***Official*** Indian Domestic Thread 2012/13

[Arjun]

Rohit would, too, if he bowled that much. It's been that kind of tournament.

Rishi Dhawan is one bloke to watch this season. A good all-round performance promoting HP to a higher tier will get him noticed. I haven't seen him in action, but he's been tipped to be decently fast (130k), and he's already been getting runs for HP, as again Irfan being converted into a full-fledged all-rounder. He'll have even more of a shout if he can shoot up to the top wicket-takers list.

In case Tendulkar wishes to call time, you have another replacement waiting, in Tiwary. With Pujara, Rahane, Tiwary and Kohli, you have four middle-order options for the Test side. However, the number six has to be a bowling option- welcome back, Yuvraj.

Akash Chopra wants an overhaul of the points system. What do you think? I feel an excess advantage should be given to an outright win, more so for an innings/ten wickets/100 runs.

 

[Arjun]

Three all-rounders other than Ravindra Jadeja have also had a good tournament. And they're all seam bowlers. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar got a score over 90 and also took nine wickets in the game against Karnataka, but UP didn't press hard enough for a win. He's doing well with both bat and ball, and a string of good batting performances could throw in another real prospect for the thankless Number Six spot. Laxmi Ratan Shukla is amongst the top run-getters and has got his runs at a brisk pace, including a rapid century at a strike rate typical in ODs, but wickets have been few. Then there's Rishi Dhawan from Himachal, but he's got his wickets for more runs between them and he hasn't done much with the bat beyond that century in the opening match. HP, whom he represents, is also in the weakest tier.

Leading the wickets tally is Shahbaz Nadeem, followed closely by Pankaj Singh and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Not too many national prospects, but one getting runs and wickets may be in with a chance. Batting charts? Let's see someone in that chart (not named Manoj Tiwary) get some wickets, maybe then we'll look into it. Plenty of flat decks have made run-scoring easy.

 

[Arjun]

Pankaj Singh is desperate. But he definitely is worth a shot over the likes of Dinda and Mithun, any day.

 

[Manee]

Pankaj Singh is desperate. But he definitely is worth a shot over the likes of Dinda and Mithun, any day.

He's not far off a call up. One more good season needed.

 

[nsniks]

From 322 for 5, MP slide to 342 all out. The destroyer for Bengal was Shami Ahmed, who finished with 7 for 79, among the best figures of the season

Shami looks like a good prospect. Saw him in Duleep Trophy Final and was very impressed

 

[Arjun]

Umesh, Pankaj, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Ishant in reserve should be a decent roster, home and away.

Shami can play as a T20 specialist for now. Let him finish four seasons with Bengal first.

Guess what, Rohit Sharma scores a century.

 

[Arjun]

Punjab is the form team. Two wins in three matches, and represented in the top runs/wickets tally too. Sandeep Sharma will be one to watch, and Uday Kaul, one to play Tests.

 

[Arjun]

Odisha have pulled off a huge upset, taking down Karnataka, who have been below par this season. No star performers in this Odisha side, but they now top the table. Baroda, on the other hand, averted an upset and won by the skin of their teeth and a wicket, consigning a fighting Haryana to their third loss this season. Now MP, a team whose players were implicated in spot fixing, look likely to pull off an upset against Bengal. Plenty of results this season in Group B, just two in A, and a few more in C.

 

[nsniks]

Ravindra Jadeja becomes first indian to score three triple centuries in first class cricket and 8th ever in first class cricket

 

[Arjun]

Just the finishing touches to show how irrelevant Ranji Trophy experience is. Blokes who've worked harder for their runs but still unlucky to miss out on an India berth (Badri, Kaif, Mazumdar) are now rendered irrelevant by some flat-track show-off in a tournament full of flat tracks, poor bowling, second-string sides with no overseas or Test team players in action. And yet we mock the IPL, just because it is a 'party', 'circus' league. It is also insulting towards those players who earned not just their India caps, but also every single run or wicket in Ranji Trophy.

Both Saurashtra and TN are playing dull, negative cricket by batting out two days, when they should have tried to get a few opposition wickets in. Do they have the bowling to take 20 wickets on flat decks in two days? They don't.

Also disappointing is the scheduling, as even though there's no Test on now, the Test starts on the day after this round ends. Worse, this round is missing Zaheer, Irfan, Ishant, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Harbhajan, Ashwin, Munaf, Ojha- the entire bowling probables roster! And then you wonder how a mediocre batsman gets three triple centuries, when far superior blokes have struggled for their doubles.

Awana's continued good show with the ball, Rishi Dhawan's (also Bhuv Kumar's and LR Shukla's) continued all-round success, as also Nadeem, Gupta and Konwar getting wickets, is far more relevant than this new trend of successive triple centuries.

 

[CricAddict]

Just the finishing touches to show how irrelevant Ranji Trophy experience is. Blokes who've worked harder for their runs but still unlucky to miss out on an India berth (Badri, Kaif, Mazumdar) are now rendered irrelevant by some flat-track show-off in a tournament full of flat tracks, poor bowling, second-string sides with no overseas or Test team players in action. And yet we mock the IPL, just because it is a 'party', 'circus' league. It is also insulting towards those players who earned not just their India caps, but also every single run or wicket in Ranji Trophy.

Both Saurashtra and TN are playing dull, negative cricket by batting out two days, when they should have tried to get a few opposition wickets in. Do they have the bowling to take 20 wickets on flat decks in two days? They don't.

Also disappointing is the scheduling, as even though there's no Test on now, the Test starts on the day after this round ends. Worse, this round is missing Zaheer, Irfan, Ishant, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Harbhajan, Ashwin, Munaf, Ojha- the entire bowling probables roster! And then you wonder how a mediocre batsman gets three triple centuries, when far superior blokes have struggled for their doubles.

Awana's continued good show with the ball, Rishi Dhawan's (also Bhuv Kumar's and LR Shukla's) continued all-round success, as also Nadeem, Gupta and Konwar getting wickets, is far more relevant than this new trend of successive triple centuries.

Arjun, I appreciate how you consistently track Indian domestic cricket and provide us good commentary and updates on it. But I am slightly disappointed with your hate for Jadeja. Have frequently seen you picking up on him.

I for one, believe that he has lots of potential to be the next good if not great allrounder for India in tests and should play tests instead of ODIs. The man has just done what only few greats have done before and we should give him his due.

 

[Daemon]

Why are medium pacers so effective in the Ranji? What sort of tracks are they playing on because they can't all be absolute roads if the medium pacers are picking up so many wickets.

 

[Arjun]

Why are medium pacers so effective in the Ranji? What sort of tracks are they playing on because they can't all be absolute roads if the medium pacers are picking up so many wickets.

The medium-pacers get all their wickets in North/Central India. Catch any bowler getting wickets in Gujarat and Saurashtra, or South Zone.

 

[Daemon]

So the pitches in North/Central are greentops/minefields or something?

 

[cnerd123]

The pitches Rajasthan plays on are definitely green tops.

Kanartaka as well I think?

 

[Arjun]

Arjun, I appreciate how you consistently track Indian domestic cricket and provide us good commentary and updates on it. But I am slightly disappointed with your hate for Jadeja. Have frequently seen you picking up on him.

I for one, believe that he has lots of potential to be the next good if not great allrounder for India in tests and should play tests instead of ODIs. The man has just done what only few greats have done before and we should give him his due.

Plenty of Indian prospects, current players and rejects, value the India cap. That includes Sanjay Bangar and Yusuf Pathan. Not Jadeja, who tried to use his India cap to bargain for a bigger IPL contract. This bloke was given loads of chances, and an unquestioned place in the national side, compared to the number of times Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Amit Mishra have been in and out of the side. He is still used with protection, in timing as well as field setting- you'll never see him facing two set batsmen, or bowling with a new ball, or closing the innings. Not different from your usual part-timer. Guess what, the part-timers are good enough for the top six.

Yusuf Pathan won the Duleep Trophy with a double century. Nobody noticed. Yusuf Pathan scored a 150 and took ten wickets in a match. Nobody noticed. Yusuf Pathan's century in an ODI changed that ODI and India won. Once more. Still, twice over, nobody noticed. Ashwin has a Test average of 42 with the bat. Nobody seems to notice.

While Jadeja's two triple centuries are a significant achievement, that doesn't suggest he can win matches for India, or even make a difference in the Indian side. Rather, you now know how cheap runs can get in that area. Instead, we need to encourage the likes of Pankaj Singh, Parvinder Awana, Sandeep Sharma, Bhuv Kumar and Rishi Dhawan, who are getting plenty of wickets, and can make a difference in the national side.

Express pacers make a difference. All-rounders who are strike bowlers make a difference. Batsmen scoring runs in difficult conditions (Delhi, Ghaziabad, Lahli) make a difference. Not two triple centuries in Gujarat and little outside of that- at least JJ Singh, Paras Dogra and Yashpal Singh get runs regularly.

 

[Arjun]

So the pitches in North/Central are greentops/minefields or something?

Look at how matches in Lahli, Rohtak go. Plenty of wickets fall there.

 

[Arjun]

Your thoughts on Shahbaz Nadeem for an India Test call-up? He's got 25 scalps in four games. Arlen Konwar is also doing well, Sunny Gupta a littlle less so, but all three are in the bottom (C) tier, and Nadeem is way ahead. Given India's new-found spin woes, he may have a chance.

 

[Arjun]

Parvinder Awana takes five against Karnataka, who are struggling this season. He's got 21 wickets, and is one of the leading wicket-takers amongst the seasoned blokes. Built like a fast bowler, unlike Dinda. Bowls decently fast, unlike Mithun and Vinay. Has form on his side, unlike Ishant and Zaheer. Is fully fit and athletic, unlike Zaheer. Both Awana and Singh should be drafted into the side, post-Zaheer, while Ishant can work his way back into the team through Ranji.

The Ranji Trophy should be Kaif's ticket to the Indian team once more. He's getting runs in the North/North-central venues, where wickets fall in a heap. Not some Gujarat/Saurashtra featherbed that makes centuries cheap.

 

[Arjun]

Ranji Trophy success launches Awana, Jadeja and (what?) Piyush Chawla into the national side. I'd expect Awana and Jadeja to fit in nicely, although they needed one more seamer to get in- Ishant's poor form and Dinda being misfit would call for one more.

Meanwhile, Mandeep Singh scores a double century. I'm not so sure I can imagine a major induction of young players to turn the Indian team's fortunes around, when three of the four youngsters inducted in the Fletcher era have failed the team this time.