India in Australia

[JamesyJames3]

I think that I would perhaps still not bring in Dinesh Karthik. His weakness against Shoaib Akhtar's quicker deliveries makes me think that perhaps he has an issue with fast bowling. This is clearly not ideal for an opener against Australia.

I'd bring in Sehwag for Yuvraj Singh. I would also bring in Irfan Pathan for Harbhajan Singh. I reiterate that Sehwag should not be in the squad and either Gambhir or Chopra would have been better options due to domestic form but given the squad, I'd go with Sehwag and open with him; consequently dropping Dravid down the order to number six.

Irfan Pathan could be in the team as the third seamer with Ishant Sharma and RP Singh opening the bowling. Despite the nature of the WACA pitch, I think that RP Singh and Pathan should look to pitch the ball up to the bat and look for swing. Chris Rogers mentioned the ground favouring swing and to be honest, watching Pathan bowl a bouncer is painful.

I think Pankaj Singh and VRV Singh have squandered their opportunity. I also think that neither should have spots for the CB Series. Both have poor List A records and playing in the CB Series (and failing) will only hurt them in the long term. I believe that playing in the Duleep Trophy (or going to the NCA) would be far more beneficial for them.

Why don't you think Sehwag should be in the squad?

I can't understand why he isn't in the XI ahead of Jaffer.

 

[Manohar]

I think Pankaj Singh and VRV Singh have squandered their opportunity. I also think that neither should have spots for the CB Series. Both have poor List A records and playing in the CB Series (and failing) will only hurt them in the long term. I believe that playing in the Duleep Trophy (or going to the NCA) would be far more beneficial for them.

I agree that Pathan, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma should play in Perth but writing off Pankaj Singh and VRV after one tour match seems to be hasty. I watched Pankaj Singh bowl in the second innings. He is not too bad keeping in mind that it was a docile wicket. He got two wickets. He is tall, well built, young and seem to have a good attitude. I would give him some more chance before writing him off. VRV just came into the tour and seems that he does not have enough match practice.

 

[sohum]

Why don't you think Sehwag should be in the squad?

I can't understand why he isn't in the XI ahead of Jaffer.

Probably because Sehwag was an out-of-the-blue selection who had been performing very poorly in the domestic games (average in the 16s if I remember correctly). I wanted him for the Pakistan series, but seeing that he didn't get picked there and wasn't performing too well domestically, his selection wasn't really justified on current form.

 

[.Mob]

Yeah, it's a bit harsh just dropping them, I don't think Pankaj did anything wrong the whole match either, he kept at a good line and length. VRV looked very undercooked too, would be very harsh to drop him.

 

[SaiSrini]

Pankaj and VRV are not making good use of thier height. I think Agarkar will come back for the ODIs[if we play] given that Z Khan is out of action.

I guess Sree would be back at least for the ODI's. He was saying he could be back for Perth itself. I guess he might be back for the ODI's. We need Sreesanth for the ODI's.

 

[shan111]

I guess Sree would be back at least for the ODI's. He was saying he could be back for Perth itself. I guess he might be back for the ODI's. We need Sreesanth for the ODI's.

yeah.. we need sree for the ODI's. He's the fastest Indian bowler at the moment. If he gets that outswing going with pace around 138-142km/h he might prove a bit tough for aussies.

 

[.Mob]

Should be Sree, RP, Irfan, Harbhajan and Kartik. Chawla, Praveen Kumar and Pnkaj Singh/Ishant Sharma as back ups.

 

[Cricketman]

This boils down to Jaffer vs Karthik.
To me, its Dinesh. Jaffer has been all at sea vs Lee. An Innings against a third-rate side does not guarantee a spot in the side.
Karthik is fresh. You can say he didnt do well against Shoaib, but Lee is a different bowler and we are playing in different conditions.
Karthik is a great fielder as well, which Jaffer is not.

Its obvious, IMO.

 

[.Mob]

I disagree, I think they should both play, they seem to play very well together. Sehwag murdered an absolutely rubbish attack, he won't do that against the Aussies, having said that so did Jaffer, and he's Lee's bunny.

Sehwag and Dravid could be a good partnership, one attacks and one holds the ship. Karthik replacing Yuvi of course, down the order.

 

[SaiSrini]

I disagree, I think they should both play, they seem to play very well together. Sehwag murdered an absolutely rubbish attack, he won't do that against the Aussies, having said that so did Jaffer, and he's Lee's bunny.

Sehwag and Dravid could be a good partnership, one attacks and one holds the ship. Karthik replacing Yuvi of course, down the order.

If Karthik plays, he should open with Sehwag (or) Jaffer. Dravid is our key player, and he should be given his position when you have a better opener in the side.

Even Sehwag has less chances of doing the same with Aussies, you got to pick him. Its not that he cannot score against the Aussies. He has had success against them. He is a kind of player who murders the opposition once he gets going. The nature of the pitches suit his style of play well.

 

[Sureshot]

This boils down to Jaffer vs Karthik.
To me, its Dinesh. Jaffer has been all at sea vs Lee. An Innings against a third-rate side does not guarantee a spot in the side.
Karthik is fresh. You can say he didnt do well against Shoaib, but Lee is a different bowler and we are playing in different conditions.
Karthik is a great fielder as well, which Jaffer is not.

Its obvious, IMO.

Karthik isn't a great fielder by any stretch.

 

[.Mob]

Yes he is.

 

[JamesyJames3]

Yes he is.

No way! He's the best of a bad bunch though.

 

[.Mob]

What the hell?

He has his bad moments, but he is a very good fielder, what makes you say he isn't?

 

[JamesyJames3]

What the hell?

He has his bad moments, but he is a very good fielder, what makes you say he isn't?

Too many of them.