India Team Discussion

[LiveLoveABD]

I don't see Krunal being picked in the WC squad simply because if the selectors had him in radar, he would have been given a chance by now in the senior team. He barely made it to India A team last time around and wasn't that good. The only finger spinner that selectors might take to the WC is a toss up between Akshar Patel and Washington Sundar. I am not a fan of Akshar and Washington has had a pretty poor IPL season. However, we must remember that he was probably the find of the Nidhas trophy for India. He choked both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who are pretty decent players of spin. Of course this upcoming season is going to very important for Washington but if he manages to perform well in whatever limited chances that he gets, I think he will be the only finger spinner in the WC squad ahead of Akshar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin.

The thing with Krunal is that he makes up for both of his brother's shortcomings. Of all the spin bowling all rounders, his batting is the best and while he's not the best bowler he's not far off. The left arm angle also helps. He's also a better fielder than most bar Jaddu. I think Pandya as a 10 over bowler is high risk stuff.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Yes. Krunal will be a big luxury in English conditions. And if he had a serious chance for the WC squad, he would've been blooded by now and should've played quite a few games for India. The fact that he has not done that says that he won't make the WC squad.

I think Kuldeep and Chahal might be the only spinners picked for the WC squad. In conditions where you are not likely to see much turn, a third spinner could be luxury. If they do pick a third spinner, it should be Sundar, primarily for his agility on the field and his youth. Ashwin's slowness on the field is totally unwanted, and Jadeja is soon expected to become a past India international player.

May be it's just that we are debating very frequently but how is Jadeja a thing of the past? He's as good a bowler as Ashwin in tests and def closer to a WC call up than Ashwin. If you're saying Sundar is more 'agile' on the field than Jadeja then those are the stuff of dreams! I'm a big Jadeja fan but I can see Krunal being a better option. I don't know how you came to the conclusion of Sundar being better. Jadeja is also experienced and that counts for a lot.

 

[SaiSrini]

May be it's just that we are debating very frequently but how is Jadeja a thing of the past? He's as good a bowler as Ashwin in tests and def closer to a WC call up than Ashwin. If you're saying Sundar is more 'agile' on the field than Jadeja then those are the stuff of dreams! I'm a big Jadeja fan but I can see Krunal being a better option. I don't know how you came to the conclusion of Sundar being better. Jadeja is also experienced and that counts for a lot.

Here's my comparison of Sundar vs Jadeja/Ashwin/Krunal

1) Sundar vs Jadeja

Specialist Bowling: Sundar Wins
Bowling Form: Sundar wins
Fielding: Jadeja Wins

2-1 to Sundar

2) Sundar vs Ashwin

Specialist Bowling: Tie
Bowling Form: Tie
Fielding: Sundar wins

1-0 to Sundar

3) Sundar vs Krunal

Specialist Bowling: Sundar wins
Bowling Form: Tie
Fielding: Tie

1-0 to Sundar

Overall: Sundar vs Jadeja was pretty straightforward for me. On the "Sundar vs Ashwin" for Bowling form, Ashwin has had a slightly better IPL than Sundar but that's because Ashwin is captain and so he played all games whereas Sundar was under Kohli and was benched for a few games. Also Sundar had a great Nidahas trophy while Ashwin was not playing white ball cricket for India. So I called it a Tie. Same theory goes for "Sundar vs Krunak" on bowling form.

Also on your experience argument, we are talking about a backup spinner who might not play many games because Kuldeep and Chahal are there. So for me on this spot, I did not value experience as much. Also I felt a more younger player who has decent amount of experience and better bowling form should be preferred over the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Honestly, your Chennai/TN bias is getting a bit too overwhelming.

I don't want to post one long elaborate post but last time I checked Sundar was getting clattered around all over the IPL. He's in worse form than all the other 3. He's also the most unproven batsman of the 3. Jadeja recently got a MOM for his bowling against the likes of Kohli and de Villiers? And the value of 'youth' is useless if your older players can field.

IMO, Chahal is too one dimensional and I would play one of the 4 finger spinners in the XI to give me a bowling and batting option!

 

[SaiSrini]

Honestly, your Chennai/TN bias is getting a bit too overwhelming.

I don't want to post one long elaborate post but last time I checked Sundar was getting clattered around all over the IPL. He's in worse form than all the other 3. He's also the most unproven batsman of the 3. Jadeja recently got a MOM for his bowling against the likes of Kohli and de Villiers? And the value of 'youth' is useless if your older players can field.

IMO, Chahal is too one dimensional and I would play one of the 4 finger spinners in the XI to give me a bowling and batting option!

Oh come on. I wasn't even thinking about the Chennai/TN bias. And if you saw my elaborate comparison, I rated Jadeja as a much closer competitor to Sundar than Ashwin. And Jadeja is a Saurashtra player whereas Ashwin is a Tamil Nadu player. Now will you come up and say that I rated Jadeja higher because he plays for CSK?

And I did say that Kuldeep and Chahal are the frontliners and Sundar might not play many games. If your allegation did exist, I could've said Sundar should play as second spinner to provide variety and not have the sameness of two leggies. But I did not say that! I have my preferences of who should be picked, and you have yours. From my perspective, there is enough experience in the potential India WC squad that they can take Sundar ahead of Jadeja and Ashwin.

 

[abhi_jacko]

https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/...ry-bcci-hopes-for-quick-recovery-1758169.html

:| Kohli skipping county season. Injured

 

[Gaurav_7]

There are reports he might miss early part of the England tour as well.

 

[SaiSrini]

Saha injured and in doubt for the Afghanistan test
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/23637011/wriddhiman-saha-monitored-finger-injury

He better skips the Afghanistan test even if he is close to fitness. He is crucial to our plans for the England tour where a solid WK like him will be better. In the meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik should play against Afghanistan and should be backup for Saha for the England tour. DK with his experience and his recent elevation to KKR captaincy and his Nidahas trophy exploits, should be in an entirely different mental zone and should be given more opportunities.

 

[zwarrior]

Saha injured and in doubt for the Afghanistan test
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/23637011/wriddhiman-saha-monitored-finger-injury

He better skips the Afghanistan test even if he is close to fitness. He is crucial to our plans for the England tour where a solid WK like him will be better. In the meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik should play against Afghanistan and should be backup for Saha for the England tour. DK with his experience and his recent elevation to KKR captaincy and his Nidahas trophy exploits, should be in an entirely different mental zone and should be given more opportunities.

I agree. Since past couple of months, DK has been outstanding. Looking forward to see more of him playing for India.

 

[Master Bates]

Saha is not that useful with the bat. I think DK should be tried as a specialist batsman for England test tour. He can play sensibly or can slog if required. Also for WC, I think Ashim should be selected. I will never select Sundar for plenty of reasons!
1. He can't turn the ball much.
2. There is not any turn in English conditions, so a wrist spinner or an experienced spinner would be hell lot better.
3. His recent form sucks. @SaiSrini

In IPL 2017, he bowled in the power play to overseas batsman or those who can't play spin that well.
But in 2018, we say how Narine smashed in the first match plus he failed to take good number of wickets.

@LiveLoveABD I agree with you. I think Krunal should be given chances. He looks much better than his brother. He can hit pacers as well.

And Jadeja is not past. He still can make a comeback. I think Ashwin has done well with the bat as well for Punjab. He was there 5th highest run scorer this season.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

People forget that our series win in England came with DK and Jaffer opening the batting. DK has matured a lot since then and at 6/7 he's a much much better option than Saha.

 

[Velocity]

People forget that our series win in England came with DK and Jaffer opening the batting. DK has matured a lot since then and at 6/7 he's a much much better option than Saha.

Not sure if Saha is a good bet playing at 6-7 overseas. He has a good front foot game which can easily be exploited in England with the swinging Dukes ball and put him trouble. He has struggled overseas as well. Based on this, I'd like to put DK ahead of him. He's a lot more technically sound than Saha and as you mentioned he's played in England before. Not to mention his keeping has improved and took a few stunners and had a few clever stumpings during the IPL. He should play at 6 with Pandya at 7. Saha should warm the bench IMO and DK should play.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Not sure if Saha is a good bet playing at 6-7 overseas. He has a good front foot game which can easily be exploited in England with the swinging Dukes ball and put him trouble. He has struggled overseas as well. Based on this, I'd like to put DK ahead of him. He's a lot more technically sound than Saha and as you mentioned he's played in England before. Not to mention his keeping has improved and took a few stunners and had a few clever stumpings during the IPL. He should play at 6 with Pandya at 7. Saha should warm the bench IMO and DK should play.

I for one am not a fan of Pandya at 7. I think his brain needs to be clear for that which I don't see a lot of at the moment. Sure, he can make a game changing 50 and pick the odd wicket but can he bowl overs all day accurately and build a camp at the end of a day's play with the bat?

I think our approach to away test series has been faulty ever since Kohli took over. We play over aggressive cricket and make over aggressive selections early in the piece and we then look to recover lost ground deep into the series.

My approach in England would be 6 batsmen, a keeper, 3 quicks and a spinner to start and then take it from there. 5 tests is a lot to see and try combinations.

Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Nair, DK, Ashwin, Bhuvi, Yadav and Ishant to start.

To be honest, with Ashwin and Bhuvi I rather play Shami/Bumrah than Pandya. Ashwin is good enough to bat 7 and Bhuvi 8.

 

[Master Bates]

My lineup for First Test:
KL Rahul
Murali Vijay
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
Dinesh Karthik
Ravichandran Ashwin
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Mohammed Shami
Ishant Sharma
Umesh Yadav

Replacements (if needed): Dhawan, very obvious if one opener fails.
Wriddhiman Saha if keeping is a problem and Ashwin does not perform.
Bumrah, if one pacer does not perform.
Now, Pujara is in very bad form in County cricket this year. So if he fails, we have to give someone else a chance - Karun Nair, if he does well in Afghanistan tour.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

My lineup for First Test:
KL Rahul
Murali Vijay
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
Dinesh Karthik
Ravichandran Ashwin
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Mohammed Shami
Ishant Sharma
Umesh Yadav

Replacements (if needed): Dhawan, very obvious if one opener fails.
Wriddhiman Saha if keeping is a problem and Ashwin does not perform.
Bumrah, if one pacer does not perform.
Now, Pujara is in very bad form in County cricket this year. So if he fails, we have to give someone else a chance - Karun Nair, if he does well in Afghanistan tour.

Pujara has just scored a century in County cricket.