India tour of New Zealand - Jan to Feb 2014

[ferg512]

Just wondering why Rohit Sharma is getting much more criticism than Dhawan, at least Rohit made a fifty I guess. Dhawans highest score so far on both the SA and NZ tours is 32.

 

[asprin]

I'm hopeful they'll put up a better effort in the tests but I'm not even sure, most of them look like they want to go home already.

I got the same feeling from their body language. Pretty much the same as England had during Ashes and the ODIs as well. I bet many of them must be thinking of IPL on this tour.

 

[aussie1st]

NZ started to get some consistency in that batting lineup with Williamson and Taylor the backbone with Anderson, McCullum and Ronchi to finish things. Just need Ryder to fire and that batting is a scary prospect.

 

[playkid12]

Just wondering why Rohit Sharma is getting much more criticism than Dhawan, at least Rohit made a fifty I guess. Dhawans highest score so far on both the SA and NZ tours is 32.

Rohit Sharma has played 119 ODIs. It's frustrating to see him get selected again and again when he's a proven failure. This series performance is nothing new for Rohit Sharma. Dhawan has only played 35, and less than 10 of them are overseas, so people genuinely believe he deserves more chances before he's axed.

Nothing has changed in Indian cricket. Whatever little India gained during the era of Sourav Ganguly's captaincy in terms of winning overseas, has been lost..

Dhoni has negatively impacted Indian cricket by selecting a team of power hitters with no real substance. He also chooses mediocrity like Raina because he's biased toward players. Those players fire on home flat tracks, but can't do anything overseas.

Plus persisting with Ishant Sharma for so long omg, and now they're doing the same thing with Rohit Sharma.

 

[asprin]

There is a lot of difference between Rohit and Ishant - the former has immense talent (and thus tends to frustrate the audience more because they know his potential) but the latter doesn't. Yes I know people will throw "talent alone isn't enough" stuff at me, but that is a different point altogether.

 

[playkid12]

Ishant had talent. He lost it along with his pace. Talent only matters if the person has a good, mature mindset and an honest work ethic.

 

[grkrama]

If we are talking talent we also need to see what kind of talent is it, is it a talent of just flaying attacks on flat tracks ,can it come good against good swing bowling with decent pace, dhoni is certainly not talented as rohit cricketing shots wise but still is able to get runs regularly for the team.

 

[greymatter776]

India has done really bad in ODis.Hope they would do good in tests

 

[asprin]

If we are talking talent we also need to see what kind of talent is it, is it a talent of just flaying attacks on flat tracks ,can it come good against good swing bowling with decent pace, dhoni is certainly not talented as rohit cricketing shots wise but still is able to get runs regularly for the team.

Rohit's talent is something special. I remember many ex-cricketers (national as well as international) tipping Rohit to become the next big thing in Indian cricket. IIRC, there were even "Next Tendulkar" chants going on. It's a pity he is wasting all of it though.

 

[SaiSrini]

Already seen a few Indian fans bringing out the old wait til you play us at home...

I have rarely seen such kind of fans at least here in PC. To me, a home victory these days mean virtually nothing. I am definitely hurt by this consistent poor results abroad. But more so by the fact that we have a stubborn senseless captain who in the name of gambles, is committing atrocities in the name of selection and team management. I blame only the captain here because he is a very powerful guy right now in Indian cricket. No coach can tell him what to do. How can you keep a guy like Pujara out for so long inspite of so many calls to get him in the ODI setup? Is he worried that Pujara might pose a threat to the likes of Rohit, Dhawan or Raina? This continued persistence with Ashwin is also baffling. I won't call it the CSK card (because Jadeja and Raina have been dropped before; Raina more recently).

It wont be bad if the selectors give Dhoni a shock treatment by dropping him for a series or two. I know with the powerful (mafia) BCCI boss around, that's not going to happen. But right now, the Indian team clearly is dependent on the luck factor. If its our day, we do well. If its not, we are pathetic.

 

[Aalay]

It wont be bad if the selectors give Dhoni a shock treatment by dropping him for a series or two.

LOL we will only be left with Virat Kohli to score all the runs.

 

[SaiSrini]

LOL we will only be left with Virat Kohli to score all the runs.

Its not that straightforward. Dropping Dhoni would mean a new captain, new decision making head, different atmosphere, etc. And if they bring in good batsmen like Pujara, then Dhoni's absence might not be felt. And I am just saying that for a series. I am not even saying that Dhoni should be permanently sacked. Dhoni is still India's premier batsman. But a shock treatment won't be bad. You can't just drop him as captain and let him play. A shock treatment is when you drop him altogether.

 

[Aalay]

Its not that straightforward. Dropping Dhoni would mean a new captain, new decision making head, different atmosphere, etc. And if they bring in good batsmen like Pujara, then Dhoni's absence might not be felt. And I am just saying that for a series. I am not even saying that Dhoni should be permanently sacked. Dhoni is still India's premier batsman. But a shock treatment won't be bad. You can't just drop him as captain and let him play. A shock treatment is when you drop him altogether.

WTH are you saying? Dhoni and Kohli are our best players in ODI format, how can you even think about dropping them? We should think about bringing Pujara in for Raina. Changing captain won't change the fact that we don't have a good bowling attack. It's the bowlers who are letting him down by not picking wickets in middle overs. We need to drop Ashwin immediately and give someone like Mishra or Ojha a chance. Ashwin has never been a good one day bowler but now he is getting even worse. We need to persist with Shami, Aaron because they will eventually improve. I don't even know what to say about Rohit because he blows so hot and cold that it's not even funny. Dhawan's golden run is over and he is struggling. I haven't seen him bat like this even in tests so he is clearly trying to stay at the crease but the runs are just not coming.

I just hope they pick Pujara for Asia cup because if he isn't given chance than someone like Raina will make runs again on those flat tracks of Bangladesh and will be in the team till the world cup.

----------

Dhawan
Rohit/Gambhir
Kohli
Pujara
Raydu/Tiwary
Dhoni
Jadeja
Mishra/Ojha
B.Kumar/Umesh Yadav
Varun Aaron
Shami

 

[used2bcool]

I think after this debacle the selectors and/or Dhoni might be forced to "clean house" so to say if only to show that they're doing something. I wouldn't be upset if Dhawan is done, because he's looked so lost on the two latest tours that continuing to grind him into the ground would probably be detrimental to his confidence anyway. I genuinely believe Gautam Gambhir is probably a better bet opening because his technique, while not airtight, is more naturally suited to sticking it out.

Since we desperately need middle order wickets, Ashwin has to go. Jadeja can play the allrounder's role, especially now that he's found some form.

Pujara can come in to provide stability to the innings and play the role that Dravid played for Ganguly's teams or the role that Williamson plays for New Zealand. He can be the anchor that aims to bat forty overs while others bat around him. Rahane has been an utter disappointment but I think he should get another chance based on the fight he showed in South Africa test matches.

We need to have a pool of five pace bowlers: Shami, Bhuvneshwar, Yadav, Aaron, and Ishwar Pandey (he gets a pass because I haven't seen him yet). These guys are pretty awful right now but with time they might improve. The one thing they have on their side is age. Ishant shouldn't be anywhere near a limited-overs side. If someone else makes an obvious case for selection through domestic/IPL/whatever, give them a shot. And for god's sake, teach that ****er Aaron to field!

Shravi's point that the rankings system is largely irrelevant is absolutely spot-on. Most people don't remember who the #1 ranked ODI/T20 teams in the world are, but they sure as hell remember who won the last world cup/champions trophy/T20 world cup.

 

[surendar]

. A shock treatment is when you drop him altogether.

I would prefer him to be dropped just for growing old in not able to learn from mistakes of the past. Having both Sharma's in playing XI made no sense whatsoever! These players need shock treatment like Bevan to be sacked no matter how high profilic you end up to be.