Indian T20I selections- what's best?

[Arjun]

There were no Indians in playing in Australia because they were all playing meaningless ODIs in the subcontinent. Putting state sides in the Champions League would immediately drain it (and possibly the IPL) of all the money it's built on. The state sides, full of no-name medium pacers, would just get smashed.

Like it or not, the best ODI cricketers will just dominate low-level interstate Twenty20. They won't learn anything from it because by and large the opposition would be so poor. Tendulkar would just bat aggressively for 20 overs, and that would be enough. So trying to raise Twenty20 players from the bottom up isn't the answer. Enough (a small number, but the elite of the non-internationals) get a game in the IPL - far better preparation for international cricket, not that it really matters now the IPL is around.

There were better players in India not playing the ODI series, who could have made the KFC event. The Champions' League is viewed by teams from other countries as a platform to land IPL contracts, suggesting the IPL is above the CLT20. If a weak team like Diamond Eagles or an inexperienced Trinidad & Tobago can go the distance, why can't a full-strength Mumbai or Delhi?

There's a vibe going around IPL franchises (particularly those owned by actors) that Indian players are not good enough to make the side except on reservations, and that they need more internationals. That will have to change, and for that, the Indian base needs to improve. While the SMAT may be a walk in the park for someone like Tendulkar or Zaheer, the domestic players facing them will have to step up so that they become competitive (the likes of Sreesanth, Chawla and Vinay Kumar have profited from this), and are taken more seriously by IPL team owners. A full season of IPL will help add more options for the Indian T20 team.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Trinidad and Tobago wasn't as inexperienced as people let on. Half the team had played international cricket at that point.

 

[Arjun]

Trinidad and Tobago wasn't as inexperienced as people let on. Half the team had played international cricket at that point.

They were largely inexperienced in T20 before the event began- many of them had played no more than six matches each, while some made their T20 debut in the Champions' League.

 

[bryce]

They were largely inexperienced in T20 before the event began- many of them had played no more than six matches each, while some made their T20 debut in the Champions' League.

Did they? I thought they all got quite a bit of T20 experience from the defunct Stanford series.
They had been playing T20 cricket as long as anyone, though admittedly not the same sheer volume of matches.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

There were better players in India not playing the ODI series, who could have made the KFC event. The Champions' League is viewed by teams from other countries as a platform to land IPL contracts, suggesting the IPL is above the CLT20. If a weak team like Diamond Eagles or an inexperienced Trinidad & Tobago can go the distance, why can't a full-strength Mumbai or Delhi?

Better players not playing in the ODI series? Like who? The Aussie state associations are hardly going to start spending money on useful but no-name Indians.

Like Liam said, I think you're underestimating how good the South Africans and Trinidadians were. While the Champions League is a method for other players to gain IPL contracts, it's still a creation of the IPL and wouldn't exist without the IPL money. On a cricketing front, it's also supposed to be between the winners of each country's premier domestic Twenty20.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

They were largely inexperienced in T20 before the event began- many of them had played no more than six matches each, while some made their T20 debut in the Champions' League.

Half the squad had more than 10 matches to their name across a couple of regional competitions. As experienced as any team that the region could produce. Inexperienced by comparison to other sides, of course, which I expect is your point.

I'm just saying that it wasn't as big a surprise as some have let on, surely. All a moot point though, so carry on with the real discussion at hand.

 

[Arjun]

Better players not playing in the ODI series? Like who? The Aussie state associations are hardly going to start spending money on useful but no-name Indians.

Like Liam said, I think you're underestimating how good the South Africans and Trinidadians were. While the Champions League is a method for other players to gain IPL contracts, it's still a creation of the IPL and wouldn't exist without the IPL money. On a cricketing front, it's also supposed to be between the winners of each country's premier domestic Twenty20.

The likes of RP Singh, Irfan, Yusuf, Gony, Ojha and Badrinath, and maybe Shukla, all IPL regulars and many in or near the Indian team, could use some T20 experience elsewhere. If IPL teams need the services of unknown Aussies and South Africans, some overseas T20 leagues could use one of these among their imports.

Nobody expected those weak teams to make the next stage, especially with the stronger Deccan, Sussex and Otago in the fray, but we know what happened, so the top two State teams in India also have a chance, without any internationals. That would help Indian T20 a lot more than having IPL teams in the CLT20, whose owners are pushing for more overseas players in their teams. With intentions such as these, the IPL then loses its reliability as a supply line for the Indian team. The objective is to get Indian domestic players to perform in T20.

We often talk up several young Indian players, often as the future of Indian cricket- the likes of Pujara, Rahane, Tyagi and Yo Mahesh, for instance. None of these seem to do well in T20, so a change is needed.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

The likes of RP Singh, Irfan, Yusuf, Gony, Ojha and Badrinath, and maybe Shukla, all IPL regulars and many in or near the Indian team, could use some T20 experience elsewhere. If IPL teams need the services of unknown Aussies and South Africans, some overseas T20 leagues could use one of these among their imports.

Do you really think that any of those players match the box-office names currently playinh in Australia? They could use Twenty20 experience, they don't have a right to be provided with it by a foreign board though.

 

[Arjun]

Do you really think that any of those players match the box-office names currently playinh in Australia? They could use Twenty20 experience, they don't have a right to be provided with it by a foreign board though.

They're not far behind their counterparts playing as overseas players in KFC. The likes of RP Singh, Irfan and Yusuf are as good as those players, while Ojha, Gony and Badrinath are hardly unknowns. But the fact that no Indian made the list is proof of the problem itself - in comparison, Roelof van der Merwe and Dirk Nannes made a career playing for their teams, while unknowns like Quiney, Carsledine, Ryan Harris, Shane Harwood, Morne van Wyk, Dillon du Preez (fair, it was just one match) and Yusuf Abdulla often turned out for their teams.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

They're not far behind their counterparts playing as overseas players in KFC. The likes of RP Singh, Irfan and Yusuf are as good as those players, while Ojha, Gony and Badrinath are hardly unknowns. But the fact that no Indian made the list is proof of the problem itself - in comparison, Roelof van der Merwe and Dirk Nannes made a career playing for their teams, while unknowns like Quiney, Carsledine, Ryan Harris, Shane Harwood, Morne van Wyk, Dillon du Preez (fair, it was just one match) and Yusuf Abdulla often turned out for their teams.

Veteran Morne van Wyk and internationally capped Harwood? Not sure what your definition of unknown is.