachin
Gambhir
Raina
Yuvraj/Kohli(yuvi needs to find his form back else Kohli will ge this position)
Dhoni
Kohli/Irfan(only if he'll be back)
Bhajji
Praveen
Zak
Nehra

 

[Gaurav_7]

Not very sure about this. All I can remember his two consecutive centuries, nothing else.

On what basis you want to include Uthappa?

I have gone through his stats in Vijay Hazare Trophy which are like this -

In 7 innings, 262 runs @ 37.42 with one century.

If we see Virat Kohli's recent stats of series in 2010, barring the Asia Cup he has been averaging over 40 in all. One poor series shouldn't make him sit out.

 

[AngryPixel]

Hold Indian fans haven't given up on Agarkar yet? If India wants to go backwards then sure bring him back.

We haven't given up on him because we know he has the talent. Whenever he clicks he almost unplayable. Remember how he made Jayasurya his bunny in 2006 series which india won 6-1. Again in 2003 series he caused aussie to collapse to 193 allout in second innings of a test match. He took 6 for 40 odd runs there. He has a century in tes matches and has scored 95 batting 3rd in ODI's. It is just that he is highly inconsistent. He would go down as a player who has wasted his talent along with afridi.

Moreover, he is quickest of the current lot of fast bowlers

AngryPixel added 3 Minutes and 29 Seconds later...

@user2010 Uthappa is a big match player. He can turn the match on his head. Very few players in indian team can do that. Kohli is nice classy player but when India is chasing a big total and required rate is above 7 runs an over, i would feel more comfortable with Uthappa at the crease than the Kohli. I still remember the spanking Uthappa and Yuvi gave aussies in T20 Semi final..

 

[Ollie_H]

In my opinion, India are at a bit of a dead end. Playing in the sub continent is easy enough when the pitch offers nothing and the bowlers generally just try and be economical until the pitch offers turn and then the spinners come in. But as soon as they go elsewhere where the pitches move and the ball swings, then they struggle most of the time.

You have Sehwag at the top of the order who is fantastic at opening in India, but as soon as the ball moves he seems to struggle due to his lack of foot movement. When Sachin and Dravid go, there is going to be a massive whole it seems at the moment. Gambhir is a cracking batsman though and will do well for years to come.

But how do India improve? The best thing to do is to let the pitches have a much greener tinge to them and get a lot more movement in the wicket. But if they do that in an International series then they might get rolled over and there is no way they want to lose, so instead they keep the tracks flatter than a pancake.

The best thing for them to do would be to get the pitches moving in the domestic scene so people can get a go at the moving track and ball, because while India may be force at the moment in the SC, when Sachin & Dravid go and they get to the moving pitches, things could be a lot different.

 

[Gaurav_7]

We haven't given up on him because we know he has the talent. Whenever he clicks he almost unplayable. Remember how he made Jayasurya his bunny in 2006 series which india won 6-1. Again in 2003 series he caused aussie to collapse to 193 allout in second innings of a test match. He took 6 for 40 odd runs there. He has a century in tes matches and has scored 95 batting 3rd in ODI's. It is just that he is highly inconsistent. He would go down as a player who has wasted his talent along with afridi.

Moreover, he is quickest of the current lot of fast bowlers

AngryPixel added 3 Minutes and 29 Seconds later...

@user2010 Uthappa is a big match player. He can turn the match on his head. Very few players in indian team can do that. Kohli is nice classy player but when India is chasing a big total and required rate is above 7 runs an over, i would feel more comfortable with Uthappa at the crease than the Kohli. I still remember the spanking Uthappa and Yuvi gave aussies in T20 Semi final..

Oh no, I just cannot believe how you make Agarkar seem so good. He just is not the one for the future. Uthappa is a big match player? You remember one or two of his innings and you say anything. If we go by that, Kaif is an exceptional player. Remember his innings where he won us Natwest Series final in 2002 along with Yuvraj?

User2010 added 1 Minutes and 40 Seconds later...

The best thing for them to do would be to get the pitches moving in the domestic scene so people can get a go at the moving track and ball, because while India may be force at the moment in the SC, when Sachin & Dravid go and they get to the moving pitches, things could be a lot different.

I wish this could happen. But, I doubt it will ever happen.

 

[manee]

However, I have read some comments lately which have made me outraged. MS Dhoni, in the light of the recent match, has the nerve to complain about the pitch, claiming it is spongy and impossible to score unless you are hitting pull shots and cut shots. Can somebody tell this joker to sit down? Did he not just see his bowling attack get decimated for 288 runs from the 50 overs? Scott Styris and Ross Taylor didn't seem to have a problem with it, no - it is only the poor Indians who need their subcontinental pitches.

Scott Styris responded with "Players in the subcontinent generally don't like the ball anywhere above the waist," which is 100% true and I have to commend Styris for finally saying what we've all been thinking. India need to stop whining about the pitch and start playing cricket.

It is interesting how your rage has caused you to miss the most obvious aspect of the game - that Taylor and Styris were the only people to get runs on the pitch. No one else did anything, and there were significant opportunities for the whole Indian batting and the NZ top order - both consisting of numerous strong, accomplished batsmen. Therefore, this was a difficult pitch on which to play yourself in. You note the poor Indians who need their subcontinental pitches, ignoring the obvious fact that this pitch occured in the subcontinent and that, despite popular opinion, there are pitches which seam in Indian domestic cricket, hence the sustained success of Vinay Kumar and Kulkarni in the domestic scene, among less consistent others.
Indians do not like the ball above the waist, that is true. However, does it mean much in the grand scheme of things, not really. Ganguly was a good Test batsman with such a weakness; when a good batsman gets in, then weaknesses fade away - this is obvious. People didn't bowl one bouncer and Ganguly would be finished. The same can be said of other Indian batsmen with such a weakness, like Suresh Raina - notice how he prospered in his few Test opportunities and has had a good ODI career up until now.

But yeah, heat stroke or no heat stroke, Mithun has to go. Test cricket only for him, with his FC record and his shocking OD record and he has shown himself a failure in that format so back to the drawing board, he should go.