***Official*** India in Australia 2011/12

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Disappointing times. Rohit needs to get a few chances in place of Laxman, and I'd consider Rahane for one of the openers in the final test ... though neither of these changes are likely.

Blast from the Past. Welcome back.

 

[Teja.]

While this is not a post to comment on who should be in the future Indian XI, Badrinath, Rahane and Mukund are definitely a class ahead of any other Indian domestic bats as of right now, IMO.

 

[adharcric]

While this is not a post to comment on who should be in the future Indian XI, Badrinath, Rahane and Mukund are definitely a class ahead of any other Indian domestic bats as of right now, IMO.

Don't forget about Pujara, and Tiwary has re-entered the scene. One gets the feeling that Badrinath's time is up - he surely deserved more chances sooner, but didn't exactly look like he "belonged at the highest level" as much as someone like Rahane.

 

[Jono]

My mate and I were saying that the minute India lost at Melbourne, that if they also lose in Sydney the first player to have their head on the chopping block will be Laxman, not Kohli or Yadav or Gambhir.

And now the former players and media can smell blood.

 

[Turbinator]

Disappointing times. Rohit needs to get a few chances in place of Laxman, and I'd consider Rahane for one of the openers in the final test ... though neither of these changes are likely.

Woahhh! Welcome back man, quite the surprise.

 

[Cevno]

Rahane isn't really a natural opener though. Would rather drop Gambhir, make Dravid open and get in Sharma. One of Kohli/Laxman to bat at 3.

 

[Prince EWS]

Adharcric is one of my favourite ever members; I'm so glad to see him back. One of the guys who helped me transform from a part-time CWer into a regular; so you can blame him if you like.

Re: Laxman though; I would've thought a match in which Ponting and Hussey hit tons should teach us, if anything, not to over-react to poor patches of form merely due to the age of the cricketer(s) involved. Everyone goes through poor patches throughout their careers and they don't suddenly become terminal once you hit 35 or so. Laxman's always had it in him to be dismissed cheaply in consecutive innings, and in the last series he played he averaged 99. He was poor in England (as was everyone else) and he's been poor here so far but lets not get ahead of ourselves about it, especially given what he did in between.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

"I would play both Virat and Rohit in Perth. You should let Virat play. He should be given more chances. If you drop him now, he will not enjoy his cricket anymore."
Kiran More, former India wicketkeeper and former selector

Worst logic ever. If dropping Kohli means "he will not enjoy his cricket anymore." then he needs to HTFU. Personally, I don't believe it. He doesn't look as if he enjoys his cricket anyway. Especially when dismissed.

 

[benchmark00]

Laxman made 66 and looked good last innings he played iirc.


It's all well and good to plan for the future and look to your next group of stars, but do that after this series.

The trophy is still on the line, so India should pick their best XI to win the match.

 

[Prince EWS]

"I would play both Virat and Rohit in Perth. You should let Virat play. He should be given more chances. If you drop him now, he will not enjoy his cricket anymore."
Kiran More, former India wicketkeeper and former selector

Worst logic ever. If dropping Kohli means "he will not enjoy his cricket anymore." then he needs to HTFU. Personally, I don't believe it. He doesn't look as if he enjoys his cricket anyway. Especially when dismissed.

I'm not enjoying my cricket as much as if I got a run for Yorkshire; they should definitely give me a contract based on the More theory.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

The trophy is still on the line, so India should pick their best XI to win the match.

I personally think their poor performance is a symptom of not putting their best line-up out to face the West Indies.

 

[Spikey]

I personally think their poor performance is a symptom of not putting their best line-up out to face the West Indies.

interesting theory. tell me more.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

interesting theory. tell me more.

Sure, speak to Shivfan. He'll give you the lowdown on this one.

 

[Furball]

My mate and I were saying that the minute India lost at Melbourne, that if they also lose in Sydney the first player to have their head on the chopping block will be Laxman, not Kohli or Yadav or Gambhir.

And now the former players and media can smell blood.

Depending on how knee-jerk you want to be, you could put the entire XI on the chopping block.

 

[uvelocity]

ha can you imagine the scene if u no who was dropped

 

[Spark]

Well, given that he's basically the only member of the team (with the possible exception of Zaheer) who is unequivocally pulling his weight...

 

[Spark]

Laxman made 66 and looked good last innings he played iirc.


It's all well and good to plan for the future and look to your next group of stars, but do that after this series.

The trophy is still on the line, so India should pick their best XI to win the match.

Agreed with this. I have no idea why you would start a rebuild in the middle of a Test series in a tough tour with only a week between Tests.

 

[Jono]

ha can you imagine the scene if u no who was dropped

Dropping the only player who can bat would probably cause a scene, yes.

 

[Jono]

Agreed with this. I have no idea why you would start a rebuild in the middle of a Test series in a tough tour with only a week between Tests.

They're not going to. It's just former players/media saying it.

But rest assured, whenever India's batting fails, VVS Laxman will be blamed for it.

Honestly has done very little wrong (obviously still getting out which is an issue). Just keeps getting good balls. Credit the bowlers ffs, stop blaming VVS.

 

[Spark]

I'd be so so so happy to see the back of VVS from a parochial Aussie POV, the man has meant little but ill for us for over a decade. You just don't throw off someone like that.