India in the West Indies

[SaiSrini]

Drop VRV! Bring in Pathan, and Bhajji only if it is a spinning wicket. Stick with Munaf and Sreesanth...

I agree with this idea and its my wish too! Pathan should be brought in for VRV and Harbhajan only if its a spinning wicket or if its a batting beauty (in which case, India needs 5 bowlers to share the burden of picking 20 wickets).

 

[Sureshot]

I think the problem with Pathan is that he has lost a lot of pace. Even during the England series he was effective only in the ODIs but not in the tests which is mainly due to lack of pace. In spite of that he is a good bowler.

It is also possible that India could go back to 5 bowler theory in which case Harbajan and Pathan could play and drop one batsmen and drop VRV or another pacer.

He bowls at a similar speed to Hoggard, and look how succesful Hoggy has been for the last 2 years.

Don't lose faith in Pathan yet

 

[SaiSrini]

He bowls at a similar speed to Hoggard, and look how succesful Hoggy has been for the last 2 years.

Don't lose faith in Pathan yet

yeah, and I think Hoggard has gone through the lows in his career, but Pathan is experiencing it for the first time. This is what Webster said, that Pathan is going through a low that every cricketer will face in his career!

no one should lose faith in pathan. i am sure he will bounce back and be the same useful player for india that he always has been!

 

[Manohar]

He bowls at a similar speed to Hoggard, and look how succesful Hoggy has been for the last 2 years.

Don't lose faith in Pathan yet

At present I feel that he is much slower than Hoggard. I am not loosing faith in Pathan since he is only 21 years old. He is a thinking person even at this age and so am quiet confident that he will correct the deficiencies and will bounce back. May be the brief break given to him by the management is for him reassess and sort out the issues.

 

[s2sschan]

Sreesanth

Pathan should definitely be played, he should be played over Sreesanth any day. Seriously, he is the best paceman (relatively speaking ) India have.

Pathan over Sreesanth, are you kidding me. No way in Hell can we drop Sreesanth. Sreesanth's in, he's gold, even if he goes wicketless for the next three Tests.
VRV should be given a couple more opportunities to prove himself. Sreesanth has the "Winner Instinct" which most Indian bowlers lack. Pathan will get his turn if VRV fails.

INDIA NEEDS FAST BOWLERS DAMN IT!!!

 

[zreh]

Pathan is a very valuable bowler to India. He has regularly snatched up quick wickets, and most of his wickets are top order batsmen. Pathan is just going through a tough patch right now, he will be back... He is a swing bowler, not a fast bowler, people seem to be forgetting that. Pathan is like Hoggard, he just needs to stray away from the leg stump line, otherwise he will be punished everytime due to his lack of pace. If Pathan bowls probing lines outside the off stump, he will surely get wickets, as he can swing the ball more than anyone in world cricket. Plus his value as an emerging batsman, gives him potential to be one of the premier all-rounders in cricket. He is just going through a hard time right, now, not to worry, Pathan will be back!

 

[ronny_kingsley]

He's definitely got potential with the bat, but I wouldn't call him a good batsman just yet.

And what do you call Afridi mate?

I agree with this idea and its my wish too! Pathan should be brought in for VRV and Harbhajan only if its a spinning wicket or if its a batting beauty (in which case, India needs 5 bowlers to share the burden of picking 20 wickets).

I think India should go in with thier best bowlers irrespective of the pitch so both should come back at the expense of VRV and Sreesanth.

Also 5 bowler theory is too dicy .It leads to one bowler being underbowled and as in the 1st inning we need that cushion of the 6th batsman.

He bowls at a similar speed to Hoggard, and look how succesful Hoggy has been for the last 2 years.

Don't lose faith in Pathan yet

Well I think Pathan has been as succsefull (if u consider both ODI's and TEsts together) as Hoggard.

He takes wickets regularly ,doesnt go for runs,swings it as much as anyone and is quite good with his line and length.

Its just that he had 3 bad matches (and thats it) and all so called "INDIAN" fans are gunning for his head.

Look at what Pathan has done in the last year and then pass a judgement rather than last 3 matches

 

[sohum]

Pathan over Sreesanth, are you kidding me. No way in Hell can we drop Sreesanth. Sreesanth's in, he's gold, even if he goes wicketless for the next three Tests.

I certainly hope the people responsible for the team selection don't share your view. You need wickets to win a test match. If you don't get 20 wickets, you don't win a test match. So you can't have a bowler whose out there just because he's fast. Sreesanth isn't even that economical, so if he isn't getting wickets, he's not gold, he's less than stainless steel.

I think keeping Harbhajan out of the next few test matches would be a heinous act. Bhajji bowled well in the ODI series--if he wasn't taking wickets, he at least kept the runs down. After Sehwag's success, one can safely presume that Bhajji would have been effective.

 

[cricket_lover]

Pathan over Sreesanth, are you kidding me. No way in Hell can we drop Sreesanth. Sreesanth's in, he's gold, even if he goes wicketless for the next three Tests.
VRV should be given a couple more opportunities to prove himself. Sreesanth has the "Winner Instinct" which most Indian bowlers lack. Pathan will get his turn if VRV fails.

INDIA NEEDS FAST BOWLERS DAMN IT!!!

You don't get fast bowlers just like that. YOu have to manage with what you've got, and make sure they are capable of bowling in different conditions. One bad series, and you drop them...the hunt for fast bowling options will continue as long as Indian cricket lives.

You've got some decent pacemen, support them. You cannot expect these guys to get 5-fors in their first few tests. McGrath didn't, same with many other fast bowling greats. Just keep persisting, give them opportunities whenever and wherever possible, and allow them to experience different conditions.

Bowling is an art, and you'll need experience for that.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I think keeping Harbhajan out of the next few test matches would be a heinous act. Bhajji bowled well in the ODI series--if he wasn't taking wickets, he at least kept the runs down. After Sehwag's success, one can safely presume that Bhajji would have been effective.

You can't compare the Monk to Bahjji! They are very diffeent bowlers.
Bhajji is quicker through the air, relies more on top spin and bounce, and has a doosra.
Monk is slow and loopy, gives a lot of revs and gets an appreciable amount of turn, and gets srong away drift with the old ball.
Very different! And seeing how succesful Gayle was (ie, not very), Bhajji isn't needed. For now.
And Sreesanth is gold. He can strike when rest of the team's morale is down, when they are tired. Just before the end of a session, when the batsman's guard is down, with new ball or old. I mean, he turned the match with Sarwan's and Lara's wicket! He bowls with high intensity throughout. He is a match changer and a match winner. We don't have any other bowlers like that. Kumble maybe, but he is more consistent and hard working. Pathan could be counted, but that is only with the new ball.

 

[m_vaughan]

Its just that he had 3 bad matches (and thats it) and all so called "INDIAN" fans are gunning for his head.

Look at what Pathan has done in the last year and then pass a judgement rather than last 3 matches

Actually I am certain that he has had more than 3 bad matches. Like I said, he needs certain conditions for his swing to be effective. I said this during the India-Pak series as well, that you cant rely too much on a 75mph bowler, to get wickets on all kinds of wickets.

 

[nightprowler10]

And what do you call Afridi mate?

You're always quick to attack. I've never called Afridi anything more than an entertainer and a decent enough leg-spinner. Still, he's a helluva lot better than Pathan.

 

[m_vaughan]

You're always quick to attack. I've never called Afridi anything more than an entertainer and a decent enough leg-spinner. Still, he's a helluva lot better than Pathan.

A better batsmen, yes. Bowling wise he is more of a support bowler, who on his day however can cause a lot of problems.

You cant really compare the two.

 

[sohum]

You can't compare the Monk to Bahjji! They are very diffeent bowlers.
Bhajji is quicker through the air, relies more on top spin and bounce, and has a doosra.
Monk is slow and loopy, gives a lot of revs and gets an appreciable amount of turn, and gets srong away drift with the old ball.
Very different! And seeing how succesful Gayle was (ie, not very), Bhajji isn't needed. For now.
And Sreesanth is gold. He can strike when rest of the team's morale is down, when they are tired. Just before the end of a session, when the batsman's guard is down, with new ball or old. I mean, he turned the match with Sarwan's and Lara's wicket! He bowls with high intensity throughout. He is a match changer and a match winner. We don't have any other bowlers like that. Kumble maybe, but he is more consistent and hard working. Pathan could be counted, but that is only with the new ball.

I didn't say Sreesanth wasn't gold, I said that if any bowler is not taking wickets, and is not really keeping the economy down, there's no point keeping him in the team. This was in response to someone saying Sreesanth should be in the team even if he is wicketless in the next 3 games. I believe he needs to have wickets or make opportunities for someone else to stay in the team.

As for Harbhajan, you cannot compare how successful two part-time offspinners (Gayle and Sehwag) would be to Harbhajan--because Harbhajan would be better. The reason we took in 4 bowlers was not because we didn't think Harbhajan wouldn't cut it, but because we thought that our batting was weak. Which.... it was. But if our batting is beginning to strike some form, it would be a pretty silly move to keep out one of our prime wicket-takers, who is bound to keep the runs down and create pressure, if he doesn't take wickets. This is what Kumble missed in the first innings--a partner who allowed him to do different stuff, by keeping one side tight.

 

[nightprowler10]

A better batsmen, yes. Bowling wise he is more of a support bowler, who on his day however can cause a lot of problems.

You cant really compare the two.

I wasn't comparing their bowling, just the batting. And only because someone else brought it up.