*** Official *** Pakistan in India

[Prince EWS]

well, yeah... agree with that, but then the reserve players have to be tested at some point... And there is generally no better game to do it in than a dead rubber...

Yeah, I'm not really arguing against it from a team perspective; it's often the right move. Whether the ICC should actually allow it is a totally different thing though.

And the main point I was making was that for all the "Games involving Bangladesh should not have ODI status" brigade (including myself..) - at least said games are often a contest between the best teams two nations can field. Bangladesh v West Indies is more of an ODI in my eyes than India v Pakistan with a whole heap of players rested from both teams.

 

[adharcric]

Yeah, I'm not really arguing against it from a team perspective; it's often the right move. Whether the ICC should actually allow it is a totally different thing though.

And the main point I was making was that for all the "Games involving Bangladesh should not have ODI status" brigade (including myself..) - at least said games are often a contest between the best teams two nations can field. Bangladesh v West Indies is more of an ODI in my eyes than India v Pakistan with a whole heap of players rested from both teams.

Well yeah but I would make the move for the sake of building bench strength more than just preventing injuries, even though the latter is a significant concern as pasag mentioned. Playing Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Sreesanth is not a "joke" either - all three of them are among the fifteen best cricketers in the nation and part of the squad for this series. Reasonable IMO.

 

[sirdj]

I believe that the chances of Yuvraj getting a game are slim

I think that both Laxman and Yuvraj will get a turn each. In his current form they will give him a go, in fact if Jaffer fumbles even once I have a feeling that Sehwag might sneak in too. In his last 5 innings Jaffer scores 8,62,22,35,0. Sehwag was pretty decent last night and if he scores really well in the last ODI then he may still sneak into the test squad.

 

[haroon510]

pakistani test squad has been announced..

sami is back while asif is ruled out of test series with elbow injury..

i don't see a logic of droping afridi from test side considering that he has been in amazing form with his bowling...

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvpak/content/current/story/320508.html

kaneria, faisal iqbal, sami and nawaz ahmad are the new players that are going to fly to india.
afridi, imran nazir, fawad alam and rao is going back to pakistan.

 

[silentstriker]

Don't like this. We need to face quality fast bowlers before the tour to Australia.

 

[Raghav]

pakistani test squad has been announced..

sami is back while asif is ruled out of test series with elbow injury..

i don't see a logic of droping afridi from test side considering that he has been in amazing form with his bowling...

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvpak/content/current/story/320508.html

kaneria, faisal iqbal, sami and nawaz ahmad are the new players that are going to fly to india.
afridi, imran nazir, fawad alam and rao is going back to pakistan.

I think selectors did the right thing

 

[Xuhaib]

Don't like this. We need to face quality fast bowlers before the tour to Australia.

Watch Sami Marshall and McRao blast you guys out.

 

[Raghav]

Watch Sami Marshall and McRao blast you guys out.

Really?

If its real, I will be the happiest man on earth!

 

[haroon510]

I think selectors did the right thing

Danish kaneria isn't the match winning type of bowler like anil kumble or shane warne.. the indians are going to make pitches for anil Kumble and Harbajin singh. they are not going to make pitches for umar gul or shoaib akhter . pakistan needs an alrounder who could bowle spin and at the same time with bating plus.. considering afridi's test batting record in india (averages almost 38 in india). they should have played afridi.. not to forget that he averages 25.36 with his spin bowling in india..

here is the link if u don't believe me..

http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...edhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype

 

[haroon510]

Watch Sami Marshall and McRao blast you guys out.

who is McRao?

if u r talking about Rao.. he is flying back home to pakistan.. he won't be playing the test matches..

 

[Jono]

Really?

If its real, I will be the happiest man on earth!

Sick of India beating whoever you put in your avatar hey?

 

[Shaggy Alfresco]

who is McRao?

if u r talking about Rao.. he is flying back home to pakistan.. he won't be playing the test matches..

McRao is a humourous portmanteau of McGrath and Rao.

And I cannot believe that they can't find someone in Pakistan who'd bowl better than Sami.

 

[Raghav]

Sick of India beating whoever you put in your avatar hey?

 

[Raghav]

Danish kaneria isn't the match winning type of bowler like anil kumble or shane warne.. the indians are going to make pitches for anil Kumble and Harbajin singh. they are not going to make pitches for umar gul or shoaib akhter . pakistan needs an alrounder who could bowle spin and at the same time with bating plus.. considering afridi's test batting record in india (averages almost 38 in india). they should have played afridi.. not to forget that he averages 25.36 with his spin bowling in india..

here is the link if u don't believe me..

http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...edhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype

When you start comparing Kaneria with the likes Warne, yes you are right. But please do not say Kaneria is not a match winner. He has the potential to do it. Dont complain on his selection mate

 

[Xuhaib]

McRao is a humourous portmanteau of McGrath and Rao.

And I cannot believe that they can't find someone in Pakistan who'd bowl better than Sami.

Aplenty but the selectors not willing to take a risk, these ae the worst selectors I have ever seen they have kept on persisting with Akmal despite his crapnesss.

 

[Manee]

My team for the 5th ODI:

1. Gautam Gambhir
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Yuvraj Singh
4. Rohit Sharma
5. Subramanium Badrinath*
6. MS Dhoni (wk & capt.)
7. Robin Uthappa
8. Irfan Pathan
9. Praveen Kumar (2)
10. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (1)
11. Murali Kartik

*Obviously, he will have to be in the new squad for this to happen. A dead rubber in the highly emotional atmosphere will be a perfect international cricket induction for Badrinath. If he is not picked in the squad, I'd pick RP Singh, bat him 11 and shift everyone up one.

This squad is young, has batting in depth and perfectly rests many Test squad players. Kumar to open the bowling in my opinion because I feel that his ability to swing the ball both ways is priceless with the new ball. The difference in pace between Sreesanth and himself could be troubling for the batsmen too.

Has the squad been announced yet?

 

[SJS]

My team for the 5th ODI:

1. Gautam Gambhir
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Yuvraj Singh
4. Rohit Sharma
5. Subramanium Badrinath*
6. MS Dhoni (wk & capt.)
7. Robin Uthappa
8. Irfan Pathan
9. Praveen Kumar (2)
10. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (1)
11. Murali Kartik

*Obviously, he will have to be in the new squad for this to happen. A dead rubber in the highly emotional atmosphere will be a perfect international cricket induction for Badrinath. If he is not picked in the squad, I'd pick RP Singh, bat him 11 and shift everyone up one.

This squad is young, has batting in depth and perfectly rests many Test squad players. Kumar to open the bowling in my opinion because I feel that his ability to swing the ball both ways is priceless with the new ball. The difference in pace between Sreesanth and himself could be troubling for the batsmen too.

Has the squad been announced yet?

There is no point in not trying to win the series 4-1.

Letting Pakistan win will make them feel so much better going into the test matches. A 4-1 defeat is much worse than 3-2 which looks so very close.

India wont make more than one change in the batting order if at all. Winning the game is important.

 

[pasag]

There is no point in not trying to win the series 4-1.

Letting Pakistan win will make them feel so much better going into the test matches. A 4-1 defeat is much worse than 3-2 which looks so very close.

India wont make more than one change in the batting order if at all. Winning the game is important.

Agree fully.

 

[gettingbetter]

What are the rules surrounding squad changes?

I am quite sure in the WC, you need a medical certificate to chagne a player, does the same apply for these games? Either way, I think blooding youngsters is perfect for India, it will alleviate any issues prsented by the incumbents, but in the longer run, something needs to be done - a rotation policy.

Something I would like to see is Uthappa and Gambhir open, push Yuvraj and Dhoni to 3 and 4 and just rotate the players in the number 5, 6 and 7 positions.

After re-reading that, this Indian batting line-up is really getting complicated.

 

[Manee]

There is no point in not trying to win the series 4-1.

Letting Pakistan win will make them feel so much better going into the test matches. A 4-1 defeat is much worse than 3-2 which looks so very close.

India wont make more than one change in the batting order if at all. Winning the game is important.

Cricinfo says differently.

Teams
India: 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virender Sehwag, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt and wk), 6 Robin Uthappa, 7 Rohit Sharma, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Murali Kartik, 11 Sreesanth.

Pakistan: 1 Salman Butt, 2 Shoaib Malik (capt), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Kamran Akmal, 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Rao Iftikhar Anjum, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Umar Gul.

I understand your views but India are on a packed schedule and one ODI rest before a Test series is priceless.

Furthermore, who is to say that a young unit will not beat Pakistan? The two young stars are likely to play (Yuvraj and Dhoni) and so is Tendulkar. As far as the bowling goes, Sreesanth in for RP Singh is not a bad move at all. Both have similar levels of accuracy with Sreesanth quicker and able to swing the ball more. Moreover, I have always rated Praveen Kumar and wanted him in the team from the start. The fielding of Rohit Sharma will be invaluable too. Is this team as weak as you seem to think? (That last comment sounded arrogant, was meant to be)

This is killing two birds with one stone for me.