SJS said:
You didnt get it Arjun . I counted like this from the players already offered contracts
FIVE OPENERS
1. Akash Chopra
2. Sehwag
3. Sachin
4. Saurav
5. Yuvraj
SIX MIDDLE ORDER BATS
1. Rahul
2. Laxman
3. Tendulkar
4. Ganguly
5. Kaif
6. Yuvi
TWO KEEPERS
1. PATEL
2. Dravid
FOUR BATTING ALL ROUNDERS
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Saurav Ganguly
3. Virender Sehwag
4. Rahul Dravid
THREE BOWLING ALLROUNDERS
1. Pathan
2. Agarkar
3. Yuvraj Singh
SEVEN BOWLERS
Kumble, Harbhajan, Kartik, Nehra, Balaji, Irfan, Zaheer
Hows that ??
The team needs GENUINE openers- not half-baked alternatives like what they have in your list. They need someone like a Matthew Hayden, Chris Gayle, or Marcus Trescothick. These openers can open in Tests and OSI's and can get big scores. Much as Chopra is a decent limited overs opener given his average, not too many have the confidence to open with him, though he is the best choice. Not Sehwag, he's just a pinch-hitter and nothing more. Not Sachin, since he doesn't open in Tests. Not Saurav- you wouldn't want to have him opening the innings. Maybe Gautam Gambhir. They need an opener of top-6 quality, good for BOTH Tests and ODI's.
No complaints about the middle-order bats.
Dravid is not, repeat, not, repeat, NOT a wicketkeeper. He'd make a better captain than a gloveman. He can't catch, he can't make a stumping, except the three-foot step-outs and he makes a lot of run-out bloopers. No way can he even keep in ODI's, let alone Tests. You have to have your best keeper. Dinesh Karthik's keeping is better than both and his bating is of top-6 quality. Dhoni is a decent keeper (slightly better than Parthiv) but a far better batsman. Ratra is the fastest keeper, while Samant can keep to spinners well- Kumble badly needs that kind of support and he has lost confidence in the keeper since Mongia's exit.
Would you have Sachin or Sehwag or Ganguly bowling 10 overs in Tests or ODI's? No way! Sehwag? Probably, since he has to have another skill to fall back on, given his style of batting. Ganguly is too injury-prone and has a bad bowling action and has no pace, while Sachin needs the energy to bat through an innings. Yuvraj can't bowl for toffees! Don't even think of giving him an over, let alone two. And how many chances should that Agarkar get? His Test bowling average is swollen- you can't win matches with 45-a-wicket. Same for ODI finals.
Pathan and Harbhajan are better options, since they have better batting temperament (at least Pathan does more often). They need opportunities at number 7 more often. They're better batsmen than ALL the wicketkeepers tried. The all-rounders- batting or bowling- need all-round roles.
Totally messed-up contract system, this.