***Official*** India in Sri Lanka

[pasag]

Seems like this Indian team is on two years of continuous cricket. Madness.

Yeah, this is getting absurd already.

 

[Manee]

Yeah, this is getting absurd already.

Indeed, India need a rest!

 

[Athlai]

Sri Lanka at home with a spinner that could be even more effective than Murali in those conditions? Will Malinga be fit? If so then the bowling is heavily in favour of Sri Lanka, the batting in India's but with the home advantage this should be a narrow Sri Lankan victory.

 

[Uppercut]

I'd agree with that.. I was just making a point. All except Sehwag did not play that game and I'd back Dravid over pretty much anyone that played, and Sehwag had his usual brain implosion.

Sehwag's brain implosions are all part of his loveable appeal. When you can average over 50 in tests playing ridiculous cricket you might as well do so. The problem with Dravid is that he faces so many deliveries for his runs that the chances of someone coming up with an unplayable ball are enhanced. Dravid's obviously the better test batsman over his career, but he's either out of form or past his best (or both) and i expect Sehwag to outscore him in this series.

 

[ret]

there is little India can do abt the itinerary but what it can do is have enough players who can be rotated .... it's time to move beyond the thinking that same players should play almost all the games that India plays and then blame the hectic schedule. the schedule is going to be there, whats needed is proper rotation, along with proper grooming for youngsters

back to the team selection, Jaffar in the test team -------> NO WAY

 

[Dissector]

Dhoni's initial struggle in Tests notwithstanding, we know what he's capable of with the bat. On song, he can be a huge asset to the team, with his striking power as well as an option of sneaking in an extra bowler- which is a necessity on flat tracks. These are just a form of 'growing pains' in this team; once he gets past that, he'll be just fine. Karthik, in comparison, is inadequate with the bat, even at his best. You can't even sneak in Sanjay Bangar with him in the batting lineup. Dhoni, despite his reputation as a hard hitter of the ball, has often batted with a great deal of maturity, especially as captain of the ODI team. Karthik, on the other hand, is quite a mercurial player, often prone to throwing his wicket away to a rash shot. There's no way replacing Dhoni with Karthik will make this team significantly better than it is now.

Actually I don't think we don't know what Dhoni "is capable of" in tests apart from a prolonged run of mediocre performances. His average is fattened by two high-scoring series against Pakistan on very flat tracks and against depleted attacks. His only impressive away performance has been in England and recently he failed to impress even at home against South Africa.

As for Karthik I have always opposed the absurd notion of picking him as a specialist opener but from the pov. of a wicket-keeper batsman he looks pretty good. He is a gutsy player who has put in some in decent performances in South Africa and England and certainly his technique is better than Dhoni. By all accounts he is also a better gloveman though Dhoni has improved significantly here.

 

[Prince EWS]

I am amazed at how some people rate Praveen Kumar so highly. It was the same with Joginder Sharma.

Dhoni wants to try some bowlers, bowls them and they pick up a few wickets (not always with great deliveries) and Dhoni is lauded for his great captaincy which is not so bad and the bowlers are treated as if they are the best thing that happened to Indian cricket,

Joginder Sharma was a mediocre bowler and Praveen Kumar is only moderately better. What he has achieved in the limited cricket he has played is the best he can be expected to produce with his current level of skill sets. If he performs less than this, it is no surprise what soever. To find great reasons and expound theories for his 'sudden' drop in form or his 'burn out' is to bestow upon him a status that doesn't fit him and/or to fit oneself with a label of punditry that is hardly flattering.

Joginder Sharma cant play too much more cricket for India and Praveen will play for some more till Dhoni realizes there are others he could back with better results.

I disagree about Praveen really. He has an excellent First Class record, has performed very well for India A, swings the ball consistently in both directions and has excellent control. Sure, he might not be ten feet tall or as fast as Brett Lee, but I think he has a lot more potential than a few of the current players and definitely more than Joginder who I was never excited about in the slightest.

 

[Manee]

Joginder is underrated though, FC cricket is his forte, not 50 over cricket and much less 20 over cricket. From watching him bowl, he is not awful, just poor at T20. He gets some swing, has good accuracy and a nice simple action. He also has a sharpish bouncer too.

 

[Migara]

If Malinga is fit SL will have a good chance of winning. My squad will be,

Batsmen
Michael Vandort
Malinda Warnapura
Mahela Jayawardane
Thilan Samaraweera
Chamara Silva
Chamara Kapugedara
TM Dilshan

Wicketkeepers
Kumar Sangakkara
Prasanna Jayawardane

All rounders
Farveez Maharoof
Chaminda Vaas

Pacemen
Lasith Malinga
Thilan Thushara

Spinners
Muttiah Muralitharan
Ajantha Mendis

Note that Warnapura has a FC bowlinf average of 28 as well.

 

[Manee]

Yes, when he played for my club, he bowled consistently at second change and took loads of crickets - he scored a lot of runs too but what set him apart was his comparitively superb slip catching.

 

[Manee]

If Malinga is fit SL will have a good chance of winning. My squad will be,

Batsmen
Michael Vandort
Malinda Warnapura
Mahela Jayawardane
Thilan Samaraweera
Chamara Silva
Chamara Kapugedara
TM Dilshan

Wicketkeepers
Kumar Sangakkara
Prasanna Jayawardane

All rounders
Farveez Maharoof
Chaminda Vaas

Pacemen
Lasith Malinga
Thilan Thushara

Spinners
Muttiah Muralitharan
Ajantha Mendis

Note that Warnapura has a FC bowlinf average of 28 as well.

Thushara has not impressed me much when I have seen him bowl, but Walegedara did, what happened to him?

 

[Prince EWS]

Note that Warnapura has a FC bowlinf average of 28 as well.

Samaraweera has nearly 350 First Class wickets @ 23 as well. Granted though he hasn't bowled as much in recent domestic seasons.

 

[Prince EWS]

Thushara has not impressed me much when I have seen him bowl, but Walegedara did, what happened to him?

Yeah, AWTA very much so. I'd actually forgotten about him until yesterday when I was digging around a few scorecards. Injured?

 

[Migara]

Thushara has not impressed me much when I have seen him bowl, but Walegedara did, what happened to him?

He has some disciplinary problems. SL will never allow ill disciplined players to be in the team. That's why people like him is missing in the team. Niroshan Bandaratillake was apromising spinner, but caught for shop lifting in UK. SLC never allowed him to play for SL after that. That's why we don't have match fixers like Malik, Azhar or Mark Waugh, or drug cheats like Warne, Akthar or Asif or womanisers like Warne. The only black mark is Lokuarachchi, who should be promptly thrown out of the team due to his drinking problem.

 

[Migara]

Samaraweera has nearly 350 First Class wickets @ 23 as well. Granted though he hasn't bowled as much in recent domestic seasons.

He had a very high leap at his delivery stride, which made the ball bounce and bite off the wicket, But after a erious foor injury (IIRC), that leap was not possible and he became a batsman. Then only he was given the chance to play for SL.

 

[SJS]

I disagree about Praveen really. He has an excellent First Class record, has performed very well for India A, swings the ball consistently in both directions and has excellent control. Sure, he might not be ten feet tall or as fast as Brett Lee, but I think he has a lot more potential than a few of the current players and definitely more than Joginder who I was never excited about in the slightest.

I can only agree to one thing that he is better than Joginder.

I will be delighted if he proved me wrong for God knows India do need good bowlers desperately.

I suppose we will have to wait and see.

 

[Manee]

I can only agree to one thing that he is better than Joginder.

I will be delighted if he proved me wrong for God knows India do need good bowlers desperately.

I suppose we will have to wait and see.

I repeat that Joginder Sharma is an underrated bowler, you cannot get 200 FC wickets at 20.05 on often flat pitches for nothing.

 

[SJS]

I repeat that Joginder Sharma is an underrated bowler, you cannot get 200 FC wickets at 20.05 on often flat pitches for nothing.

You can do anything in the first class game in India. The standards are ridiculous except half a dozen teams. And even for them the top players are often missing.

 

[Dissector]

Realistically I don't think the likes of Praveen Kumar can be expected to succeed on absolutely flat tracks. To do that you need either pace in the air or height. Among our current bowlers only Ishant looks capable in that regard as he showed in the final. However on a track with some life in it Praveen Kumar could be a useful option for India.

As for Joginder I don't think anyone including Dhoni considers him a world-class bowler. However what Dhoni realized in the TT world cup was that unlike in ODI's, sometimes you have to give your part-time bowler the final over in a TT game. And he seems to have the knack of calming the nerves of inexperienced players in tremendously tense situations. For that he deserves credit. Though I am skeptical that he will make it as a test player I think he is potentially an all-time ODI great both as captain and batsman.

 

[SJS]

I am sure you have heard of India's 'pace sensation' of recent times. He was also the heart throb of some Indophiles on CW. He had a great year in 2004-05 in the domestic circuit taking 30 wickets at 20.96. It was not so good the next year but good enough to earn him a call to the Indian Test side in the second half of 2006. He played four Tests, two each against South Africa and West Indies.

Against South Africas he took three wickets in two Tests at 66.33 each.

Against Windies in two Tests, he took two wickets at 79.0 each.

......

Joginder Sharma had a great start to his career in FC cricket. His first two seasons got him 56 wkts at 21.8 each. His best bowling in 2003-04 was 6 for 49 (9 for 115 in the match) against Madhya Pradesh.

In the same match an aeging Indian leg spinner was playing the last full season for Madhya Pradesh. He took 13 wickets in the match for 107 runs. Also in the same two seasons mentioned above for Joginder, he took 131 wickets at 19.1 each.

No one even talks of the forty year old Hirwani who has since retired and last played for India 12 years ago.

This is not to say that there is a case for Hirwani or that you can compare a leg spinner in a match against a medium pacer but that first class cricket figures in India need to be taken with a big dose of salt.

They by themselves tell much less than they hide. Look at the bowler and you may learn a lot more.

I can give plenty of examples of bowlers with figures similar to those you quote for Sharma but they are not in consideration.

As for swinging in the air, the balls used in FC cricket in India do swing in the air, The thing is to swing it late. Banana swing can get you the wickets of mediocre batsmen but you cant fool international batsmen with that.

There are a couple of bowlers in the Kolkata side who swing the ball much more than Joginder Sharma but after being briefly in consideration they are gone. Its not enough.

Although, I will say they were better bowlers since they pitched a fuller length than Sharma does.