India's Tour to South Africa

[wasteyouryouth]

Imagine if KL Rahul took over as captain and won everything.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Imagine if KL Rahul took over as captain and won everything.

My name would change to KLLoverGlipGlops

 

[CerealKiller]

India winning in Australia with a ton of injuries and absences in 2020/21.
Sri Lanka being the only Asian side winning a Test series in South Africa, that too after Sanga and Mahela's retirement.
Bangladesh winning a Test in New Zealand, and drawing the series.

All these will never be able to be explained rationally.

 

[icyman]

I wouldn’t mind KL for the moment as for some reason his ODI and test captaincy hasn’t been as bad as his T20 stint.

Lot of brickbats for Rohit and deservedly so. The man has looked a pale shadow of himself since the loss on 19th Nov. That said, he was never a Test captain for me.

If India wants an immediate successor, go ahead and appoint Gill as the all format leader*, similar to what SA did with Smith. Alternatively, the other name I can suggest for ODI could be Iyer, but he will need more support in the BCCI for that to happen.

Not in favour of KL, although he seems to have won his stand in games, he isn't captain material - seems to harp mostly on personal achievements than on team.(was evident in his presser in the 1st ODI)

*Test and ODI. T20 team can someone else, I feel. Who that I do not know.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

 

[icyman]

I haven't seen the games but followed a bit offline. I get the feeling that India is exhausted and aren't in the zone at the moment.

Post the CWC high, it is taking them a bit of time to adjust themselves to the game intensity they have showcased earlier.

The 2nd point ,like @Bigby Wolf mentions, the transition is right in our face this time. It is also surprising that they didn't work on a succession plan while Dravid was in charge. Discarding Rahane and Pujara without sustainable backups seems ridiculous especially against the backdrop of a SA tour.

Lastly, our batting struggles are nothing new. India was carried by Kohli Pujara in the last few SENA tests. The bowling was the major differential then. I still have my doubts over the current management of Rathour and Mhambrey, essaying the roles of batting/bowling coaches. India needs a stoic batting personality and perhaps someone like Bharat Arun, back in the national setup+can be a part of the NCA.

 

[Bevab]

Lot of brickbats for Rohit and deservedly so. The man has looked a pale shadow of himself since the loss on 19th Nov. That said, he was never a Test captain for me.

If India wants an immediate successor, go ahead and appoint Gill as the all format leader*, similar to what SA did with Smith. Alternatively, the other name I can suggest for ODI could be Iyer, but he will need more support in the BCCI for that to happen.

Not in favour of KL, although he seems to have won his stand in games, he isn't captain material - seems to harp mostly on personal achievements than on team.(was evident in his presser in the 1st ODI)

*Test and ODI. T20 team can someone else, I feel. Who that I do not know.

Gill’s barely got any leadership experience, I believe Smith had some prior exposure before he got the role. Gill’s own place in the test side should be in question so he’s the last person I would make the captain.

I think KL’s self aware and smarter than he’s projected himself to everyone till date. His comments after the century proved that. I’d name him the test captain alone while keeping the ODI role up for grabs; Shreyas should be the one for the latter as I’ve been calling for a while but as you’ve mentioned I don’t think there’s much of clamour for him. Far too much has been invested into Hardik as the T20I captain to change that now and so I’d rather leave him for the upcoming WC.

 

[icyman]

I think KL’s self aware and smarter than he’s projected himself to everyone till date. His comments after the century proved that. I’d name him the test captain alone while keeping the ODI role up for grabs; Shreyas should be the one for the latter as I’ve been calling for a while but as you’ve mentioned I don’t think there’s much of clamour for him. Far too much has been invested into Hardik as the T20I captain to change that now and so I’d rather leave him for the upcoming WC.

KL as Test captain might leave a lot questions. He has just come back to the side. I still feel, India missed a trick by not instituting Rahane as leader after Kohli stepped down. He should have taken over for 2-3 years, irrespective of form and built a strong core. Well, can't do much there...

But back to KL, I agree, not many options at the moment, but can be considered as a stop gap option.

It is quite sad that India doesn't rate leadership experiences in India A as a stepping stone towards India captaincy. Of course, by that logic, you would have had either Panchal/Easwaran as favourites to take over.

For the upcoming T20, it will be Rohit. I think post that, they will actually deliberate on who should be captain. Like it or not, the nominee's performance as IPL captain will be considered. Although, I expect better fro z Ajit Agarkar here, as he has been very open and clear in his justifications so far.

 

[Bevab]

KL as Test captain might leave a lot questions. He has just come back to the side. I still feel, India missed a trick by not instituting Rahane as leader after Kohli stepped down. He should have taken over for 2-3 years, irrespective of form and built a strong core. Well, can't do much there...

But back to KL, I agree, not many options at the moment, but can be considered as a stop gap option.

It is quite sad that India doesn't rate leadership experiences in India A as a stepping stone towards India captaincy. Of course, by that logic, you would have had either Panchal/Easwaran as favourites to take over.

For the upcoming T20, it will be Rohit. I think post that, they will actually deliberate on who should be captain. Like it or not, the nominee's performance as IPL captain will be considered. Although, I expect better fro z Ajit Agarkar here, as he has been very open and clear in his justifications so far.

The entire India A setup seems to in need of revamp or at least a relook at the moment. An example that I pointed out recently was Pradosh Ranjan Paul being dropped after he scored 163 in the first FC game. This isn’t unusual in the context of A games; South Africa A rotated their entire XI for the second game for example. However it is baffling to drop someone who scored fifty seven runs more than the next best batter across both teams (unless he was injured). The likes of Sudharsan and Sarfaraz were retained in comparison due to their senior status. The worst part is that he was dropped for Patidar; the latter is a thirty year old who has been decent in Ranji cricket but has become a better player only in recent seasons. If you’re going to be rotated out despite being the top scorer by a significant margin for a much older player then what incentive is there for a youngster to be motivated and try to perform better?

I would hate it if Rohit ended up being the captain for the T20 WC. He’s got neither form in this format nor captaincy at his IPL side now and he looks mentally checked out for now. The way he froze in the final… I’m not confident of him overcoming the same mental block again in a high pressure situation even if T20Is are a lot more luck dependent. Besides, we’ve got three players already fighting tooth and nail for the two opening slots and there’s still Kishan to consider. As funny as it sounds, I can see Rahul being called up again if he does stick to his word and tries to reinvent himself successfully at three/four/five in the IPL which could easily end up with him being the captain. I’m still expecting Hardik to do the job.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

The entire India A setup seems to in need of revamp or at least a relook at the moment. An example that I pointed out recently was Pradosh Ranjan Paul being dropped after he scored 163 in the first FC game. This isn’t unusual in the context of A games; South Africa A rotated their entire XI for the second game for example. However it is baffling to drop someone who scored fifty seven runs more than the next best batter across both teams (unless he was injured). The likes of Sudharsan and Sarfaraz were retained in comparison due to their senior status. The worst part is that he was dropped for Patidar; the latter is a thirty year old who has been decent in Ranji cricket but has become a better player only in recent seasons. If you’re going to be rotated out despite being the top scorer by a significant margin for a much older player then what incentive is there for a youngster to be motivated and try to perform better?

I would hate it if Rohit ended up being the captain for the T20 WC. He’s got neither form in this format nor captaincy at his IPL side now and he looks mentally checked out for now. The way he froze in the final… I’m not confident of him overcoming the same mental block again in a high pressure situation even if T20Is are a lot more luck dependent. Besides, we’ve got three players already fighting tooth and nail for the two opening slots and there’s still Kishan to consider. As funny as it sounds, I can see Rahul being called up again if he does stick to his word and tries to reinvent himself successfully at three/four/five in the IPL which could easily end up with him being the captain. I’m still expecting Hardik to do the job.

I have a funny feeling that Kohli will open in the T20 with Jaiswal. Shubman SKY, KL, Rinku, to form middle order Jadeja, Bumrah, Axar, Siraj, Arshdeep, Kuldeep to do the bowling

 

[icyman]

I have a funny feeling that Kohli will open in the T20 with Jaiswal. Shubman SKY, KL, Rinku, to form middle order Jadeja, Bumrah, Axar, Siraj, Arshdeep, Kuldeep to do the bowling

Kohli won't make it to the WT20. Can't have too many grafters in the side. Consider that Shreyas, KL will be a part of the team, then, there's no place for Kohli.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Kohli won't make it to the WT20. Can't have too many grafters in the side. Consider that Shreyas, KL will be a part of the team, then, there's no place for Kohli.

Might be Kohli's final hurrah! I just have a funny feeling

 

[Bevab]

We’ve had thirty four players play a T20I for us since the last WC over the past one year and a month. We’ve still got three more T20Is left to play against Afghanistan next month and unless we forfeit the England tests or call-up players for a T20I series during the IPL… those three games will be the only ones we’ll play before the upcoming WC.

The most notable and obvious thing is this; none of our top three from the last WC have made a single T20I appearance during this period. This includes Kohli, Rahul and Rohit (who I don’t remember being officially replaced as captain). Even the likes of Jadeja and Bumrah have managed to sneak in a couple of games during this period. Shami hasn’t played any game either and the same goes for Ashwin.

In this period we’ve had Gaikwad, Gill, Jaiswal and SKY all score a century. The former two have struck in the mid 140s to high 140s while Jaiswal and SKY have struck close to 160. The least consistent batter in this group is Gill whose average is still a respectable 26. Now I do know that the value of bilateral T20Is is not high in the current scenario due to how much rotation occurs these days but this is still a group with exciting potential that has produced results.

The big problem is that none of the keeper batters have worked out well. All three that we’ve tried average below twenty and have been very inconsistent. This may be KL’s route back and it may also be why there’s rumours of him wanting him to play outside the opener roles because there’s an opportunity there.

Sure we could go back to Rohit and Kohli again but I’m genuinely tired of seeing the same faces turn up and inevitably fail. Even if we exit in the group stages I’d rather watch a new band of cricketers gain experience this time around and they’ve shown that they deserve to play.

 

[noducksallowed]

India winning in Australia with a ton of injuries and absences in 2020/21.
Sri Lanka being the only Asian side winning a Test series in South Africa, that too after Sanga and Mahela's retirement.
Bangladesh winning a Test in New Zealand, and drawing the series.

All these will never be able to be explained rationally.

As much as Imam is a superstar I have to call you out brother...it's a myth that India won "with a ton of injuries"...their first test XI included Shaw (the 2nd coming of Tendulkar at that point), Kohli, Rahane, Pujara, Ashwin, Yadav, Bumrah, Shami, all first choice players.

It's a similar story for the other tests, Pujara was one of their best test batters at that point, Rahane a regular, a first choice bowling attacked, bolstered in the later tests by what Indians tell me is one of the great all rounders, Jadeja. And so on and so forth.

Yes Kohli was missing but that's not "a ton of injuries".

Post automatically merged: Dec 29, 2023

Back on topic...for a side as packed with experienced heads and some of their all timers in certain positions, to loose yet again in a test match in such one sided fashion is laughable.

 

[Bevab]

As much as Imam is a superstar I have to call you out brother...it's a myth that India won "with a ton of injuries"...their first test XI included Shaw (the 2nd coming of Tendulkar at that point), Kohli, Rahane, Pujara, Ashwin, Yadav, Bumrah, Shami, all first choice players.

It's a similar story for the other tests, Pujara was one of their best test batters at that point, Rahane a regular, a first choice bowling attacked, bolstered in the later tests by what Indians tell me is one of the great all rounders, Jadeja. And so on and so forth.

Yes Kohli was missing but that's not "a ton of injuries".

How do you continue to be so delusional even after presented with facts? The worst part is that you cherry pick the first test XI that was the only side that lost in the series.