India tour of Australia Nov'20-Jan'21

[NILAYSHAH60]

That does sound so funny! I am excited to see us go to Aussie again and play. ALthough we won last time, with Warner, Smith back, it will be different this time around. Btw why are we playing twice in Australia? Did I miss something? Have Australia visited us after the last encounter?

It is because of the scheduling of the Test Championship.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

I would say that this series would be 2-1 or 2-0 in favour of Australia. Australia have never lost a match in Gabba in last 30+ years and I don't see India winning the Day/Night Test in Adelaide. Sydney there is always a problem of weather so that may end in a draw. I think we can expect them to win the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne but I think it would definitely be tough.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Those numbers do look bad on the outside but a lot of his innings in T20s were too short for one. Shreyas and him have played more or less in the same spots and Shreyas on average faced 4 balls more per innings. It is true that Pant does gift his wicket sometimes but the context is that in nearly every game he has played he has been questioned pre-game, post-game and sometimes mid-game too. I don't think I've ever seen a stadium openly boo one of their own players in the middle of an unfinished game (Watto in the World Cup final is the only one I can remember from recent memory and it was disgraceful then too) and chant the name of the player he was standing in for and supposed to replace (this is entirely new to me). From his perspective he shall have only himself to blame but I really don't think it is that simple. I've never seen a country's own fanbase be so toxic to a player who clearly has potential to this extent just because he was supposedly challenging a media and fan favourite who was himself not in the best of form (Dhoni's huge average is pointless to me when he strikes at 83, that is shocking for a middle order 'finisher' in modern ODIs).

This is without considering his huge success in the previous IPLs. Or the fact that the Indian side have given countless opportunities to other players on the basis of their potential and domestic records after repeated international failures (the man who averages the most on your ODI list had a batting average of 31 odd after 80 ODIs at one point). I think this article explains why it is worth persisting with him better than I ever can.

He's 8th on the list in Test matches, although the highest for a keeper. He's not exactly setting the world alight.

I don't know if they've given a reason but I could see it being his form. Maybe it is his fitness and that they want him fit for test matches. Could be they know what they're going to get, so want to try out someone else or a different set up for the team. If that doesn't work.. go back to Pant. If Rahul can keep wicket, maintain his record in ODI and T20, I'd ask why bother picking Pant? I'd sooner have Hardik in as an X-factor batsman at 6 and then five bowlers.

He's still only 23 so I can't imagine they've given up on him.

Question is - what's India's focus on? The T20 World Cups and then figure out what the side for 2023 ODI World Cup will look like?

Btw why are we playing twice in Australia? Did I miss something? Have Australia visited us after the last encounter?

 

[asprin]

Will be interesting if Australia take an early punt on Cameron Green for this series

Australia v India, 2020-21 - Cameron Green earns Australia call-up, Moises Henriques returns after three years

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Australia v India, 2020-21 - Cameron Green earns Australia call-up, Moises Henriques returns after three years

Looks to be nice player does Cameron Green. But why did they even think about going to Moises Henriques? I mean he is someone already past his prime. What are his numbers for the Sixers and the NSW in past 2-3 years in Limited overs Cricket? Ok, forget the numbers but when was the last time he made any significant contribution for his team in the long run?

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Virat Kohli to play only one Test against Australia, Rohit Sharma added to squad

So Rohit Sharma added to the squad only for TESTS!!!, Varun Chakravarthy out of the T20 squad due to injury, T Natarajan replaces him so that is a good decision. Saha to be monitored but most likely out(has to be the most unluckiest WK, just when he hits form and Pant his competitor is not he injures himself).

Revised squads

T20Is: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-capt, wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan

ODIs: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-capt, wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wk)

Tests: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

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What is interesting is that Rohit Sharma who is now apparently fit is only added to the Tests. If they are giving him time to recover for test series fine, but it is a strage decision.

With Kohli only playing 1 test, this means Rahane to lead the side in Australia for tests.

I am thinking once Kohli leaves, this will be the XI?

Mayank Agarwal
Prithvi Shaw
Cheteshwar Pujara
Rohit Sharma/KL Rahul
Ajinkya Rahane
Hanuma Vihari
Rishabh Pant
Ravi Ashwin/Ravindra Jadeja
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammad Shami
Umesh Yadav

Or will we go bold and give Gill a chance in place of Kohli?

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

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What is interesting is that Rohit Sharma who is now apparently fit is only added to the Tests. If they are giving him time to recover for test series fine, but it is a strage decision.

With Kohli only playing 1 test, this means Rahane to lead the side in Australia for tests.

I am thinking once Kohli leaves, this will be the XI?

Mayank Agarwal
Prithvi Shaw
Cheteshwar Pujara
Rohit Sharma/KL Rahul
Ajinkya Rahane
Hanuma Vihari
Rishabh Pant
Ravi Ashwin/Ravindra Jadeja
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammad Shami
Umesh Yadav

Or will we go bold and give Gill a chance in place of Kohli?

If Sharma is in XI

He will open

 

[zwarrior]

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What is interesting is that Rohit Sharma who is now apparently fit is only added to the Tests. If they are giving him time to recover for test series fine, but it is a strage decision.

With Kohli only playing 1 test, this means Rahane to lead the side in Australia for tests.

I am thinking once Kohli leaves, this will be the XI?

Mayank Agarwal
Prithvi Shaw
Cheteshwar Pujara
Rohit Sharma/KL Rahul
Ajinkya Rahane
Hanuma Vihari
Rishabh Pant
Ravi Ashwin/Ravindra Jadeja
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammad Shami
Umesh Yadav

Or will we go bold and give Gill a chance in place of Kohli?

Not having Kohli against Aussies in Australia is certainly a blow for us. I really hope Rahane steps up now and perform. Sharma should play ahead of Gil at #4. Certainly could use his experience. I feel Gill can be a replacement for Shaw, if he fails.

We are missing even Ishant Sharma. He has been so good recently and the bowling department will need to hope Yadav performs well.

 

[asprin]

Not that it would have affected the overall result of the Test series, but Kohli missing 75% of the matches is a bloody blow to the team morale. Whether or not Kohli would have been able to repeat the heroics of the last tour is anybody's guess but having him in the team would certainly have unsettled some nerves in the opposition. Now they can relax and dominate the rest.

I would have given India a chance of winning 1 Test, but now I'm not so sure. 0-3 or 0-2 seems quite possible.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Yes, Kohli not being in the side is a big blow but lets take this into consideration that we have some fantastic batters in that lineup. Yes aggression will be low so who will they get riled up? Also this gives us a chance to see if India is Kohli or Kohli is part of Indian team. Also that man deserves this break. People criticizing him are morons. Cricket is not life, cricket is part of life and being close to your wife giving birth to your first child is pretty important part of the life. FCUK social media and the keyboard trollers.[DOUBLEPOST=1604935553][/DOUBLEPOST]

If Sharma is in XI

He will open

Umm, I dont think so. Mayank and Shaw will definitely open with Gill being their backup. Rohit Sharma can be used in the middle to cover for Kohli's loss. Also Kohli should have just gone home and not participated in the entire test series. This way he could have given his replacer enough time.

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Pandya hasn't bowled a single bowl in ipl (yet).

Pandya was brought into the team as he gave much needed balance to the Indian team as a genuine pacer and a batsman

If it were 2017, I don't think Pandya would have got a place in the XI if he wasn't a genuine all rounder


But cut to today,
I think the way he has showcased his batting prowess. He walks into the limited overs side hands down even as a specialist batsman. More so now that Dhoni has retired.

 

[SaiSrini]

It's utterly disdainful to hear certain cricketers advocate for Rohit Sharma to be given test captaincy in Virat Kohli's absence. I mean, I can understand if the common man and armchair experts like us make such suggestions. But not cricketers who've played international cricket for a really long time and understand the game better

Rohit is the perfect guy to be leading India right now in LOI's. But he is not even guaranteed a place in the XI in the test side and his test opening credentials are totally unproven outside the subcontinent. Tests and limited overs are completely different ball games and Rohit hasn't even cemented his place, let alone lead the team in test cricket. Rahane is the rightful successor when Kohli is not available. And the order after Rahane should be - Pujara and then R Ashwin (if the test series was in subcontinent, I'd have marked Ashwin and then Pujara). I feel it would make better sense to give Rahane the captaincy for the entire test series and let Kohli play the Adelaide test as a player. This way, there is no abrupt change of captaincy mid-series.

On a slightly different note - I completely respect Kohli's decision to take paternity leave during the series. It has been shocking and absolutely frustrating to read social media users bring up the so-called "national duty vs child birth" debate and berate Kohli for his choice. And some have been bringing up the "Dhoni continued playing WC while Ziva was born". That was Dhoni's choice. He didn't have to do it but in his mind, he romanticized the idea of "playing WC is more important than being with wife for their child" and so he stayed back in Australia. To me, this is no national duty (not army) and again I say, this is professional sport that he plays for the BCCI who are part of another private organization ICC. Even if this was the World Cup, Kohli has every right to choose not to play.

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What is interesting is that Rohit Sharma who is now apparently fit is only added to the Tests. If they are giving him time to recover for test series fine, but it is a strage decision.

With Kohli only playing 1 test, this means Rahane to lead the side in Australia for tests.

I am thinking once Kohli leaves, this will be the XI?

Mayank Agarwal
Prithvi Shaw
Cheteshwar Pujara
Rohit Sharma/KL Rahul
Ajinkya Rahane
Hanuma Vihari
Rishabh Pant
Ravi Ashwin/Ravindra Jadeja
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammad Shami
Umesh Yadav

Or will we go bold and give Gill a chance in place of Kohli?

If Agarwal and Shaw have to open, I would rather have KL Rahul in the middle order than Gill. For me, Gill would only play if an injury takes place. Without Kohli's batting presence, it is more imperative that players with experience are picked.

Mayank
Shaw/Rohit
Pujara
Rahul
Rahane
Vihari
Pant
Ashwin
Ishant/Umesh
Bumrah
Shami

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Rohit Sharma to be given test captaincy in Virat Kohli's absence.

That's something ridiculous to hear. I would want to know who are these people who want to have Rohit Sharma as Test Captain. Rahane is the automatic choice of Captain in absence of Kohli hands down.

 

[SaiSrini]

That's something ridiculous to hear. I would want to know who are these people who want to have Rohit Sharma as Test Captain. Rahane is the automatic choice of Captain in absence of Kohli hands down.

For starters, former test cricketer Irfan Pathan has advocated for Rohit Sharma to become test captain in Kohli's absence (Source: Rohit has to captain in Kohli's absence, not Rahane: Irfan Pathan | Deccan Herald)