***Official*** India in New Zealand 2020

[vcs]

Why should we suffer Thakur. I want to start an online petition. This is cruelty against Indian cricket fans.

Maybe they're picking him for the nostalgia value for the '90s kids. Remember Mohanty, Harvinder Singh, Abey Kuruvilla etc.?

 

[ankitj]

I think he's right in principle tbf (although it depends on how pitches trend from now on imo), but it probably doesn't apply to this current Indian side given who the choices on either side of the divide are. But my perception is probably skewed by the fact that England, whether by design or accident, have had their first-choice bowling lineup since the 2015 WC all be players who can at least hold the bat. Although even that might be changing if Mahmood, Parkinson etc are going to be long-term fixtures

Reason that doesn't backfire on England is because their batsmen are ridiculously good.

 

[Stapel]

I don't know how HB watches these games where Shardul and Saini get tonked and comes up with "play more all-rounders" instead of "play our best bowlers Shami and Bhuvi". Play Umesh and Ishant ahead of Shardul. Idgaf about their batting.

I didn't really follow Indian selecting procedures, but......, nobody thinks so, right? Neither Shardul nor Saini is an all-rounder. Not even bowlers that can hold a bat, though that is quite relative. Maybe Shardul is 'not the worst guy to have at 9', since he can swing the bat a bit. If these guys are selected for being better batsmen, things look bleak.

 

[harsh.ag]

I didn't really follow Indian selecting procedures, but......, nobody thinks so, right? Neither Shardul nor Saini is an all-rounder. Not even bowlers that can hold a bat, though that is quite relative. Maybe Shardul is 'not the worst guy to have at 9', since he can swing the bat a bit. If these guys are selected for being better batsmen, things look bleak.

No, HB didn't say that Shardul and Saini are all-rounders. He would like selection policy to pivot to select a bunch of all-rounders for #6-9/10 (as far as I understand his point).

 

[Stapel]

Bumrahs series stats are an eye opener

Of all Indian bowlers that have bowled the full quota of 30 overs, he is the only one to have bowled a maiden. Top series for him!

 

[Stapel]

No, HB didn't say that Shardul and Saini are all-rounders. He would like selection policy to pivot to select a bunch of all-rounders for #6-9/10 (as far as I understand his point).

Ah, then I misunderstood what you said.
Are there any young all-rounders knocking at the Indian selection door?

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Maybe they're picking him for the nostalgia value for the '90s kids. Remember Mohanty, Harvinder Singh, Abey Kuruvilla etc.?

they were afraid silentstriker would remove his "wheel is forever" avatar

 

[h_hurricane]

Getting rid of Thakur is wishful thinking. The guy is here to stay. Watch him smoke 29* of 12 against SA at home and then realize he has booked his place for another year.

 

[Daemon]

Ah, then I misunderstood what you said.
Are there any young all-rounders knocking at the Indian selection door?

Hardik is the only one who’s any good. Suryakumar Yadav is an aggressive bat who bowls a bit, but his bowling isn’t really 5th bowler material. I’d like him to be given a shot though.

Other than that the cupboard for middle/lower order batsmen who can bowl/bowlers who can bat to reasonable degrees is bare.

 

[veganbob]

Grilled with the win and the 3-0 overall. CDG is a superstar for us in odi's now. So underrated but hes almost always either bowling really well or batting real well. Sometimes even both.

 

[slippy888]

Suryakumar Yadav will never get a chance to play for india, lets hope this is the last game for Thakur in 50 over international cricket.

 

[vcs]

Thought Suryakumar Yadav fell off the radar after a couple of promising IPL seasons around 2014-15. Is he doing well nowadays?

 

[Daemon]

Thought Suryakumar Yadav fell off the radar after a couple of promising IPL seasons around 2014-15. Is he doing well nowadays?

Was excellent in the SMAT. Averaged 50+ at a strike rate well north of 150 iirc. Can't remember if his bowling was any good or whether he did anything of note in the Vijay Hazare.

 

[lockton2skipper]

4 wickets for Bennett but there was some tripe been served up aplenty.

 

[honestbharani]

I don't know how HB watches these games where Shardul and Saini get tonked and comes up with "play more all-rounders" instead of "play our best bowlers Shami and Bhuvi". Play Umesh and Ishant ahead of Shardul. Idgaf about their batting.

I think he's right in principle tbf (although it depends on how pitches trend from now on imo), but it probably doesn't apply to this current Indian side given who the choices on either side of the divide are. But my perception is probably skewed by the fact that England, whether by design or accident, have had their first-choice bowling lineup since the 2015 WC all be players who can at least hold the bat. Although even that might be changing if Mahmood, Parkinson etc are going to be long-term fixtures

Reason that doesn't backfire on England is because their batsmen are ridiculously good.

I didn't really follow Indian selecting procedures, but......, nobody thinks so, right? Neither Shardul nor Saini is an all-rounder. Not even bowlers that can hold a bat, though that is quite relative. Maybe Shardul is 'not the worst guy to have at 9', since he can swing the bat a bit. If these guys are selected for being better batsmen, things look bleak.

No, HB didn't say that Shardul and Saini are all-rounders. He would like selection policy to pivot to select a bunch of all-rounders for #6-9/10 (as far as I understand his point).

Well, to answer all of these points, I am not claiming half baked guys like Shardul are the answer. But I also understand he is basically a 3rd choice pick for a position that really should be between Bhuvi and Chahar. Its the same reason NZ blokes had Southee in the T20I side. Saini, I feel, has a lot more upside still and is worth sticking with. This is just his first few months in international cricket now.

Ah, then I misunderstood what you said.
Are there any young all-rounders knocking at the Indian selection door?

Hardik is the only one who’s any good. Suryakumar Yadav is an aggressive bat who bowls a bit, but his bowling isn’t really 5th bowler material. I’d like him to be given a shot though.

Other than that the cupboard for middle/lower order batsmen who can bowl/bowlers who can bat to reasonable degrees is bare.

That is my whole point. We will never know whom we have if we do not try them out now in ODIs, given the WC is still a good 3.5 years away. And the thing about having bad fielders is that it can get any side down. Its one of the intangibles but I am almost bloody sure had a better fielder than Kuldeep been around to take that catch in the first game, we may well have even won the series given how much psychologically it would have gotten NZ down. This year is the time for trial and error as far as ODI cricket goes and I want India to try some of these players:

Gowtham - he is an off spin bowler who can tonk the ball well and has been lighting it up in the A games and FC and LIst A and T20 games.
Shreyas Gopal - a leggie who can bat but more in the Ashwin mould of batsmen, not quite suited for hitting from ball 1 but an improvement every which way on the likes of Chahal and Kuldeep. His bowling is probably not at their level but given how much both Chahal and Kuldeep seem to have stagnated, he is worth the punt.
Surya Yadav - already covered. Feel he should play ahead of Jadhav every time.
Hardik will be back.
One of Dube/Shankar can be groomed as a batting allrounder.
Still not convinced with Jadeja in the top 7 of any LOI side. But if as I posted somewhere else, if someone can work on his hitting range, he could well be the #6 we need across formats. And then there are the likes of Krunal and Riyan Parag, whom Steve Smith rates very very highly.
If Devdutt Padikkal bowls a bit, he can also be tried as the opener to partner Rohit Sharma long term given Shikhar's age.

 

[nzfan]

Two things we've done well, kept Kohli quiet and handled Bumrah really well. At times taking good runs off him. The result is there to show. Let's now take this into test cricket.

Stoked for Bennett and Jamieson. Shows our domestic comp must be good enough for these guys to step up against one of the better side.

 

[NZTailender]

Grilled with the win and the 3-0 overall. CDG is a superstar for us in odi's now. So underrated but hes almost always either bowling really well or batting real well. Sometimes even both.

His tight bowling is worth it's weight in gold when it comes off but is averaging 20 with the bat (now, after that 50) in the last two years.

 

[nzfan]

CDG's best format is still test cricket. Batting is not his best suite most of the times. I remember him scoring few runs in the world cup otherwise he's not been great with the bat. Ideal for a no.8 to come and throw the bat around a bit. Good bowler though, definitely can bowl and keep it tight picking up few handy wickets. He isn't getting younger so you'll need a replacement in about year or two max. I reckon someone like Nathan Smith would be best suited for this kind of role.

 

[nzfan]

I'm guessing the following will be out first test starting XI. I suppose no surprises.

Blundell
Latham
Kane
Rosco
Nicholls
BJ Watling
CDG
Southee
Lockie
Boult
Ajaz

If they are not going to play Ajaz, they are much better off playing a seamer instead of Sodhi or Santner. If Santner had picked up a wicket or two in the last couple of games I think they would have played him.

I reckon we are not going to see Young in the next two test matches unfortunately. Unless we suck big time and lose the test is 3 or 4 days. That'll mean Young will get a go against Bangladesh during our winter tour.

 

[TheBrand]

That's the thing about CDG though, is he'll usually contribute in one aspect of the game if he fails in the other. One of my favourites was during the WC final when he got absolutely peppered by Archer and Wood for about 15 off 30 balls, looked all at sea and then comes out and almost wins us the World Cup with 10-2-25-1.

Agree that test cricket is his best form, he's managed to show a different temperament as of late - maybe a sign he's maturing. In white ball cricket though, he's undoubtably a match-winner. Think his contribution is vastly underrated, he took the game away when it could have gone either way after a couple of wickets. Reminds me of when he smashed about 70* against Pakistan in a similar knock. Plus his knock in the WC game against South Africa. I think he's the kind of player you only need him to win 1 in 8-9 games for him to be worth it.