*Official* India Tour of Australia 2018/19

[Spark]

Rayudu is the weak link in the indian side. Maybe selectores should fast track Gill or Shaw in that position

honestly until watching rayadu bat yesterday i didn't quite understand how ludicrous india's selection policy was. they really might be crippling a world cup campaign which by depth of talent in all areas should be overwhelming favourites.

 

[stephen]

Just for fun, I did the maths on the Bradman vs Tendulkar averages.

Assuming that Bradman and Tendulkar have the same skill level and using their end of career averages to represent that skill level:

Tendulkar/Bradman would have averaged:

85 in 1968
71 in 1988
64 in 1998
50.5 last year.

By this reckonning, Smith would have averaged 111 in Bradman's day and 65.5 when Tendulkar retired.

By the year 2088 a batsman who makes a duck in every innings would be considered better than Bradman.

But this is all assuming a linear degradation of the batsmen's average at 0.7 runs per year from Bradman's time (3.5 runs every half decade). I'm sure the results would be almost as ludicrous if I used a percentage based compounding formula.

 

[Burgey]

No. of matches played by Sachin in world cup finals - 2

Percentage of this when compared to the ODI matches played by him - 2/463 *100 = 0.43%.

Percentage of matches played by Lillee in sub continent and WI - 5/70 = 7.14% ( A bigger sample size here).

***** is right that you are getting old. Myself not very young. Happens to all of us..

Oh. So he’s completely misunderstood the point I was making. Some things are agelessz

 

[Burgey]

Saying that Sachin would have averaged the same as Bradman, had they played in the same era is no less nonsensical than suggesting that Shaun Marsh would have averaged the same as Sachin had they played in the same era.

It's funny because not even Sunilz believes it.

Burgey (and myself TBF) was basically stirring Indian supporters who worship Sachin because Sachin never performed in pressure situations (except when he did, but we'll conveniently forget them).

When did he though? I mean, when people are popping up saying fokls flocked to see him because he was bopping balls onto the roof of a stadium in Sharjah to make a small time odi tourney finals, they must be struggling to find clutch performances. Kohli has more clutch performances for India than Tendulkar does. So does Dhoni (in ODIs anyway).

 

[Member Berry]

honestly until watching rayadu bat yesterday i didn't quite understand how ludicrous india's selection policy was. they really might be crippling a world cup campaign which by depth of talent in all areas should be overwhelming favourites.

Rayudu should be nowhere close to the team, but India's batting cupboard outside the top 3 is pretty bare tbf as far as LOIS are concerned. We've tried a bunch of guys over the last few years and they've all been mediocre to utter trash, with Kedar Jadav probably being the best of the lot. It's weird that the IPL has helped us discover and fast-track a bunch of decent bowlers into the ODI and test teams (Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah), but I can't think of a single batsman that's come through thanks to the format. Outside of Pandya, who's an all-rounder, none of these guys are big hitters and they all have a tendency to take ages to get going or just get completely stuck in the middle of an innings, and this is a team that's already carrying Dhoni. That'll cost us in England, especially if the pitches are going to be the pancakes we expect them to be, because I can see our wrist-spinners - who have been a massive strength - being neutralized.

Maybe Shaw and/or Gill will get a chance and immediately fire, but the possibility of relying on a couple of 19 year old top-order bats with little to no international experience to fix our middle order is a good indication of where we're at.

I think the semi-finals is the farthest we can realistically get, and that'll be with the top 3 and Bhuvi + Bumrah consistently at the top of their games, which I don't think is sustainable for an entire tournament.

 

[Member Berry]

Oh, I forgot about Pant. He should be given a fair shot. Let's go with three wicketkeepers in the same eleven.

 

[cnerd123]

Yea what the IPL has shown us is that Indian Cricket doesn't produce enough big hitting middle order batsmen. Most overseas signings are to cover that hole in our talent pool. The most talented players in our system all end up batting in the top order domestically, because for the longest time we valued Ranji cricket over all other domestic competitions, and if you're a top quality Ranji batsman you bat Top 4. And our best limited overs options are also getting tracked into batting Top 3 domestically, where they have more time to bat and thus impact a game.

Having Raina/Yuvi/MSD all around at the same time was an abberation. We've traditionally sucked at producing players for this role. The last decent one was Ajay Jadeja.

 

[Daemon]

Shouldn't shy away from trying good top order players (that aren't slow starters) in the middle order imo. It may work out like it did for Rohit the other way round.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Jadhav can go big can't he? Karthik may also be an option, although I'm not sure whether he can rebuild if India lose a few quicks ones early on. Would someone like Sanju Samson come into the equation? He fits the criteria but I'm not sure if he's good enough yet

 

[Cow Corner]

I think Dhoni Jadhav, DK and Hardik would be a pretty solid 4, 5, 6, 7 in my opinion.

 

[cnerd123]

Shouldn't shy away from trying good top order players (that aren't slow starters) in the middle order imo. It may work out like it did for Rohit the other way round.

TBF that's kinda what they're trying with Rayudu and Pandey. Even Rahane's stint at 4 when he's clearly much better opening

Gotta identify youngsters who are good at rotating the strike, capable of big hitting, and have a wide range of strokes. I'd like to see them give Sarfraz Khan and Suryakumar Yadav a few chances in LO games for India A. Hopefully this IPL throws up a few more potential candidates

 

[harsh.ag]

Jadhav is fine.

 

[_00_deathscar]

I enjoy watching Kohli more than I did Tendulkar. One case where nostalgia doesn't win out for a change.

I really enjoy watching Kohli, and most certainly in ODIs - hard to compare the two.

Out of curiosity, how old are you? Early Sachin was a very, very different beast to post ~2004 Sachin.

 

[_00_deathscar]

I don't see many Sachin worshipers here(there might be a few exceptions, I agree). People love him a lot for the way he played in the first half of his career. Most would not rate his second half that highly. He tarnished his legacy by clinging on too late in his career just like Dhoni is doing now.

That's definitely very, very harsh. Post the WC win, yes. But from around 2008 till 2011 he had an incredible run of form again. And in between the other periods, he wasn't THAT bad.

 

[h_hurricane]

That's definitely very, very harsh. Post the WC win, yes. But from around 2008 till 2011 he had an incredible run of form again. And in between the other periods, he wasn't THAT bad.

He was never bad except last 1-2 years. Had a down period in 2004-07 which happens for every one. Had a second coming in 2008-11 where he was excellent and arguably the best in the world. But any one who saw his whole career would agree that he was an ATG batsman in the first half(among the very best ever) and a very good batsman in the second half.

 

[harsh.ag]

He's no Dale Steyn

 

[h_hurricane]

Jadhav is fine.

Unfortunately he has a body made of glass.

 

[OverratedSanity]

2008-2011 Tendulkar was basically Allan Border/Jacqus Kallis(as a batsman)/Dravid. Undisputedly great batsman, but lacking the genius of 90s Tendulkar.

 

[Senile Sentry]

Yet managed to score an ODI 200.

Anyways trust the Ol' man to turn this thread into a Tendulkar Bradman shitfest.

 

[aussie tragic]

Cant believe this thread has become Bradman vs Tendulker. Indian fans win one series against a self imposed worst ever Aussie batting side and think they can re-write history.

Tendulker is not fit to lace up the Don's boots.