India's tour of Australia - December/January 2015

[IceAgeComing]

The SCG is good for spinners: so Ashwin is a must because it plays to the guys strengths and then you being in someone else if its a very good spinning wicket.

also whoever through that drop in wickets were a good idea should be shot. That's not been said enough in this thread...

 

[abhi_jacko]

prefer ojha as he has had some good tours in aus..saha doesnt impress much form the little we saw

The guy has only played one Test though (Adelaide). It would be heart wrenching for him, having been on the fringe because of MSD all this time. And then when MSD finally leaves, we move onto someone else.

 

[IceAgeComing]

The guy has only played one Test though (Adelaide). It would be heart wrenching for him, having been on the fringe because of MSD all this time. And then when MSD finally leaves, we move onto someone else.

insert picture of stuart macgill here

 

[SaiSrini]

Respect to Dhoni for the decision to move on from test cricket! Have been a very staunch critic of his test captaincy in the last year or two, but there is no denying that even in tests, he made a big mark with his captaincy, more so during the initial stages of his test career. Captaining India to No.1 along with Kirsten's coaching is no mean feat. Just that his remodelled style of gameplay did not suit test cricket and as he grew more and more uncomfortable in tests, his captaincy suffered massively too.

Hope he stays fresh and leads us successfully during our World Cup defence! He is the No.1 captain for ODI's and a very good one at T20's too.

 

[SaiSrini]

I think there is buckets to this retirement than meets the eye. Hearing all kind and manner of things - it had something to do with the IPL fixing scandal, as Sydney Test starts on 6th and that is the day the fixing judgement is likely to be pronounced. I find this to be not the reason as if fixing was the reason, then he would not continue as ODI skipper.

Also hearing that he had lost control of the dressing room, which again seems unexpected, and feels like nonsense. Plenty of other stories doing the rounds, but this one is hard to swallow.

My guess for the theory around it goes like this - the Sydney test starts in the New Year of 2015. This was the last game of 2014. Dhoni wanted to hand over the reins of test captaincy to Kohli who can lead the team fresh into 2015. I also read somewhere that Dhoni had hinted at the possibility of giving up one format in 2014 to prolong his career

 

[icyman]

At least it looks like Jadeja's gone for the foreseeable future.

Injured

Dhoni wanted to hand over the reins of test captaincy to Kohli who can lead the team fresh into 2015. I also read somewhere that Dhoni had hinted at the possibility of giving up one format in 2014 to prolong his career

He has been erratic. After listening to a few TV shows, even I have begun to wonder, why leave the tour mid-way ? And why did the BCCI not stop him. They could easily have persuaded their 'most successful skipper' to hang in there for one more match- probably a farewell game. MSD had hinted at giving up a format, but that was in 2013.

Another thing- Virat may not be the long term Test captain. If that was to be the case, the BCCI would have announced that Virat is the natural successor to the post. As a vice-captain, he is expected to lead in Sydney, but I think the BCCI is going to spring a surprise here.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Another thing- Virat may not be the long term Test captain. If that was to be the case, the BCCI would have announced that Virat is the natural successor to the post. As a vice-captain, he is expected to lead in Sydney, but I think the BCCI is going to spring a surprise here.

Huh ? I don't follow ? I think the vice-captain post is usually given to players who are the natural successor to the captain (there have been a few exceptions). Pretty sure Kohli is the first choice captain for both Tests and ODIs

 

[SaiSrini]

Injured

He has been erratic. After listening to a few TV shows, even I have begun to wonder, why leave the tour mid-way ? And why did the BCCI not stop him. They could easily have persuaded their 'most successful skipper' to hang in there for one more match- probably a farewell game. MSD had hinted at giving up a format, but that was in 2013.

Another thing- Virat may not be the long term Test captain. If that was to be the case, the BCCI would have announced that Virat is the natural successor to the post. As a vice-captain, he is expected to lead in Sydney, but I think the BCCI is going to spring a surprise here.

I dont think so. I strongly believe that Virat is the long term successor to MS Dhoni. There is no reason right now for the BCCI to literally announce that Kohli is the long term captain. After the Sydney test, India are not going to be playing any test matches for atleast a few months. We have the tri-series, then we head into the World Cup. So an announcement immediately right now is not needed.

Seeing how India ran Australia close at Adelaide under Kohli's leadership gives a lot of hope in his brand of captaincy. And I dont think any of the others are even ready (e.g. Pujara is battling his own demons, Rahane is just establishing himself into the test team, etc). Kohli is the guy who has cemented himself completely.

 

[Epic]

You guys and your theories lol, it's quite straight forward, series is lost, this was Dhoni's last Test series regardless so he left Kohli a game head start.

 

[SaiSrini]

Seeing that Virat is a very aggressive personality, team selections will now become very interesting. I am sure Virat will put forward his opinion strongly when squad selections are made. Ganguly during his time, pitched very strongly for certain players who he believed would be useful for India. Lets see how Virat goes on that. Virat needs to go hard on resurrecting India's pathetic bowling resources.

One more thing that would be interesting is, who does BCCI appoint as coach post the World Cup? We all know Fletcher is definitely going out after the WC. And I dont think Ravi Shastri is with the team on a long run. We need a good coach along with a more than decent bowling coach.

 

[IceAgeComing]

I'd like Ravi Shastri to stay on long term; for the purely selfish reason that it'd keep him away from the commentary box :P

 

[themusketeer]

I would Want A Indian Coach this Time...

Dravid , Ganguly , Etc........Enough of These Overseas S**** ( Except Kirsten) and a Good Bowling Coach Likes Of Akram .....He is involved in Indian Cricket more than Pakistan's cricket......He will surely Help in Sharpen Our Bowlers and Finding New talents.

 

[abhi_jacko]

In all the MSD retirement hoopla, I forgot to read the match report. Just read that Smith accepted a draw even though there were 4 overs left to be bowled ? That is a very strange !!

Considering how brittle our tail has been, I am really surprised with this decision from Smith. He said in the press conference that [ "I don't think there was a win still there to be honest," Smith said after play. "All our bowlers were pretty cooked and it was time to finish." ]

Huh ? Too cooked to bowl 4 more overs ? 4 tailender wickets in 4 overs is not easy, but it was not impossible. Stranger things have happened in cricket

 

[themusketeer]

MS Dhoni calmly told me that he wants to retire from Tests for good: Sanjay Patel



MS Dhoni's Test retirement: Who said what - Slide 1 of 7

** I Liked Laxman & Vengsarkar's comment .

*** Yuvraj & Bhajji Looks really Pissed off with Dhoni

 

[namin96]

Probably because of his recent failures. I think England tour has affected his confidence a lot. Kohli was able to overcome due to his incredible self confidence but player like Pujara may not be able to do that so easily. Moreover, these failures have affected his technique slightly which Gavaskar was pointing out when Pujara was batting. Earlier, his bat used to come down dead straight but now his backlift starts somewhere around gully and comes down in a arc. Hence the large number of inside edge while batting. Someone need to have a chat with him and point this out. I wish we hire Dravid or Sachin as permanent batting consultants for the team.

Yeah does anyone know what Sachin is planning on doing? I would think he would stay close to cricket by helping our batting or doing something productive for our team. I know he was asked last year when he retired that what he planned on doing after retiring and he said he wants to rest for 1 year and then he will take a decision. I really think someone like Tendulkar or Dravid can help our batsman out (the ones that need help) and give some tips. I think they would love doing that because both of them enjoyed cricket and were good players.