T20 World Cup 2012

[Sahil 7]

good squad but not the best still this bloody rohit there and secondly why not umesh ? why balaji also bhajji back interesting to see whether he will play along side with ashwin or not

 

[Prithvi]

Overall a good side. Will be interesting to see how Yuvi goes. Balaji is a good inclusion for me. Same with Dinda. Don't really get what Harbhajan, Chawla, Manoj Tiwary are doing there. We could have gone with Ashwin-Ojha. I don't really rate Tiwary that high. Zaheer could have been rested and Yadav should have been there. Irfan had to be there after his comeback series in SL, and his inclusion is a good one.

good squad but not the best still this bloody rohit there and secondly why not umesh ? why balaji also bhajji back interesting to see whether he will play along side with ashwin or not

Regarding bowling department, I could derive something what is the selectors plan- They are like, rotation policy of all bowlers, getting in Bhajji for few tournaments by dropping Ashwin, so that, both perform with ample amount of rest. That not just provides them the rest, also makes them be on top so that they could return back to national squad as soon as possible. And the very same thing has happened with Umesh Yadav, as he made way for Balaji.

And the squad looks 99% perfect. Inclusion of Yusuf Pathan would have made it ideal. Nice to see Yuvraj back. And Bhajji is back. I still wonder what is need for both Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary in the squad, that too by dropping Yusuf Pathan, when we have Yuvi back.

My prediction: India will lose Semi Final, which is likely to be against Aussies or West Indies.

 

[icyman]

Baffling selection really. Srikanth seems to have lost hi head. The 4 spots that can be debate dupon endlessly are:

1.Yuvraj- Agreed he has been a match winner, but it defies the logic of having a player match-fit. What if he is unable to play well. India will essentially be going to the World Cup with 14 players. We Indians are masters at meting out sympathy votes and this is where Yuvraj has scored. Nevertheless, had it not been him, the idiots would have picked Sir Ravinder.

2. Zaheer- Injury prone, lack of form. Perfect recipe for disaster. Has been picked up more on the basis of his seniority than anything else. I'd have gone for Umesh seeing as he is an up and coming bowler and we ought to have given him enough chances.

3.Piyush - I think he is the lucky charm for Team India. We picked him in 2007 and then again in 2011 and we won. MSD seems to rely on superstitions more than the form and balance of the side here.

4.Rohit- One really fails to understand what is going on here- why is this fellow being given a longish leash. By that logic, India will end up scoring badly and our batsmen will never get replaced.

A lot of comments and surprises about L Balaji making the cut have emerged. Look closesly and you will find that Balaji has performed well recently, even in the Ranji as well as the IPL.

 

[SaiSrini]

Overall a good side. Will be interesting to see how Yuvi goes. Balaji is a good inclusion for me. Same with Dinda. Don't really get what Harbhajan, Chawla, Manoj Tiwary are doing there. We could have gone with Ashwin-Ojha. I don't really rate Tiwary that high. Zaheer could have been rested and Yadav should have been there. Irfan had to be there after his comeback series in SL, and his inclusion is a good one.

I would say that for Rohit Sharma, not Tiwary. Tiwary is a good T20 option too. He has played many significant knocks for KKR in most IPL seasons. If you are relying your argument only on his big shot hitting, even Kohli has that problem. If Kohli bats past the 14th over, he struggles to get the big shots going and he slows down the proceedings. And we haven't tested Tiwary properly and haven't seen his big hitting prowess.

Agree with Zaheer being included. He should have been rested. Harbhajan gets a lucky reprieve and I am not disappointed to see him. Some experience would be good to have. Since the third spinner is Chawla, Harbhajan and Ashwin will be playing most games in tandem together. With Irfan also most likely to play most games, our batting lineup for this tournament is going to bat until No.9. Happy with Balaji getting another shot. He is picked as backup for Zaheer, which means Zaheer wont be playing all games.

And, WELCOME BACK YUVI!! Hope he can repeat his Man of the series act of the 2011 WC to win us this one too.

 

[Fenil]

Overall a good side. Will be interesting to see how Yuvi goes. Balaji is a good inclusion for me. Same with Dinda. Don't really get what Harbhajan, Chawla, Manoj Tiwary are doing there. We could have gone with Ashwin-Ojha. I don't really rate Tiwary that high. Zaheer could have been rested and Yadav should have been there. Irfan had to be there after his comeback series in SL, and his inclusion is a good one.

I agree with most of what you mentioned. Yadav, Ojha and even Munaf (he has done well in domestic T20s) should have made it instead of Balaji (someone has to make for the players I mentioned), Tiwary and Chawla.

 

[SaiSrini]

Didn't notice that Yadav is not selected. In fact, its a good decision. Yadav is too expensive for T20's. He completely relies on pace and is yet to bring in reliable control to his bowling. He needs to be nurtured well for test cricket, and possibly ODI's. T20's can be too harsh on Yadav more so in subcontinent conditions where there is no pace whatsoever in the wickets. I wouldn't drop Balaji for Yadav. Balaji is the better bet because he has a lot more control and keep runs in check.

Munaf? Oh my holy dearrrrr..... I am so happy that this moron is away from the team now. His attitude plain SUCKS!!!! He can't field properly off his own bowling, but he scowls at fielders who dont field well off his bowling. And he very rarely picks wickets. His economy might be decent, but even his economy doesn't threaten the oppposition to take risks off others. He is a waste of space. Ojha - I agree. They could have gone with Ojha instead of Chawla. But I guess they want a leggie in the side. Anyways even if Ojha plays, he will not be preferred over either Ashwin or Harbhajan. So why waste him in the bench?

----------

Baffling selection really. Srikanth seems to have lost hi head. The 4 spots that can be debate dupon endlessly are:

3.Piyush - I think he is the lucky charm for Team India. We picked him in 2007 and then again in 2011 and we won. MSD seems to rely on superstitions more than the form and balance of the side here.

MSD has no hand in the selection. Its the selectors who have the authority. The captain and coach can just give in their inputs, that's all. Piyush's selection has got to do more with the fact that they want a leggie in the team and Rahul Sharma has to be ignored due to his recent controversy with drugs.

 

[sifter132]

I guess I understand the dismay over Rohit Sharma's continual selection, but I think he's been a much better T20 batsman over the years than Tiwary has. It's just a matter of whether his form comes back. If not, that's why you have reserves.

The real point of interest to me is India's bowlers. Dinda, Balaji, Zaheer and Irfan are not a particularly impressive fast bowling set to my eyes so I think the spinners will have to do VERY well - or the batsman can just back themselves to chase big scores every match. The other thing about Chawla and Harbhajan's selections is that both can bat pretty well, I wonder if that was a factor over guys like Mishra or Ohja.

 

[SaiSrini]

I guess I understand the dismay over Rohit Sharma's continual selection, but I think he's been a much better T20 batsman over the years than Tiwary has. It's just a matter of whether his form comes back. If not, that's why you have reserves.

The real point of interest to me is India's bowlers. Dinda, Balaji, Zaheer and Irfan are not a particularly impressive fast bowling set to my eyes so I think the spinners will have to do VERY well - or the batsman can just back themselves to chase big scores every match. The other thing about Chawla and Harbhajan's selections is that both can bat pretty well, I wonder if that was a factor over guys like Mishra or Ohja.

In most games, we will likely be playing only two fast bowlers (Sri Lankan pitches don't need three seamers in a team). It will be our spin attack that will be more crucial. I am actually interested to see if Harbhajan and Ashwin bowl in tandem. If that happens, it will be interesting to see their performances. Not sure about Ashwin, but I am confident Harbhajan will try to bowl really well and outdo his rival Ashwin because now Ashwin is the No.1 spinner in India's plans and Harbhajan would want that spot back again.

You are right. I think the selectors have loaded up on bowlers who can bat a bit. Thats why Chawla over Mishra and Ojha. Or else, from where did Chawla come? His selection is the most surprising of all. He is not even in anyone's favored list.

 

[Prithvi]

I guess I understand the dismay over Rohit Sharma's continual selection, but I think he's been a much better T20 batsman over the years than Tiwary has. It's just a matter of whether his form comes back. If not, that's why you have reserves.

I feel bad for Yusuf Pathan. I don't understand what was the need to selecting both Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary when Yuvi is back (he will be confirmed #4), and at #7, Yusuf Pathan will play way too better than these two.

My line up:
Sehwag
Gauti
Kohli
Yuvi
Raina
Dhoni
Rohit/Manoj
Irfan Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Ravi Ashwin
Zaheer Khan/Balaji

Yusuf in place of Rohit/Manoj could have been a superb line up in my opinion.

 

[SaiSrini]

No Yusuf again please.... He is the biggest "once in a blue moon" guy but his blue moon day never seems to come at all. Yusuf Pathan should come nowhere near the Indian international side forever. He is a perfect backyard cricketer who luckily got his chance in Indian cricket due to his brother's connections. He was a flop this recent IPL. For Yusuf, I would have a 100 Rohit Sharma's who are hopelessly out of form.

Glad Yuvraj is getting a go before the World Cup, will give him and us a chance to see where he really stands. 3 total shockers, Bhaji, Chawla and Balaji, only one really deserves it and that's Balaji, good luck to him. Just realized Rahane didn't make the squad, bit stupid considering they could've left out Rohit Sharma.

Rohit is again given the nod due to his IPL performances. He played quite a few good knocks for Mumbai this IPL. Bhajji is not a shocker to me. Right now, I kinda want some aggression into our bowling, and Bhajji is not a bad prospect in T20 where he can keep runs in check. Chawla is the biggest surprise (or shock to say). Very happy for Balaji's comeback (the TN factor is there; but happy that he made a good case for himself in the IPL to comeback)

 

[Epic]

Eh, these 'IPL performances' that I always seem to miss, I've never seen Rohit Sharma do anything, ever.

----------

Cricket Records | Indian Premier League, 2012 | Records | Most runs | ESPN Cricinfo

560 runs at an average of 40.00 definitely deserves a spot, Rahane was robbed.

Anyway, here's my XI.

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Virat Kohli
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Suresh Raina
6. MS Dhoni
7. Irfan Pathan
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Ravichandran Ashwin
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Lakshmipathy Balaji or Ashok Dinda

I went with 5 bowlers because I feel part-timers can't be trusted in this format, all it takes is one big over to change the game.

 

[Aalay]

India Cricket Features: Selections pose more questions than answers | ESPN Cricinfo

Again, good squad but can be great if selectors use their head a little more. Some of the selection just does not make sense.

Harbhajan Singh: What has he done to come back to the squad? He hasn't given one single stand out performance to get back in the team. He hasn't done any good in current county season as well.

Piyush Chawla: Why the kerpluck is he back? If BCCI wanted to punish Rahul Sharma for his drug ----, why did they pick him in A squad? Rahul has done nothing wrong to get dropped. Piyush averages more than 40 in Ranji trophy and I feel he is too predictble with his google as well. When he bowls that googly, he bowls from wide of the crease.

Yuvraj Singh: I would love to see this guy playing again for India but I am not too sure about Yuvraj's fitness. Are they rushing him back to international cricket? If he is not 100% fit, they should not bring him back just yet.

L Balaji: At first, they say that our selection will not be based on IPL and then they select Balaji from IPL performance. Wait, what? Why not Munaf patel then?

Why not Umesh Yadav? You need to have one bowler in your squad who an bowl with good enough speed to surprise batsman or to push him back in the crease.

Why not Praveen Kumar? Has he gone completely out of selectors radar?

Rahane anyone?

Anyways, let's hope they do well with the current squad as well.

 

[sifter132]

I feel bad for Yusuf Pathan. I don't understand what was the need to selecting both Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary when Yuvi is back (he will be confirmed #4), and at #7, Yusuf Pathan will play way too better than these two.

I think Tiwary has been picked because of concerns over Rohit. If Rohit were in good form, then it probably would have been Yusuf Pathan as a backup plan for Yuvraj. In other words, selectors more confident in Yuvraj than Rohit. I'm with you though, I think Yusuf Pathan is worth the dice roll in T20s. ODIs? No, but T20s I'd rather have a guy like that in my lineup.

For spin, I think Ojha is India's best T20 spinner so he is hard done by. I'd have picked him ahead of Chawla.

Munaf Patel is the other guy who must have been close. He's hopeless in the field, but I think he's more likely to succeed against international batsmen than Balaji is.

 

[icyman]

I do not agree with the version that Rahul Sharma has been kicked out due to the drugs issue. A BCCI statement had mentioned that the case regd Sharma would be made public. If they find any issues with it, then they would take some action. I 'm telling you, its more to do with the superstition than anything else.

 

[Epic]

Well why are you so worried then, maybe we'll win it with the help of Chawla on the bench.