I agree with Dravid's inclusion in the team.People like Raina and Yuvraj are one-match wonders and you never know when these ppl will go down.
'One match wonders'? Raina got three man of the match awards in a row in the Asia Cup. As for Yuvraj, not rating him as an ODI batsman is sheer stupidity. Since 2005, against quality opposition (so, excluding minnows and Bangladesh and Zimbabwe), he averages 42.26 with a strike rate of 85.76, this is nothing short of extraordinary. The inclusion of Dravid completely ignores the youth policy that the team is going through at this point in time. Dravid is a great batsman, but you cannot simply disregard the past actions of selectors to create a mass inconsistency.
Balaji-well considering the way the Indian seamers bowled in the Asia Cup,I really wouldnt be surprised if he gets a call.
He has barely returned from an injury which could have and could still potentially end his career. In the IPL, he was bowling at 125kph and had no sort of zip or swing to speak of. Although swing comes from the wrist, I'd be shocked if he will be able to extract his infamous outswing much with his new, overly front on action. It will take him time to get back to full pace, and it may never happen, but even speaking of selecting him now is madness.
As for Mohd.Kaif,I can only ask-WHY NOT ?
Kaif was unjustly kicked out of the team after a good West Indies tour[2006]
Also,he was drafted in for the last test against RSA.Why leave him out now ?
And him being vice-captain.Yes,a very wise decision.Kaif is among those who has good leadership abilities.Yuvraj is way too arrogant and probably thats the main reason why he didnt get the captainship in the first place.
M.Kaif lead India U-19 to a WC win and was touted as a future leader.I say,he can be one.
Vice captains don't lead and Dhoni is not going anywhere as captain. Kaif was likely unjustly dropped, but at this point of time, there is no room for him ahead of Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa, who have both shown obvious potential, despite neither being the finished product. Two wrongs do not make a right and we cannot abort our nurturing of batting talents to accomodate Kaif. Kaif is no doubt in the fringes if a young talent totally fails to push on, make no mistake about it.
Personally ,I am not too happy with Yuvraj as the vice-captain.Ideally,the best person in the team to be a vice-captain is Dinesh Karthik,but he can hardly make the team.
Yuvraj's off screen antics do not necessarily make him a bad vice-captain; keep in mind how good Shane Warne captained in the IPL. Dinesh Karthik does not make the ODI team for good reason, he is a poor ODI batsman!
I've long heard the argument that pace isn't everything but the fact is, Balaji doesn't have the pace to trouble international batsman. He doesn't have the same run up any more to generate even as much pace as he used to. From what I saw in the IPL, even though that might not be an accurate representation it is an indication of what sort of shape he's in, he has become far too predictable as a bowler- especially his slower balls.
Yes, but don't totally write him off yet. It will likely be until midway through next season that he is back to full fitness, assuming he doesn't get injured again.
Kaif would be a great choice. May not be the best batsman we have, but is brilliant in the field and excellent tactically. While he was in the team he was the fielding skipper, he set who fielded where.
I agree. As soon as there is a vacency, he should come in, but there is currently not one. Ideally, Yuvraj is rested to 'fix' his knee injury and Kaif comes into the squad and gets ODIs as per the rotation policy.
Dinesh Karthik is a fighter, and seemed a very good, innovative batsman, but has just lost his form and kinda become a walking wicket. He was brilliant behind the stumps too, but he needs to start getting some runs.
Needs to prove his 50 over batting credentials in Ranji One Day Trophy and Deodhar Trophy, imo, before being recalled.
We also need a new spinner. I've always wondered why Amit Mishra, a legspinner with domestic success, never got picked, and after the IPL I am still wondering. Bhajji is proving to be a bit of a problem, he hasn't been taking wickets and is getting into a lot of off-field trouble. Ojha doesn't look ready and Piyush shouldn't be playing Test cricket. Maybe we might need to give Viru and Sachin more bowling in tests, and Yusuf and Raina in ODIs. Maybe Kumble should return to the shorter format. Or call back Ramesh Powar. Or even better, call back Murali Kartik.
Kumble was a poor ODI bowler by the time he'd retired. Ramesh Powar is not the sort of fielder needed in ODIs to spearhead this policy of youth. Murali Kartik is an okay option, but his career record shows a distinct lack of consistency. Ojha and Chawla look okay in ODIs, for now. Mishra is with the India Emerging Players (a NCA squad) in Australia and has put out some good performances and one shocking one, no doubt he will come into the frame soon. Since you wish to talk about Test cricket; I think Kumble and Harbhajan are fine for now and that Mishra is the most likely to take over from Anil as the main leg spinner when he retires.
Balaji needs more time. Glad he's back though, nothing tops his smile!
Unbelievably bright though.
Trivedi looks a decent bowler. He might be good in English conditions, and can apparently bat a little too.
Hmmm, never rated him when I've seen him bowl and I suspect a kink in his action. He could be okay as a third or fourth seamer, but don't see anything too special in him. He's not bad though and changes his pace well.
Our pace attack is quite nice - Irfan, RP, Sreesanth, Zaheer, Munaf, Ishant, Praveen, Gony - so that really shouldn't be an issue. Agarkar, Balaji, Bose are all knocking around too, so in case of an emergency we can turn to them. Yo-Mahesh looked good in the IPL too, as did Dinda.
Hope the BCCI are not as satisfied as you. Irfan has seriously lost the ability to conventionally swing the ball and has lost 'zip' too. I don't know whether he wishes to once again remodel his action, but I have finally jumped upon the bandwagon, thinking he needs to regain his swing. RP's control of line is shocking. Munaf's fitness is laughable, and Praveen is awful when the ball doesn't swing. Gony and Sreesanth are hardly perfect either. Bose had an awful domestic season and Dinda has not even played one professional 50 over game yet. Yo Mahesh has a poor List A record. All is not as rosy as it seems.
And our batting doesn't really need anyone new. Some names have already been mentioned - Badrinath, Tiwary, Nayar, Dhawan, Kaif - so there are plenty to keep the starters on their heels.
Yes, the batting is in good stead for the future.
Sorry, who?
Just did a search on him. Plays for Tamil Nadu. Also played for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. He's 28, RMF, RH bat.
Not quite RMF, more RM.
46 FC games, 43 OD games. Averages 46 with the bat and 21 with the ball in FC - wow. But 30 with the bat and a smidge under 40 with the ball in OD, economy of 4.67.
9 matches in the IPL. 3 innings, 34 runs in 28 balls, out twice. Took 6 wickets in 22 overs at 8.31 RPO.
Perhaps a tad slow to be an effective international bowler.
Nayar can't play as a batsman alone. Tiwary's a much better accomplished batsman than him. So I'd have Tiwary and Sharma both in the team.
As I keep saying, Tiwary has just had one good season and in FC cricket too, not even in List A cricket.