South African Tour of India 2010

[icyman]

I certainly won't be comfortable if Rohit and Badri come in to play with VVS and Dravid out. Will surely be a challenge in which case the existing players will have to show their mettle.

 

[Cricketman]

Nohit once again....wtf.

I say we make a drastic move and draft Pandey in. He's got so much talent, I am confident he will perform at this level.

 

[Gurjot95]

There's very good article written by Cricinfo. Have a look
India v South Africa series preview: Test for India to stay on top | Cricket News | India v South Africa 2009/10 | Cricinfo.com

 

[SciD]

We are doomed.
Rohit has the talent to replace VVS and Dravid but he does not have the head like them.

 

[SaiSrini]

Rohit hasnt made his debut in test cricket for India. Recently he got that triple hundred in domestic cricket and has has a good Ranji season. In the shorter formats, he hasnt seized his opportunity, but he hasnt got opportunities in the longer version. So I dont find his selection too bad.

If VVS doesnt play, Badri, Vijay and Rohit will play (that will be one of our lightest batting order in recent times in terms of experience). But if VVS plays, Badri and Vijay will play. Rohit has been brought in place of Laxman as cover only. I am guessing Dhoni wont do the nonsense thing by picking Rohit in place of Badri even though Laxman passes fit.

 

[Howsie]

"Cringes" At thought of Rohit Sharma playing test cricket at this stage of his career.

 

[SaiSrini]

Laxman is mostly going to be fit for the first test. This link says he is in no spot of bother with his finger injury
Murali Vijay likely to bat at No. 3 - Top Stories - South Africa in India, 2010 - Series & Tournaments - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India

Murali Vijay is going to be batting at No. 3 most likely for India. Very good decision since the No.3 spot is almost like an opening position and a specialist opener is the next best bet in filling that one down slot. So it will be Sehwag, Gambhir, Vijay and Sachin followed by Badrinath, Dhoni and Laxman.

 

[LongLegs?]

Nohit once again....wtf.

I say we make a drastic move and draft Pandey in. He's got so much talent, I am confident he will perform at this level.

This.

Lots of talent, but more than talent, he has the temperament. A lot of his innings have come under pressure, because he bats at number 5 and any top order collapses means he has to rescue the team more times than not. I seriously hope they don't move him up the order in the future in domestic cricket in the longer version. In the shorter versions, he can bat anywhere, he'd be a success anywhere as far as I'm concerned. Can open, can finish, can anchor.

I mean, there are better players than Rohit from the Mumbai team itself. I don't get why Rahane wasn't picked ahead of Rohit...much better average, and consistency and I'm pretty sure his last two seasons have been better than Rohit. I'd still pick Nayar/Pandey ahead of Rohit in this situation, and not Rahane, because it's a middle order batsman we're looking to replace and both of them have looked good in the recent past.

Another thing to note from the Board President's XI match for me was that although Pandey, Nayar and Dhawan were the only batsman to score runs as such, the majority of their runs came against the spinners. Pandey absolutely stuck into Harris' bowling according to the bulletin, and Nayar and Dhawan played the majority of their innings when Botha and Harris were bowling in tandem. Which is why we need more India A tours to Australia/South Africa/England so that our bench can face some quality pace bowlers.

Good to hear about Laxman though. I really wouldn't like to see Rohit Sharma playing in this series. Not a man for a crisis.

 

[Cricketman]

Ugh, I wouldn't want Vijay playing at 3. Laxman is sheer class at that position, he's got to have it.

Gambhir
Sehwag
Laxman
Tendulkar
Badri
Vijay
Dhoni

Looks about right to me.

 

[aditya123]

Ugh, I wouldn't want Vijay playing at 3. Laxman is sheer class at that position, he's got to have it.

Gambhir
Sehwag
Laxman
Tendulkar
Badri
Vijay
Dhoni

Looks about right to me.

Looks a bit top-heavy to me.

 

[SaiSrini]

Looks a bit top-heavy to me.

Oops... I said exactly the same too when sohum posted a similar batting order to that of Rohit.:laugh There is a likelihood of our batting order collapsing against Steyn, Morkel and Parnell. At that time, having Laxman down could help us steer the boat towards safety. Although Badri and Vijay are good players, I dont believe in him to steer the ship since they are inexperienced at international level.

 

[drainpipe32]

The ideal move for mine would be to move Vijay to open, Gambhir to three and then throw Laxman in to that middle order. For mine, just gives it a bit more balance.

 

[pcfan123]

Why would you move one of the worlds current best Test openers to 3 and replace him with a no name player?

 

[SaiSrini]

Why would you move one of the worlds current best Test openers to 3 and replace him with a no name player?

Kinda agree with that! Let Gambhir stay at that top position in test matches atleast.

 

[Mihir Doshi]

A Big Test Tomorrow And Eager To See The Playing XI.. Whether Laxman Playing,Whether Rohit Playing.

Shhhhsssh...