Indian ODI cricket - What should be done?

[manee]

After the debacle of the world cup 2007, India's one day team have shown little to no improvement at all. Despite having extremely heavy scorers in Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, supported by the able Mahendra Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir, India continue to struggle in ODIs.

The bowling department is a massive problem. The extremely impressive Zaheer Khan struggles to take wickets in ODIs so does RP Singh. Others (Agarkar and Munaf Patel) are extremely expensive to the extent that it nullifies the wickets they pick up.

The fielding has become poor to an unbelieveable extent. There is constantly a single to the infield and even fielders like Yuvraj Singh are making misfields for stops they should be stopping.

What do you suggest should be done to make up for the poor bowling and fielding, should the batting department have to make a sacrifice for a better fielder?

Just for arguements sake, this is the team we have before change:

Sourav Ganguly
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Yuvraj Singh
Rahul Dravid(*)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Uthappa/Karthik/Agarkar
Ramesh Powar
Piyush Chawla
Zaheer Khan
RP Singh

Please don't just post a team without explanation.

 

[jkartik]

my thinking is to wait for the twenty20 tournament to finish first before
suggesting any names ! if the old horses like irfan, sehwag etc fire again...
bring em back
remove gambhir,agarkar and munaf and bring in ranadeb bose,irfan and joginder sharma !

remove robin singh and venkatesh prasad or may be give them ONE more
series. if they fail to click, then sack them.

if sehwag and irfan get their form back, then my team would be :-

Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
Rahul Dravid(*)
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Uthappa/Karthik/
Ramesh Powar/Piyush Chawla
Irfan Pathan/Joginder Sharma
Zaheer Khan
Ranadeb Bose/RP Singh

 

[RoboRocks]

I would get younger players in to help the fielding and India should try and look to the future in ODI's.
That Tiwary looks a good player so I would recommend getting him in there.

I'll keep faith in RP Singh because he looks a good left arm swing bowler from the tests.
Zaheer Khan has been a good performer and the spinners Chawla and Powar do well too.

 

[angryangy]

It could be as simple as getting Pathan back and firing.

Fielding does need to be worked on, as does fitness; the two go hand in hand. Players like Uthappa need to be in the team on the grounds that they can actually field.

They probably need a new part-timer/all-rounder. Ganguly isn't exactly at his peak. On the other hand, having Ganguly allows them to pick a team that with not enough pace.

Definitely though, they need 2 pacemen to rely on and one more who contributes. They rely on Zaheer. He needs a friend.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

We just need Viru and Pathan back in form.

Viru
Sachin
Dada
Dravid
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Pathan
Piyush
Powar
Zaheer

The 11th could be Munaf/RP/Ajit if we need a bowler, or Uthappa/Gambhir is a batsman is needed. Viru can do a more than excellent job as a part-timer.

 

[manee]

Personally, I feel that Ganguly needs to step out of the ODI team. I understand this would be hard since he is second leading run scorer in ODIs this year (behind Hayden) but I feel he leaks far too much in the field with his weak arm and lazy efforts. I doubt his bowling will be effective outside of England either. I feel that an all rounder who can field well and hold his own with either bat or ball, like Irfan Pathan could be a more useful replacement. I trust the hype that his 3 months in the MRF Pace Foundation have given a noticeable change and got him back up to 80mph. Hopefully, we will also see those cutters which he used between 2004 and 2006, used to great effect.

I think that the disputed slot should go to Robin Uthappa. He has shown time after time that he can hit extremely quick runs (SR>100) and has a fine average nearing 35 to boot. I would swap Pathan and Uthappa for obvious reasons so that Uthappa will open and Pathan will bat seven.

I do not believe Ramesh Powar should stay in the side, his bowling, although brilliant to watch, is not effective enough. It seems he will always get 1 for 45 off his 10 and nothing more, I cannot see him ripping through a side. Because of his FC average of 31, I would have him as an all rounder in a test match (especially one in the subcontinent) but not in ODIs for me. So, who should replace him as a bowler in the ODI team. He does not have to be an amazing fielder, just not an awful one, I feel that Ranadeb Bose is the perfect option, he has an extraordinary List A record with an average of 21 and strike rate of 29.00.

I feel that the number 11 spot (in the original side) (RP Singh or Munaf Patel) should go to neither of them since both are average supporting acts (at best). I feel that India need a quick quick bowler to attack the opening batsman in the event that they do not make mistakes this day or it is a flat pitch. I feel VRV Singh can do this well. He has a brilliant List A strike rate of 30.00 - I hope he is picked and can make an impact in the Challenger Trophy (presumably for India B) in a few months. He is my pick to be India's next opening bowler along with Zaheer Khan. He has had a poor start to his ODI career and is not in the India A test squad, but I hope he is in the one day squad (if indeed it is different to the test squad) because I am sure he will come good. So, this is the team I feel should play.

So, we are on to the batting order now. I think Gambhir should stay at 3 to get valuable experience of playing the new ball for a future take over from Sachin Tendulkar when the great one retires, but I feel that Rahul Dravid should go four, four is for the most versatile batsman and versatility is Dravid's middle name. He can be a wall if needed and can decimate attacks if the team is on top. Probably stick Bose down to eleven and voila, that is the team.

1. Robin Uthappa
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Rahul Dravid(*)
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. MS Dhoni(wk)
7. Irfan Pathan
8. Piyush Chawla
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ranadeb Bose
11. VRV Singh

Summary:
Batsman:
-Quick runs in the powerplay
-Solid number three gaining experience against new ball to open in future
-Versatile and best batsman at four
-Good finisher and clean hitter at 5
-Good finisher and powerful hitter at 6
-Big hitting all rounder at 7
-Solid lower order batsman at 8
-Poweful hitter at 9
-Two tailenders

Bowlers:
-Sharp, left arm line and length bowler - Zaheer Khan
-Left arm swing bowler - Irfan Pathan
-Out and out pace and good bounce bowler - VRV Singh
-Line and length and proven player - Ranadeb Bose
-Quality leg spinner - Piyush Chawla

 

[surendar]

* Sehwag needs to do three things --- 1) Avoid the lazy nature 2) Decrease his body weight 3) Play the natural game ( just explode the bowlers which he did in initial stage of his career )

* All our fast bowlers needs to improve their body language first. Opponents must have a feeling that our bowlers are attacking instead of warm greetings. Seriously, India is in very huge trouble when comes to fast bowling simply because they don't have such a eligible one. I would suggest to draft some players from Australia U19 team ( just kidding ). Compared to Aus, SA, NZ our pace bowling is of poor standards.

I really have no clue how far Pathan has improved after being sent back to play domestic matches well. Hopefully he should have improved.

My team would be,

1) Sachin Tendulkar
2) Sourav Ganguly
3) Gambhir/ Robin / Sehwag ( if he is active/aggressive enough )
4) Dravid
5) Yuvraj
6) Karthik/Pathan ( if Pathan is eligible for playing good cricket again )
7) Dhoni
8) Harbhajan/ Chawla
9) ** Need to find a real & fit pace bowler **
10)** Need to find a real & fit pace bowler **
11)** Need to find a real & fit pace bowler **


A proper coach is needed. I would like to see Steve Waugh or Vivian Richards in that post.

 

[King Pietersen]

What about Zaheer Suren ? I thought he was one of Indias most impressive players in the whole tour.

 

[manee]

What about Zaheer Suren ? I thought he was one of Indias most impressive players in the whole tour.

Not too flash in the ODIs, I would have him in my team though.

 

[Cricketman]

My team would be a good mixture of our legends and young guns for the future. We have to use the big guys as much as we can before they call it quits, AND we have to nurture our tomorrow's, too.

4 Spots are GUARANTEED- Sachin and Sourav, Rahul, and Zaheer. No matter what you say you really cannot boot these guys out.
Zaheer is our most experienced (and best) bowler. He had a below par ODI series but he's
normally done better in 50 overs rather then 5 days.

The number 3 slot-like always-is the one we have trouble with. Most times we always stick an opener in there, AKA Ghambir/Uthappa/ and in the past Ganguly. I say we have to start our middle order early and bring in a real great batsman at 3. Someone who doesn't hold an end up by wasting too many deliveries. keeps the scoreboard ticking with singles, but can also hit the boundaries. 2 batsman that come to mind are Kaif and Suresh Raina.
Both these players are awesome fielders. They save us about 40 runs a match, each in the important spots at point and backward point. Yuvraj needs some assistant and even his fielding is below-par nowadays.

Here we come to the meat of the middle order. Rahul Dravid seems the choice to me at number 4. Yuvraj doesn't seem comfortable to me above number 5.

at 6, I say we place Dinesh Karthik. Again, he's a great fielder. He can hit the long ball and can also nurdle. His stance is very similar to that of Rahul Dravid and his technique is very good.

7 goes to Dhoni. at 8 we must have Irfan Pathan back and firing.
With the ball, he needs to share it with Zaheer again. No first change or any of that. With the bat he needs to come in at about the 45th over at the latest, and give Dhoni/Karthik company. We all know his batting prowess. That quick 20 or 30, backed up with his amazing and inevitable figures of 3/30 ish was so very vital for India when we did so well in 05-06. Irfan, with the new ball, needs to make the early inroads again. He did it so well against England when they toured India last. 2 quick wickets were almost always on the cards. Pressure was built straightaway.

9 goes to Piyush Chawla. What a crafty little leggie he is! That drift in toward and that massive rip away. He has certainly impressed me. He can bat a bit too.

10-Zaheer Khan. Don't really think i have to say much.

11-This is the tricky part.
Part of me says Sreesanth. He's an aggressive and inyourface FAST bowler. He's probably the quickest India have. He's Right-Handed, brings that difference in our fast bowling attack.Although he may be expensive and his record isn't the best in ODI's, he's still young. He still has a long way to go and he's a candidate for the future.

Another Part of me wants to say Pawar. I'm sure everybody here knows i'm not a Pawar fan. His batting is utterly overrated and he can't field for nuts, although it does look like he's working hard on it. But he's a good bowler but as Manee said, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who will take more then 1 wicket, 2 tops.

And then there Harbajan Singh. He's a really good bowler and everyone knows that. He too is going through a spot of bad form. He's done well for Surrey (i think thats his county?) and is also one of the best outfielders india have. His arm is excellent.

The rest of the squad will be filled by Robin Uthappa, Gautham Ghambir, Ajit Agarkar, Manoj Tiwari, Rohit Sharma.

I know alot of you will say that you can't afford to Drop Ghambir and Uthappa, they can play in matches where Sachin/Ganguly are rested, if a player gets injured, or in dead rubbers for the match practice.
I still need to know the results of the t20 WC to know for sure, though.

My line up:
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
Raina/Kaif
Rahul Dravid*
Yuvraj Singh
Dinesh Karthik
MS Dhoni
Irfan Pathan
Piyush Chawla
Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth/Harbajan

 

[Adarsh]

Khan should be a definite. Powar is good - I'd take 1-40 off ten overs any day in an ODI. Chawla is promising too.

 

[Cricketman]

Khan should be a definite. Powar is good - I'd take 1-40 off ten overs any day in an ODI. Chawla is promising too.

he's giving away about 15-20 runs in the field too, though. And if he drops a catch..

1-60 doesn't look to good.

 

[Adarsh]

He doesn't necessarily give away 15-20. If he did, then the whole India team would be giving away more than 100 runs - which I don't believe happens. Powar is excellent. You'd be stupid to drop him on current form.

 

[Cricketman]

He needs to work on his fitness.
He's a great bowler though.

 

[baburao]

Drop Agarkar,Munaf,Gambhir.

Bring back Pathan,Sreesanth(its foolish to leave him out only player in indian line up who gives 100% every time he plays) and Kaif?