West Indies in India 2014/15

[Aalay]

Squad for the final two ODIs announced. Akshar Patel is the only addition, and the rest of the squad (14 players) have been retained (which is now a 15 member squad). No changes besides Patel's inclusion have been made.

What is interesting is where does Kuldeep Yadav feature in the pecking order now. Had the third ODI gone ahead perhaps he would have gotten a game. However now it seems unlikely, as perhaps both Mishra and Patel will be above Kuldeep Yadav in all likelihood.

I don't think Akshar Patel should be ahead of Kuldeep simply because Kuldeep was already in the squad while Patel was just added to the squad. If they pick Patel before picking Kuldeep, it would be just madness. However, as you said, I don't see Kuldeep playing in this series.

What is much more important is that the Board President XI for the WI warm up match has also been announced. Plenty of interesting players worth keeping an eye on. For starters, The Board XI is being led by Suresh Raina. There has been some talk of his return to the test side, and even Ravi Shashtri has spoken in favor of his return. That Raina is leading the Board XI, its a very strong indication that Raina's return to the test side could be imminent.

Raina has been in very good form and if he is picked for WI test series, he is likely to do well because it is in India. However, I fear that he will get killed in Australian test series by Johnson.

Also worth noting is the inclusion of Jiwanjot Singh. The Punjab batsman had a stellar Ranji Season last year and finished as the top scorer at an average of 66.33. Also in the squad is Kashmir all-rounder Parvez Rasool. He was part of the squad for the Bangladesh Bi-lateral ODI series earlier in the year, and in the lone match he played, he took 2/60, and didn't get to bat. He had gone off the radar of the selectors after that series, but its good to see him back in the mix.

Jiwanjot Singh has been with India A for quite some time now especially in the longer format but his numbers for India A are not too good. The main surprise for me is the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in that 4 day match. He is being fast tracked straight away for India A without even playing a single ranji trophy match. I mean he is definitely a talent and selectors have noticed it but I wasn't expecting him to be drafted in India A mix so early.

 

[PokerAce]

Raina has been in very good form and if he is picked for WI test series, he is likely to do well because it is in India. However, I fear that he will get killed in Australian test series by Johnson.

Well yes, as with any decision, there are two sides. However I am looking at Raina inclusion in a positive light especially for Australia. Yes the short pitch bowling will test him, but as a good player I would think he should deal with it. We need Raina scoring runs in Australia. In England the batsmen got into a block mode. Made it easy for the bowlers to work on one batsman and work him over. No rotation of the strike, no thought of counter - attacking, just block. Raina will be different from them, and look to be offensive. We need him to perform in Australia. Especially when he is in the form of his career.

 

[Aalay]

Also does anybody else feel that Robin Utthppa might be more suited to T20 opening role than Shikhar Dhawan. I haven't seen Dhawan performing that well in T20 format and Utthppa has been very consistent for KKR.

 

[lion100lion]

Raina has been in very good form and if he is picked for WI test series, he is likely to do well because it is in India. However, I fear that he will get killed in Australian test series by Johnson.

I don't know the reason behind this but I have seen it a lot... Indian Cricketers start losing their touch after playing Test cricket. Examples :- Dhawan, Bhuvi, Rohit, Ashwin, Jadeja etc... a long list

(Though there are a few who have found their touch after playing Test like Rahane and Pujara)

 

[grkrama]

jadu bhuvi have been constant, bhuvi maybe he was burntout a bit by long our but other than that he was good. jadeja the same bits n pieces in all formats.

dhawan its more case of getting more exposed in tests and those doubts continue to linger on, Nohit has always been the epitome of consistency with occasional knocks.

Ashwin is the one a bit affected but he normally gets good in a couple of ODI's.

Other than that i would also say ENG team is like a mountain of kryptonite for indian players, even if the eng players play crap we out do them something not seen with other teams generally. We suddenly become powerless rather than being outplayed.

 

[sandykumar]

all the best to both the teams expecting great entertainment

 

[PokerAce]

Mishra rotated ... Patel starts.

 

[PokerAce]

Well this is rubbish.

West Indies in India 2014-15 : West Indies to pull out of India tour | Cricket News | India v West Indies | ESPN Cricinfo

At the very least they should have made up their minds before coming here. Whats the point of playing 4 ODIs and then saying we are not getting paid enough. Either don't come, and if you have come finish the series. Pulling out mid-way is rubbish.

If WI keep doing this they will soon find it hard to get any invites. No side wants their home season disrupted like this. Sadly for WI the pay saga has gone on too long now. Its starting to sound like a broken record now.

The Worst aspect of it all is they have left us, in all likelihood, with (yet) another Ind-SL in the offing.

 

[grkrama]

that's sad

 

[PokerAce]

Stupid ball boy !

Every WI player turned around and was like WTF !!

 

[SpitfiresKent]

The Worst aspect of it all is they have left us, in all likelihood, with (yet) another Ind-SL in the offing.

I know it's disappointing that the WI have chosen to leave but IMO a India/Sri Lanka test series would be so much more exciting.

Edit: Looks like Sri Lanka has agreed to play 5 ODI's instead.

 

[Yuvi.]

I was refering to the authority!
Like they (authority) were handling them as street cricketers!

 

[grkrama]

Looks like Sri Lanka has agreed to play 5 ODI's instead.

not again

 

[lion100lion]

It's official. Sri Lanka are set to play a 5-match ODI series in India from November 1-15.
India Sri lanka series after a long time !!!That will be a thrilling series as opposed to this boring series going on...

 

[SpitfiresKent]

not again

Valuable 50 over cricket practice

Terrible fielding from the Windies in those final few overs.