*Official* India Tour of Australia 2018/19

[Prince EWS]

I tried to think of an argument against this but I can't

India probably have guys not even making the squad who are better than any available Aussie batsman

Depends if you consider Khawaja to be available or not I guess. He's injured but will probably be right for Australia's next Test -- does that make him available? Probably not, so he's right. You probably are too; Nair has a Test triple and didn't make the squad. I don't rate him as highly as some others do but he's probably still better than Australia's best available batsman (it's Shaun Marsh, fight me irl).

 

[OverratedSanity]

FMD four years ago he was being yapped up on here as being as good as Kohli, particularly away from home.

Tbf he was batting as well as kohli was back then.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah you would have to imagine the Indian dressing room is a bit of a pressure cooker what with so many guys looking to break their way into the team. Basically his friends and teammates are also his rivals.

That's pretty much how any good team's dressing room should be though. It's hard to imagine he would have got to the level he did if he couldn't cope with that sort of thing. Maybe he's just been worked out.. It happens. If he's good enough he'll adapt and find a way. If he isn't he'll get shafted.

 

[h_hurricane]

On a side note, has any one seen Pujara and Rahane firing together ? One goes missing at home, the other goes missing abroad. I don't seem to remember any partnerships they put together.

 

[cnerd123]

On another note, what alpha males? I mean, come on.

Spoken like a true Beta

 

[OverratedSanity]

On a side note, has any one seen Pujara and Rahane firing together ? One goes missing at home, the other goes missing abroad. I don't seem to remember any partnerships they put together.

The partnership at Bangalore vs Australia was the turning point of that series.

 

[jimmy101]

This is going to be such a fun thread.

Sit back and enjoy mate! Everybody is just getting warmed up in here.

 

[jimmy101]

That's pretty much how any good team's dressing room should be though. It's hard to imagine he would have got to the level he did if he couldn't cope with that sort of thing. Maybe he's just been worked out.. It happens. If he's good enough he'll adapt and find a way. If he isn't he'll get shafted.

That's true. Rahane is very much on the precipice at the moment. Turns 30 soon IIRC, his career could go either way from here.

 

[cnerd123]

That's pretty much how any good team's dressing room should be though. It's hard to imagine he would have got to the level he did if he couldn't cope with that sort of thing. Maybe he's just been worked out.. It happens. If he's good enough he'll adapt and find a way. If he isn't he'll get shafted.

This is the same Indian dressing room where Rohit Sharma scored **** all for a 100 ODIs and instead of getting dropped got promoted to open. But Karun Nair scores a 300 and a few series later is getting dropped for a debutant who wasn't even in the squad.

 

[Burgey]

What's that got to do with whether Rahane can cope with being in a competitive environment though? If couldn't he'd have never played FC let alone international cricket.

 

[jimmy101]

What's that got to do with whether Rahane can cope with being in a competitive environment though? If couldn't he'd have never played FC let alone international cricket.

There's a joke to be had here about the quality of Indian FC cricket, but Burgey has nobly sidestepped it.

 

[StephenZA]

Just looked at the tour schedule, did not realise this started tomorrow.

Drinks and a few T20 appetisers, 11 day break for an extra few drinks and lubrication, before the main course of Tests followed by an ODI series for desert for those that can actually stomach it by that stage.

 

[h_hurricane]

The partnership at Bangalore vs Australia was the turning point of that series.

Oh Yes. Missed that. Somehow my perception is that they never click together. They both need to be in some kind of form at the same time for India to have some chance. Can't leave everything to Kohli.

 

[cnerd123]

It's not just a competitive environment in the Indian dressing room - it's a political one, and being the right type of personality seems to matter just as much.

You expect Rahane to be able to deal with fighting for his spot, but if that now involves changing his inherent personality in order to fit in better and shout his case, then you can understand how that may affect his batting.

It doesn't help either when some players seem to get more faith and support over others for non cricketing reasons, but that's not unique to India.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Khawaja > Rahane.

Kohli has the shoulders of a brown snake. Even if we allow Kohli, who are all the others? Pujara? Dhawan (lol)? Ashwin? Jadeja? Please.

Being alpha isn't just about physicality. That's just a small part of it (if at all). It's how you carry yourself, force yourself on other people (you know what I mean) etc.

Tyrion Lannister is one of the most alpha characters on GOT and he's literally a dwarf

 

[Daemon]

I'm quite convinced Rahane's downfall is to do with him shifting his focus to LO cricket and ending up in no mans land.

It's a really underrated aspect of modern cricket, being able to adapt in the different formats in such short timeframes.

 

[StephenZA]

Tyrion Lannister is one of the most alpha characters on GOT and he's literally a dwarf

You realise thats fantasy right?

 

[Burgey]

TIL Game of Thrones is the real world.

Won't cop a lecture on what is or isn't Alpha from TJBeta over here, ftr.

 

[Burgey]

I'm quite convinced Rahane's downfall is to do with him shifting his focus to LO cricket and ending up in no mans land.

It's a really underrated aspect of modern cricket, being able to adapt in the different formats in such short timeframes.

I think a similar focus stuffed up Ishant Sharma for a number of years after his pretty impressive first tour out here. Completely changed the length he was trying to bowl in tests.

 

[Gnske]

Being alpha isn't just about physicality. That's just a small part of it (if at all). It's how you carry yourself, force yourself on other people (you know what I mean) etc.

Tyrion Lannister is one of the most alpha characters on GOT and he's literally a dwarf

He fell for a prostitute and got ****olded by his own father.