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International 12th Man
and also the best fielder currently int he team
He will never be, and it is a tad unfair to expect a batsman like Yousuf Pathan to be consistent. He will get quickfire twenties and thirties every other game, and he will play a good innings maybe once in ten-twelve matches. That is pretty much what you can expect from a number seven, to be honest. There is no doubt that Virat Kohli is light years ahead of Yousuf Pathan as a batsman, but will number seven suit him ? Besides, it is unlikely that the pitches that Yousuf Pathan will encounter at the World Cup will have extreme pace and bounce - his major weakness. He should do just fine against spinners.Can you give examples of these? As far as I can tell his handful of significant knocks have mostly been in easy situations where India was already cruising to a big total and would probably have won anyway. There was the hundred of course but against fairly woeful opposition. I would say his fifty the other day is the only significant knock against quality opposition in a difficult situation. And I doubt it would have happened if Smith had taken the spinners off. There is just very little evidence to suggest that Pathan is going to be a consisent performer against quality teams
fixedDhoni needs to grow some balls.
Should drop Raina before Yuvraj. Yuvraj is a far better batsman and bowler than Raina.Dhoni needs to grow some balls and drop Yuvi for Kohli for the number 4 slot.
I'd say the complete opposite. It's not 2008 anymore.Should drop Raina before Yuvraj. Yuvraj is a far better batsman and bowler than Raina.
Actually Yuvraj was out of form for most of 2008. It was only at the end of 08 where he had a really good series against England that he got back into form.I'd say the complete opposite. It's not 2008 anymore.
Agreed, I have been saying the same. Not only his average, his SR has also dropped and he looks really scratchy at the crease these days. He's skating on thin ice, that's for sure.Batting records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo
Don't mind sticking with him through a rough patch, he's a pretty good ODI batsman, but leaving out a player as good as Kohli in order to do so is just dire.
Fair point. It all depends on which number he will play. Virat has been prolific in theMurali Vijay scored a hundred in the second test against Australia last year, but he was still dropped when Gautham Gambhir returned after his injury. We may have to do likewise with Virat Kohli. It may seem harsh and unfair, but that is just how it is. Personally speaking, I would back Suresh Raina more in a high pressure situation than Virat Kohli, at this stage in their careers (there is no doubt that Virat Kohli is the better batsman, though).