Why are India ignoring Sehwag for test matches ?

[Pratters]

Raving and ranting as usual Pratyush

No I wasnt wrong. The selectors were in keeping Sehwag out and by including him for Australia without even a game in this series they have only admitted that.

Cheerio

Righto. Fair enough view...

 

[SJS]

Averaging over 50 with a couple of hundreds is not a failure in my book.

You have the wrong figures Dasa. Let me give you the complete figures and I will use the same source I assure you

Give me ten minutes.

 

[SJS]

Ganguly was dropped by India after playing in this test in Pakistan in Jan 2006.

He next played for India when he was taken on the tour to South Africa in December the same year.

In between he played the following games.

1. Worcestershire v Northamptonshire

• 1st innings : 2
• 2nd innings : 0

2. Northamptonshire v Surrey

• 1st innings : 6
• 2nd innings : 2

3. Northamptonshire v Pakistanis

• 1st innings : DNB
• 2nd innings : 5 retired hurt

4. Northamptonshire v Essex

• 1st Innings : 9
• 2nd innings : DNB

5. Central Zone v East Zone

• 1st Innings : 16
• 2nd Innings : 25

6. East Zone v North Zone

• 1st Innings : 118
• 2nd Innings : DNB

7. Punjab v Bengal

• 1st Innings : 6
• 2nd Innings : 43

Those seven are all the first class games that Ganguly played between being dropped by India in January 2006 and being selected again in December 2006. Doesn't make very great reading, does it ?

Just one score above 50 - the century against North Zone - in ten innings. Besides that 118 against North Zone he scored another 114 runs in ten innings for nine times dismissed.

The average for all first class matches (including that century) is 23.2). Ganguly also has the worst performance ever by any overseas international batsman playing for any county in England ever.

His performances in the List A games during this period were no great shakes either. If you desire i will waste some more time to get those for you too.

 

[jeevan]

Glad I am not Chopra (or Pujara or Karthik) and that cricket is just an entertainment alternative and not my life.

The fact that 'pressure' (political? popular?) counts for so much is hardly encouraging.

Hope he does a Ganguly, but note that Sehwag was given chances in the Pakistani ODI series (at the expernse of Dravid) which he really didnt do anything spectacular in (nothing bad either). Ganguly OTOH was brought in a bad situation (series in SA) and immediately started earning his place.

 

[Sanz]

Umm no. Ganguly played for East Zone (in the Duleep Trophy) and Bengal (in the Ranji Trophy) and did well to earn his recall.

That is the correct assessment. Ganguly's stint in England was in summer of 2006, on the basis of that performance he was not picked for Champions Trophy and rightly so.

The 2006-2007 Indian domestic season which kicked of in September, Ganguly started to show his return to form by first hitting a century in the Duleep Trophy and then again making 43 on a docile pitch in mohali, not to forget his 5 wickets in the game. He justified his return to form with an 83 in the warmup game in SA ,on the basis of which he was picked for the Final XI.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/southafrica/engine/match/249209.html

What happened next, need not be said but will just mention it here for the record.

Sourav has scored 1125 runs in last 11 test with an avg. of 59.25 with 3 100s and 5 50s, this probably is his best year as a batsman.

 

[silentstriker]

Sourav has scored 1125 runs in last 11 test with an avg. of 59.25 with 3 100s and 5 50s, this probably is his best year as a batsman.

He has certainly looked as good as or better than I've ever seen him. And surprisingly, it has included tough tours to both South Africa and England, which would certainly test his technique and his aversion to the short ball. I admit it, I wanted him gone and didn't want him back. Though I agree that he should have been dropped when he did, I'm very happy to be proven completely wrong regarding his return.

 

[Jono]

Happy for Viru to be in the squad.

 

[Richard]

He has certainly looked as good as or better than I've ever seen him. And surprisingly, it has included tough tours to both South Africa and England, which would certainly test his technique and his aversion to the short ball. I admit it, I wanted him gone and didn't want him back. Though I agree that he should have been dropped when he did, I'm very happy to be proven completely wrong regarding his return.

Ganguly's tour of 2007 > his tours of 1996 and 2002 for mine, certainly. And his SA tour of 2006\07 > his tours of 1996\97 and 2001\02 beyond all question.

 

[Evermind]

I do love an on-topic post at 70.

You are seventy years old!? Pretty sharp for that age, pops!

 

[Richard]

Nah, 22, but Akhil's post was post #70 in this thread. And it does amuse me when the conversation has evolved and then someone posts relating to an earlier one, especially sans-quote.

Nothing wrong with it, obviously, just I find it quite funny of times.

 

[Burgey]

Sehwag's performed well here in the past, that must count for something in the selectors' eyes, obviously.

I heard Skull commentating on the ABC during the Sri lankan tests - he made a good point re. India making sure that their aginf champions are ready as possible for this tour. This series v Pakistan is probably not a bad build up, despite the obvious differences in conditions.

 

[SJS]

All those who got it right :}

V Sehwag averages 49.46 after 52 tests and yet he can't find a spot in India's 24 man squad for Australia....
This is despite possessing a good record against the Aussies (even in the five matches that he played against an Aussie side with Mcgrath around he averaged 40+ as opener)....
I haven't checked the raw numbers but I can't think of any opener other than Gavaskar who was more succesful for India.
....

Basically, the Indian selectors are idiots

well said.

I would have Sehwag in the squad TBH, seeing as how it's such a large squad and there is room for 13 reserves, I'm quite disappointed that he wasn't included. He averages over 50 as an opener, scores at a very good rate and provides another bowling option for India. .

TBH i think the Indian selectors are getting confused by Sehwag's Odi form they should have just checked his test record to before dropping him the test team, he had poor test series in South Africa but other than that he has been in pretty decent form in test cricket and its not like that whoever has replaced Sehwag is doing any better India are still struggling to find a stable opening pair ........

Personally I would like Sehwag back in the squad. India's opening options are limited and it's crazy to ignore Sehwag when the likes of Gambhir and Karthik are given repeated chances. Especially on a tough tour of Australia you need people who know what it takes to score runs in Australia.

I was thinking the same .Sehwag can't be worse than DK and Gambhir .

Because Indian selectors led by Shri Dilip Vengsarkar are a bunch of nincompoops.
........

To be honest, the selectorial committee in India seem to be clueless.

You'd think with Ganguly's ressurgence as a cricket player (let alone a batsman), they'd give Sehwag another run.

..... he should be on the tour to Australia IMO. People forget that 2-3 years ago he was arguably our best batsman with Dravid. There were times when he'd be scoring runs when no one else could.

 

[SJS]

And those who were not quite 'on the ball'

What has Sehwag done in recent times to deserve a place? Nothing.

..... he certainly shouldn't be high in the list of the pecking-order for openers at the current time.

We've seen folks with good Test figures carry bad ODI form even into their preferred form of the game. One obvious example is Harmison.

With Sehwag, it's not so much a question of being out of ODI form, as much as just out of form.

.... sehwag doesn't deserve to play test cricket far less go on the most difficult tour in cricket i.e, tour australia......

Jaffer, Karthik, Chopra are happy alternatives for mine. If 2 of 3 fail, then Dravid is a good fall back and Laxman is a good #3 in that case.

Sehwag is not a solution to any thing. Not even to open batting for Delhi in the Ranji. .

I love it how Ian Chappell chips in with his useless opinion, stating the Australians would 'fear' him because of the last tour. I don't believe they'd 'fear' anyone but certainly not Sehwag and certainly not because of one rather streaky, if brilliant, 195. Not to mention the fact it was four years ago and he's been out of form and fitness for a while. Yet on the basis of that innings Chappell says pick him? Just stay out of it old man.

Well said. He said similar things about Harmison too. If Sehwag does improve, by all means select him, but Gambhir and Kathik should be ahead of him at this moment.

Because there are at least four better options?

 

[Richard]

Seriously, the fact that Sehwag scored a (very fortunate) century doesn't mean picking him was neccessarily the right decision.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Seriously, the fact that Sehwag scored a (very fortunate) century doesn't mean picking him was neccessarily the right decision.

He got dropped once, but he batted very well after that.

 

[Richard]

And wrongly given not-out lbw too...

TBH, he batted damn well on the final day. But he should twice have been out on the fourth evening.

 

[SJS]

I cant argue with you Richard, on this or any other matter for that but let mw leave you with a thought or two.

• India's opening partnerships for the first two tests were 4, 26, 8 and 3. A grand total of 41 in 4 innings at 10.25 per innings. In the last two they were 57, 45, 34 and 2. I am sure Anil Kumble will know which one he prefers. We also know there was only one difference between the first two and the next two.
  
• India played three other openers in the series. They scored 4, 5, 16, 15, 3, 53, 0, 38, 16, 11, 9 and 0. A grand total of 170 runs in 12 innings at 14.1 each. Virendra Sehwag played four innings and scored 286 runs at 71 each. We know which one team India will take.
  
• India lost the first two tests 2-0 and were 1-0 up for the second half of the tour. WE know which one India prefers. Virendra Sehwag played in the latter.

It doesn't matter, thank God, to Indian selectors that Sehwag plays in an unconventional manner and you can be sure they are not going to drop him in a hurry.

 

[Top_Cat]

Put me on the idiot board. That said, it was a gamble that paid off but could so easily have not, I reckon. Had he bee introduced earlier in the series when under-done like the rest of the Indian batters, I think he would have struggled. He struggled very much in Perth after all. Got it right in Adelaide but he's still in the 'hit or miss' category on current form for mine. And let's not read too much into a bloke who scored a ton on a deck where four others got hundreds.

 

[SJS]

Put me on the idiot board.

Agreed

 

[Top_Cat]

Oh that just hurt SJS.

Ya got me right here.