Building Indian team for the 2007 world cup

[Armadillo]

It is not, it is a deadly serious organisation!

A curse on you from the AAAS!

Give it up, Marc. Ajit Agarkar is about to get dropped for good and you lot will be out of business.

 

[luckyeddie]

TIF relax man, the AAAS is just a bit of lighthearted fun.

 

[luckyeddie]

Give it up, Marc. Ajit Agarkar is about to get dropped for good and you lot will be out of business.

Since when would anyone with their given location of 'Essex' know about anything other than stealing cars?

And don't say anything about 'Literate Essex' - that's just a fairytale like 'third star on the left and straight on till morning'

 

[Pratters]

Give it up, Marc. Ajit Agarkar is about to get dropped for good and you lot will be out of business.

This is what detractors always say. It has happened in the past as well. The almighty has had resurrections which only the almighty can and it is only time before the non believers feel the power of the great AA.

 

[Armadillo]

Since when would anyone with their given location of 'Essex' know about anything other than stealing cars?

And don't say anything about 'Literate Essex' - that's just a fairytale like 'third star on the left and straight on till morning'

Literate Essex does exist, honest.

 

[luckyeddie]

Literate Essex does exist, honest.

I'm sorry - you are basing your entire philosophy on a spelling mistake.

Many, many years ago, the Iceni under Boudicca joined up with the Trinovantes tribe of King Chav in an attempt to throw the Romans out of Colchester.

Their banners were meant to read 'Liberate Essex'.

 

[Armadillo]

I'm sorry - you are basing your entire philosophy on a spelling mistake.

Many, many years ago, the Iceni under Boudicca joined up with the Trinovantes tribe of King Chav in an attempt to throw the Romans out of Colchester.

Their banners were meant to read 'Liberate Essex'.

Little do you know, Eddie, that I am aware of the history of my county and there was certainly no King called 'Chav' in the oldest recorded town in the UK, infact, the term 'chav' is only a year or so old. If you want to see some real chavs go to Romford, Chelmsford is not chav central.

 

[danish]

Little do you know, Eddie, that I am aware of the history of my county and there was certainly no King called 'Chav' in the oldest recorded town in the UK, infact, the term 'chav' is only a year or so old. If you want to see some real chavs go to Romford, Chelmsford is not chav central.

Erm... yes it is.

 

[Pratters]

agh.

 

[luckyeddie]

Little do you know, Eddie, that I am aware of the history of my county and there was certainly no King called 'Chav' in the oldest recorded town in the UK, infact, the term 'chav' is only a year or so old. If you want to see some real chavs go to Romford, Chelmsford is not chav central.

As I read this response I have tears of laughter rolling down my face - honestly, you have made my night.

 

[adharcric]

In my opinion, Agarkar doesn't pose much of a danger to batsmen on a consistent basis, so he definitely doesn't belong in the test team, where bowlers need to be penetrative. Still, he manages to pick up wickets in one-day cricket and is a good bowler at the death ... so until he loses even that ability, I'm not too worried about his being in the one-day team. But it's time for VR Singh and Munaf Patel to come in. Sreesanth looks quite impressive.

 

[Arjun]

Back to topic....

he manages to pick up wickets in one-day cricket

Through very good luck and not much skill

and is a good bowler at the death

Where batsmen often make mstakes, but gets creamed if they get their act together

so until he loses even that ability, I'm not too worried about his being in the one-day team

• He was at his luckiest in the late 90's and maybe early 2000
• But now, he's just doing his own thing without making an impact in a match
• You can't bank on luck all the time to win tournaments
• The Indians have rarely won a tournament in which he has figured, and just one in the last five years, minnow-thrashing (or scratching) not included.
• His bowling weakens towards the end of a series, and his final average is well over 40

With NOTHING of note happening for the Indian side in years and a promising bunch of pacers who at least have the right raw material coming up, why go back to a little has-been?

But it's time for VR Singh and Munaf Patel to come in. Sreesanth looks quite impressive.

• Wait till VR Singh is fit....then he should be rushed into the team and promoted as Irfan's strike partner.
• VR Singh may not be as fast as Lee or Akhtar, but hopefully fast enough to make an impact
• While his pace is debatable, he's definitely very, very, very aggressive– in fact, coaches often had to console him when he was disappointed when he didn't hit a batsman on his head!
• Munaf's pace will be just a bonus– he should play as a value-add player instead, and his big-hitting ability should be used in the final overs.
• Stick to Sreesanth. Enough said.

But the problem remains– what, and one can repeat, WHAT, has happened to Zaheer Khan? If it's over for him, it is definitely proof that the Indians don't know how to handle their pacers well. Let's just hope this doesn't happen to VR Singh and Sreesanth as well.

 

[masterblaster]

I'm not too impressed with what I've seen of Sreesanth, he seems like another bowler who is likely to crack under pressure and frankly we don't need bowlers like that. Despite bowling well in patches, he pretty much tends to bowl a loose one frequently and is very expensive. He may be effective, but if he's more expensive than Agarkar there isn't really much point.

But he's young and I hope he proves me wrong, but I haven't really been impressed with Sreesanth as of yet. I'm yet to see Munaf Patel and VR Singh as of yet, so I'm hoping they impress and get a shot against England.

One player I'd really like to see come into this Indian ODI squad is Hemang Badani. I'm not too sure of Hemang Badani's current domestic form, but with the recent emergence of players like Michael Hussey, Badani can offer something similar to India. Although he's not in Hussey's class, he is a more solid bet at times than a Mohammad Kaif or a Suresh Raina. He's still young and I think he's got a mature head on his shoulders to come in again.

 

[masterblaster]

TIF relax man, the AAAS is just a bit of lighthearted fun.

Not happy with those comments mate....

 

[Arjun]

I'm not too impressed with what I've seen of Sreesanth, he seems like another bowler who is likely to crack under pressure and frankly we don't need bowlers like that. Despite bowling well in patches, he pretty much tends to bowl a loose one frequently and is very expensive. He may be effective, but if he's more expensive than Agarkar there isn't really much point.

But he's young and I hope he proves me wrong, but I haven't really been impressed with Sreesanth as of yet. I'm yet to see Munaf Patel and VR Singh as of yet, so I'm hoping they impress and get a shot against England.

One player I'd really like to see come into this Indian ODI squad is Hemang Badani. I'm not too sure of Hemang Badani's current domestic form, but with the recent emergence of players like Michael Hussey, Badani can offer something similar to India. Although he's not in Hussey's class, he is a more solid bet at times than a Mohammad Kaif or a Suresh Raina. He's still young and I think he's got a mature head on his shoulders to come in again.

About Sreesanth

• He's just started his international career, so it's difficult to comment so far.
• He's a hard trier, and tries to get wickets, unlike other bowlers who try to keep an economy rate under five.
• He doesn't rely on seaming conditions, helpful pitches, uneven bounce or batting errors, but tries to force some wickets
• Such bowlers will go for more runs, but the extra wickets count
• He needs more attacking fields
• The more experienced bowlers in the side haven't done much better, despite having been around for years
• He's got a lot more pace than any other Indian bowler picked during the time he's played, so he's worth persisting with

About Badani:

• He's already been given ample chances before.
• None of them really helped, as the Indian team never won any of those touranments
• He's a defensive batsman, who often starts blocking and leaving deliveries when a few wickets start to fall
• This has put the Indians in a run-rate problem very often
• Even when he's going well, he'll plasy a loose shot– the TVS Cup final in Kolkata could have been won, but he played a silly sweep.
• Anything he can do, Kaif and Yuvraj can do better
• We haven't seen enough of Raina to compare him with a has-been who's played a few chunks of matches
• That other rookie batsman isn't anything special
• Most importantly, the selectors need to try out all-rounders and tearaway quicks. The team doesn't need another batsman wo'll only warm the bench.

 

[Arjun]

Here's what Srinath had to say about Sreesanth. Coming from someone who opened the bowlign for India for years, and also bowled with a lot of pace, this makes sense.

"Sreesanth, who struggled in the previous game, came out with flying colours at Rawalpindi. He mainly shaped the ball out, used the short-pitched delivery effectively and in the end bowled some good slower ones to bring in variety. His bowling speed, averaging 136 kmph, keeps the batsmen in two minds. He could be an asset only if he adds accuracy to his bowling. Apart from his bowling, what impressed me most was his attitude. For someone who was ill and down the previous day, he played the game with verve. It's an irony in cricket that often when a player is coming out of a niggling injury or a brief illness, he puts up a performance which is above expectations."

 

[marc71178]

Give it up, Marc. Ajit Agarkar is about to get dropped for good and you lot will be out of business.

The AAAS will never, ever be out of business.

 

[marc71178]

Through very good luck and not much skill

That's even worse than the person who reckons McGrath and Pollock (2 bowlers who aren't fit to lace the boots of the almighty) only ever get wickets through luck.

 

[TIF]

I cant understand the meaning of AAAS. Some say that he has been very much in and out of the Indian team and is a special player, then about starting a ZKAS(Zaheer Khan Appreciation Society) as Zaheer Khan has also been very much in and out of the Indian team. How about starting a VLAS(VVS Laxman Appreciation Society) as VVS Laxman has also been very much in and out of the team. Just like Ajit Agarkar, even Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman have come back and been dropped from the Indian team, so do you think that ZKAS and VLAS should be started?

 

[honestbharani]

They don't have the aura of AA.... 'nuff said.


But seriously, AA is still among the better ODI bowlers in India. And since when have yorkers and slower ones become "lucky" deliveries? He may not be as good as a few others, but I will rather have AA and Zak bowling at the death than Pathan and Balaji and others.