South African Tour of India 2010

[naresh091]

I'm really happy for him.He'll definitely get a game unless Dhoni opts for five bowlers,which is very rare.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Well atlast!Hopefully now Badri performs and seals his place in the test squad.C'mon Badri,do it.

 

[Amiya]

I wish Dhoni won't show his love towards Yuvraj and play with 5 bowlers.

 

[LongLegs?]

Yeah..KKD is out. Saha is in as the reserve keeper.

The rest of the selection is fine,but I find a regional bias within the team now. Most of the players are from South India. Mithun, well I dont think he actually deserved his place in the squad. Nehra cold have made a comeback into the Test fold. Mithun was picked only cause of his performance in the Ranji final.

Lol, so I reckon you haven't heard that Mithun was the highest wicket taker during the full Ranji season...he's been picked over a season's performance. And been very impressive. No need to debut him, but giving him some experience with the first team is never a bad thing. He's pretty much been added in the same role Ishant once played and probably the role Tyagi now has with Tyagi becoming the 3rd choice seamer in this case. If he plays it'll be a major, major surprise. Another major surprise is that they picked an extra fast bowler and not an extra batsman, but that allows Badri a definete debut so good enough.

On the other hand, Tyagi shouldn't be kept out like this...he should be allowed to go play domestic tbh, because he hasn't played a lot of it over the last season and hasn't played a lot for India while being the cover for the fast bowlers. He's definetely not going to be bowling as consistently as before at this rate...

Let's see how Badri goes then, happy about the inclusion, but this probably means just one or two chances to show us what he's got. If anyone comes back for the 2nd test, and there's one slot still available, Vijay/Badri's performance in the first test could really count.

Edit: And, on a another note, that's a sexy Board Presidents XI. A big chance to really stand up and show what their worth for a lot of Indian fringe players. Probably will see something like this:

Rahane
Mukund
R Sharma
Pujara
Pandey
Nayar
P Patel
Gony
P Chawla
Vinay Kumar
Mithun

Gony has been majorly improved in First Class cricket this season. It's either him or Umesh Yadav, and well, seems more likely than not that Gony will play. Ashwin might play though as a secondary spinner, and it's a pity to leave Dhawan out, but this batting line-up is stacked. I'd love to play Dhawan instead of Rohit Sharma, but we all know that's not going to happen. Dhawan could open instead of Mukund though.

 

[sohum]

A 15-man squad for 1 Test? I thought we usually went with a 12-man system for single Tests. Anyways, glad to see Badri get a look in. This would be my XI:

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. VVS Laxman
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Murali Vijay
6. Subramaniam Badrinath
7. MS Dhoni
8. Amit Mishra
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Ishant Sharma

Looks like we're keen on going with 2 spinners, given that Tyagi has been selected in the squad as the third seamer. Or maybe even 3 spinners if we go with 5 bowlers. Will be interesting...

 

[SaiSrini]

Yeah..KKD is out. Saha is in as the reserve keeper.

The rest of the selection is fine,but I find a regional bias within the team now. Most of the players are from South India. Mithun, well I dont think he actually deserved his place in the squad. Nehra cold have made a comeback into the Test fold. Mithun was picked only cause of his performance in the Ranji final.

More than the South, there is a Delhi bias in the team (Sehwag, Gambhir, Ishant, Mishra). Picking Nehra would have made it 5, picking Kohli would have made it 6. Right now we have Vijay, Badri and Mithun as the South players.

Nehra??? That would be horrible. Already our fielding is poor, he makes it even worse. Also his times are over. We need to blood new guys and create options that we can fall back on in the future rather than going to Nehra.

SaiSrini added 3 Minutes and 10 Seconds later...

A 15-man squad for 1 Test? I thought we usually went with a 12-man system for single Tests. Anyways, glad to see Badri get a look in. This would be my XI:

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. VVS Laxman
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Murali Vijay
6. Subramaniam Badrinath
7. MS Dhoni
8. Amit Mishra
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Ishant Sharma

Looks like we're keen on going with 2 spinners, given that Tyagi has been selected in the squad as the third seamer. Or maybe even 3 spinners if we go with 5 bowlers. Will be interesting...

Doesnt that look top heavy? 5, 6 and 7 looks quite thin (Dhoni hasnt proved himself much in tests). I would slot in either Vijay or Badri at No. 3 and stuff Laxman down to his usual spot to make that balance. Vijay can be one down, its as good as being an opener which he is.

 

[King Cricket]

Nice to see that Saha has finally been included in the squad. It was about time they rewarded him with a much deserved spot for his wonderful performances in the domestic circuit! Some die-hard KKD fans here will be disappointed I know, but the decision was just from all perspectives.

Nice to see Badrinath there too. Hope he gets a game. The guy is our future star, and we should start nurturing him for international cricket as soon as possible.

King Cricket added 3 Minutes and 14 Seconds later...

Nehra cold have made a comeback into the Test fold

No! We already have a fragile bowling lineup and you want the selectors to make it even more ████?

 

[SaiSrini]

I am seeing lot of negative comments in some Indian forums/websites about Badrinath's selection and Karthik's dropping (surprised that people wanted Karthik to stay). On one hand, they say that Kris Srikanth has made his regional bias for Tamil Nadu players known by picking Badrinath and Vijay. But on the other hand, they are questioning the dropping of Karthik (another Tamil Nadu player) for Saha. Confused souls!

More than Tamil Nadu, the Delhi dominance is quite evident. Sehwag, Gambhir, Ishant and Mishra are there in this squad. Recently Kohli and Nehra have played with all these four together in ODI's vs SL, Bangladesh. So I fail to see how Tamil Nadu has more favor when Delhi is ruling. Maybe people are angry that apart from Sachin, no Mumbai player is to be seen in the team (Mumbai has the record of producing the most failed cricketers in India, e.g. Agarkar, Jaffer, Kambli, Kulkarni, Powar, etc). Mumbai is like "Australia" in domestic cricket but when it comes to international cricket, they cant find a way to translate their performances to intl level. Badri has been in and out of the Indian side in recent times and also he has kept his domestic performances up to the level where he deserves the chance (didnt he recently take TN from 50/5 and score a double ton?). People talk about Kaif, Pandey, Raina, Kohli and Rohit Sharma but none of these guys deserve more than Badrinath (even though Srikanth came in, Badri has been having tough times in getting selected). He comes into the squad but fails to make it to the XI everytime. THIS TIME, HE HAS TO GET THAT CHANCE IN THE XI! Its ok if he fails.

 

[Amiya]

I am seeing lot of negative comments in some Indian forums/websites about Badrinath's selection and Karthik's dropping (surprised that people wanted Karthik to stay). On one hand, they say that Kris Srikanth has made his regional bias for Tamil Nadu players known by picking Badrinath and Vijay. But on the other hand, they are questioning the dropping of Karthik (another Tamil Nadu player) for Saha. Confused souls!

More than Tamil Nadu, the Delhi dominance is quite evident. Sehwag, Gambhir, Ishant and Mishra are there in this squad. Recently Kohli and Nehra have played with all these four together in ODI's vs SL, Bangladesh. So I fail to see how Tamil Nadu has more favor when Delhi is ruling. Maybe people are angry that apart from Sachin, no Mumbai player is to be seen in the team (Mumbai has the record of producing the most failed cricketers in India, e.g. Agarkar, Jaffer, Kambli, Kulkarni, Powar, etc). Mumbai is like "Australia" in domestic cricket but when it comes to international cricket, they cant find a way to translate their performances to intl level. Badri has been in and out of the Indian side in recent times and also he has kept his domestic performances up to the level where he deserves the chance (didnt he recently take TN from 50/5 and score a double ton?). People talk about Kaif, Pandey, Raina, Kohli and Rohit Sharma but none of these guys deserve more than Badrinath (even though Srikanth came in, Badri has been having tough times in getting selected). He comes into the squad but fails to make it to the XI everytime. THIS TIME, HE HAS TO GET THAT CHANCE IN THE XI! Its ok if he fails.

Yeah. I too have faced the same thing. When i joined ICF, i had the username and avatar of Badrinath and when i introduce myself in the thread, i was welcomed with a post - If you want to have a nice time here, better leave the side of Badrinath. i just said WTF and never care to visit there again. If anyone is going to be the mainstay of Indian batting lineup in the next 2-3 years, it will be Badrinath.

 

[LongLegs?]

Pandey needs to do it again next season and again the season after that to be considered, I think. Manoj Tiwary is ahead of him at this point because he's done well for a few seasons now. That said, Badri should ideally be at the top of the list and I think he is with Srikkanth at the helm.

Karnataka bias. But, in all honesty, Pandey looks the best. He always looks to have so much time when playing a shot, and that's usually the mark of a great player. Yeah, Tiwary is awesome too, but he didn't even get picked for the BPXI, which might mean he'll have to up his game from now on. A bit surprised that Kohli wasn't picked for the Board President's XI too.

Of course Badri's at the top, he's been at the top for a while now, and it's good he's getting a chance. It's always a tragedy when cricketers like Muzumdar, who was brilliant, never got a chance due to the Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly era. This might happen again in this next era once people secure spots in the team. Too many batting talents.

I lol at the Kaif suggestions though all around cricinfo in the comments. One good match makes him everyone's favourite cricketer. He's way below the pecking order for me.

And, the bias makes sense. As teams, you can't look past Delhi and TN's batting line-ups. Delhi boasts Sehwag, Gambhir, Manhas, Kohli, Dhawan and TN has Badri, Vijay, KDK, Arun Karthik, Mukund, so yeah. Definetely in terms of batting, the strongest line-ups around.

 

[pcfan123]

I hope this Badri fellow ensures Failraj never plays Test cricket again. Very excited to see what the Indians on PC have been going on and on about.

 

[Dare]

Badri better take this opportunity to seal his spot in the batting lineup. If he fails to score runs he can forget about playing test cricket for India again.

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. VVS Laxman
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Murali Vijay
6. Subramaniam Badrinath
7. MS Dhoni
8. Amit Mishra
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Ishant Sharma

You sure they wont stick Badri in at #3?

 

[sohum]

Doesnt that look top heavy? 5, 6 and 7 looks quite thin (Dhoni hasnt proved himself much in tests). I would slot in either Vijay or Badri at No. 3 and stuff Laxman down to his usual spot to make that balance. Vijay can be one down, its as good as being an opener which he is.

You don't need balance down the order as much in Test cricket, because it's not like you have players down the order that need to hit big to chase a target down. In Test cricket, you have your best batsmen come in earliest, so that they can make the most number of runs.

Our line-up before this was Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, which was more top-heavy than the one I have suggested--it's just that our stalwarts are out injured.

Also, Laxman's preferred batting position is number 3 so it would be harsh to put him down the order and have less accomplished batsmen come in before him.

sohum added 3 Minutes and 40 Seconds later...

You sure they wont stick Badri in at #3?

Fairly certain. Laxman's preferred position is number 3 (he scored the 281 from there). Also, the Saffers are likely to take early wickets so we wouldn't want to expose a newcomer like Badri to the new ball.

 

[shravi]

LOL at claims of regional bias. Do you know how long South India and more specifically Tamil Nadu has been hard done by? Innumerable is the answer you are looking for. Go spout your unfounded and unsubstantiated drivel elsewhere please.

Sai, I told you Badri would make it . You didn't believe me.

Man that BPXI is looking orgasmic. Some real good players in there. Would have liked to see Ravindra Jadeja in there. I hope he can become a test player some day because it would add a lot of depth to the side.

 

[Cricketman]

Shravi you told me he would never play for India a few days ago .

I'm totally psyched. Don't care what exam, test, quiz whatever I have I will be pulling allnighters to watch Badri bat!

Part of me is sad though. KKD :crying

Overall it's been a good week for my favorite cricketers. Zak's 7fer, Badri's selection, Nayar's EPIC 259...but KKD's droppage has ruined it .

Cricketman added 6 Minutes and 31 Seconds later...

Yeah..KKD is out. Saha is in as the reserve keeper.

The rest of the selection is fine,but I find a regional bias within the team now. Most of the players are from South India. Mithun, well I dont think he actually deserved his place in the squad. Nehra cold have made a comeback into the Test fold. Mithun was picked only cause of his performance in the Ranji final.

ARE YOU SERIOUS.

There are 6 Delhi players in the ODI team. All of them make a case for test match selection too.

If anything it is harder for a South Indian to make the team. Look how much time it has taken Badri to break in!