South Africa in India

[.Mob]

Chopra and Sehwag is probably the best combination we could ever for, one holds the fort, while one ups the run rate.

I'll concede it's a better option than playing Karthik.

 

[vaibhav mehta]

Jaffer and Yuvi will never make the side. Akash Chopra and Gambhir are ideal opening pair but I still have doubts about Gambhir as openor. Not forget Sehwag scored century in last test innings and hes more of test batsman these days (Irony). The XI should be:

Akash Chopra
Sehwag/Gambhir
Dravid
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Laxman
Dhoni
Bhajji
Kumble
Ishant
RP Singh

Agree except Sehwag must play in tests..You can bring Gambhir in for Akash Chopra..
If India have made their mind for playing with 2 spinners then What for 2 nd test???
In 2 nd test Peoples favorite and truly horrible Z Khan will come!!
Do you think Ishant should stay out from action????
Why Z Khan just can't retire??

 

[SaiSrini]

/agree. Makes for a fairly strong batting lineup.

India will play Harbhajan more so on Indian pitches. Irfan or Ganguly (if we play 5 bowlers) will make way for Harbhajan. Especially Chennai, Bhajji should play. It will turn a lot on Day 4 and 5 and Bhajji will have memories of that famous Chennai test against Australa in 2001. He is on a high after conquering Australia. He should play at this moment of time when he is flying high.

 

[icyman]

Two spinners is a must in India.If they choose to rest Harbhajan and unleash Piyush,it wont be a bad option.Also,we are forgetting Murali Karthik.

For the openers slot-Jaffer needs to go.A good domestic showing should not be enough to warrant a comeback ahead of Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir.Sehwag,well the decision shall remain with Kumble.

Lets see-btw,the squad will now be announced on 17th.

 

[SciD]

Two spinners is a must in India.If they choose to rest Harbhajan and unleash Piyush,it wont be a bad option.Also,we are forgetting Murali Karthik.

For the openers slot-Jaffer needs to go.A good domestic showing should not be enough to warrant a comeback ahead of Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir.Sehwag,well the decision shall remain with Kumble.

Lets see-btw,the squad will now be announced on 17th.

But Jaffer is in camp proving his fitness. I would be disapointed if he gets a go ahead. Chopra and Dhawan deserve to be in side. If SA play any practice game then it can prove crucial for the players who play in it.

 

[Leggie]

I reckon our line-up will look somewhat like this:

1) Virender Sehwag
2) Wasim Jaffer
3) Rahul Dravid
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) Sourav Ganguly
6) VVS Laxman
7) MS Dhoni +
8) Anil Kumble
9) Harbhajan Singh
10) RP Singh/Zaheer Khan
11) Ishant Sharma/Zaheer Khan

I think Ishant is a must following his success in Aus, but we need to fit Zak in definetley and RP maybe, so its quite a tricky one...:what

 

[SciD]

If one of oldies retire then we can play extra bowler every time.

 

[Leggie]

If one of oldies retire then we can play extra bowler every time.

Rahul Dravid!

 

[SciD]

Rahul Dravid!

Laxman :cool:

 

[Leggie]

Laxman :cool:

No, Sid-Bhai, VVS has been our player along with Sourav to rescue us all the time in tricky situations, whereas Dravid just keeps edging the ball behind...

 

[SciD]

No, Sid-Bhai, VVS has been our player along with Sourav to rescue us all the time in tricky situations, whereas Dravid just keeps edging the ball behind...

If Dravid fails in this series I think he'll call quits. Hes not hungry for international cricket as Ganguly and Laxman are. Both these players still wanna play ODI cricket .

Whats more both will be playing 20-20. One can understand Ganguly but Laxman in 20-20 :rtfl

 

[jkartik]

My Preferred Line-up Would Be :-

Akash Chopra
Virender Sehwag
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Saurav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
+MS Dhoni
*Anil Kumble
Harbhajan Singh
Ishant Sharma / Sreesanth
Zaheer Khan / RP Singh

Ganguly,Sehwag and Sachin can lend in a few overs as well
in case our strike bowlers dont achieve success

If Dravid fails in this series I think he'll call quits. Hes not hungry for international cricket as Ganguly and Laxman are. Both these players still wanna play ODI cricket .

IIRC : hes going through a bad patch...!!
you cant force a test veteran like a dravid to quit...
he knows when to retire better than us ....

 

[SciD]

you cant force a test veteran like a dravid to quit...
he knows when to retire better than us ....

I dont want him to retire. Im big fan of his. Even more than Sachin.

 

[Animator!]

But Jaffer is in camp proving his fitness. I would be disapointed if he gets a go ahead. Chopra and Dhawan deserve to be in side. If SA play any practice game then it can prove crucial for the players who play in it.

Seems to me from my small knowledge of Indian cricket, based on cricinfo reports and stats that since his U19 successes Dhawan has done very little until his score in the final. So it doesn't seem to me as if he is a plausable option opening when you have Sehwag coming in on the back of a last test hundred. Chopra pushing with very impressive stats and a technique well known to be one of the best in India. Gambhir coming off an incredibly impressive second half of the Commonwealth bank series with a real chance to stake a claim as a player in both fos of the game. With someone who has such an incredibly good domestic record as Bandrinath also pushing in that general area of the top 3. Why on earth should a youngster who has shown exceptional promise at a very low international youth level be considered for a test place for what appears to be one innings amongst three players who have either had a good test series, excelled at domestic level for a long period, come off a fantastic ODI series or again proved themselve over years of fantastic performances in domestic cricket?

 

[SciD]

Sehwag is a lottery. If it comes good then looks nice otherwise everyone involved pull their hair out.

Dhawan has been in cracking form this season. He has been shouldering the number 3 and opening position for Delhi this season nicely. Apart from century in final he has played some good 50+ scores in lead up to final and mostly in second innings. Has already stuck two centuries in Ranji ODI competition. But his teammate Chopra is one whos been in limelight. Hes most solid openor India can ask for and in recent time has improved his strike rate and spin play. But whats sad is that no one is talking of them. It seems as if the test team is foregone conclusion with Gambhir coming in place of Yuvi.

Although Gambhir did well in Australia still hes not ideal for opening or number 3 in Test matches. He plays with angle bat and is candidate for slip catches all the time.