If i was an indian selector........................

[krishneelz]

looks like major changes coming into place with patel, yuvraj, chopra and agharkar all dropped and karthik gambhir paul and jadhav into the side

so my new indian team

1. Sehwag
2. Gambhir
3. Dravid (vc)
4. Tendulkar (c)
5. Laxman
6. Jadhav/or harbs if fit and down the order
7. Kaif
8. Karthik
9. Paul
10. Kumble
11. Khan

 

[masterblaster]

Tendulkar as Captain?!?!?!

Your joking right?

 

[krishneelz]

dravid was pathetic and sehwag is not right (in the head). So give sachin another chance. I believe he has matured(in the head) and has one of the sharpest cricketing minds

 

[Arjun]

Patel is the very worst specialist keeper to EVER play international cricket.

Worse than Geraint Jones and Rahul Dravid?

India's still got a pretty decent backbone of a team - Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Kumble, Zaheer, Pathan. They just need to fill in a few spots. That is, 1 (possibly 2) opener(s), 1 or 2 bowlers and a wicketkeeper (not batsman - a wicketkeeper!).

Opener- Jadhav/Gambhir
Middle-order- Sriram/Kaif/JP Yadav/Sodhi (any two)
Pacer- Salvi/Bhandari
Spinner- Powar, Harbhajan
Keeper- MS Dhoni

They need a tearaway fast bowler, and that helps a lot.

Most importantly, all 11 players must be fully functional on the field!

 

[krishneelz]

dhoni si the same as patel. Good enough batsmen but below par keeper. Karthik is a better option for a keeper

 

[Arjun]

Dhoni is 6'1", so he can dive longer, though that style is not good. Not to mention he's a far better, and more effective batsman than Patel. He wins matches!

 

[krishneelz]

yes but karthik is better read the previous post by me

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Worse than Geraint Jones and Rahul Dravid?

That's extremely harsh. Jones is very ordinary, but not as bad as you seem to think.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Worse than Geraint Jones and Rahul Dravid?

Have you ever watched Geraint keep? Yes, he's untidy and drops too many, but I can't recall any dropped catches all summer.

Plus, Dravid was never picked as a specialist keeper.

 

[tooextracool]

Worse than Geraint Jones and Rahul Dravid?

actually if you'd taken the time to watch geraint jones, youd see that hes shown amazing improvements in the last few tests. as opposed to patel whos been stagnant throughout his career. i certainly dont remember jones dropping too many catches or stumpings that actually mattered either, most of the time he just didnt take balls that were left cleanly.
mind you jones has been keeping in england, certainly is the hardest place to keep wicket with the movement behind the stumps, many top quality keepers have had problems there.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

actually if you'd taken the time to watch geraint jones, youd see that hes shown amazing improvements in the last few tests. as opposed to patel whos been stagnant throughout his career

I disagree there regarding Patel. When I first saw him he was pretty decent behind the stumps, certainly not the tearjerker he is now. IMO he's gotten worse from being ordinary to horrible as far as Test wicketkeepers go.

 

[tooextracool]

I disagree there regarding Patel. When I first saw him he was pretty decent behind the stumps, certainly not the tearjerker he is now. IMO he's gotten worse from being ordinary to horrible as far as Test wicketkeepers go.

oh no, it was fairly obvious for those who watched him that he was getting up too early and he wasnt getting behind the ball while he was collecting it. the same errors are still showing, of course now its led to more catches being dropped and the like.

 

[SJS]

I disagree there regarding Patel. When I first saw him he was pretty decent behind the stumps, certainly not the tearjerker he is now. IMO he's gotten worse from being ordinary to horrible as far as Test wicketkeepers go.

Thats very true.

He looked a natural and a real good find. I recall mentioning, at that time, to a friend that the ball seems to nestle into his hands so smothly and effortlessly. Its amazing...the decline. I think its firstly a few small errors creeping up and then these are terribly compounded by sharply declining confidence.

Keeping more than any other aspect of the game is very much a confidence thing since you are totally involved in the game each and every delivery and you have to assume as if every ball is going to come to you. Even the batsmen get relief when they get to the non striker's end and get an opportunity to gather their wits after a close shave when they get to the other end. A keeper has no such luxury and if lacking in confidence, he can keep delving on his lapses even as the next ball head for his gloves !

Its not for nothing that its considered the toughest and most specialised job in the game. For very very long time, most top test sides, particularly England, chose their captains and keepers first and then chose batsmen and bowlers.

 

[SJS]

Dhoni is 6'1", so he can dive longer, though that style is not good. Not to mention he's a far better, and more effective batsman than Patel. He wins matches!

Thats a new theory !

Wonder why almost all the great keepers down history have been of moderate height though

 

[Arjun]

actually if you'd taken the time to watch geraint jones, youd see that hes shown amazing improvements in the last few tests. as opposed to patel whos been stagnant throughout his career. i certainly dont remember jones dropping too many catches or stumpings that actually mattered either, most of the time he just didnt take balls that were left cleanly.
mind you jones has been keeping in england, certainly is the hardest place to keep wicket with the movement behind the stumps, many top quality keepers have had problems there.

Chris Read was a fast keeper with good reflexes and very good reach. Almost all of Harmison's widest deliveries were stopped by him, and wide edges were taken. He was also capable of making quick stumpings. Geraint Jones, on the other hand, is a lot slower, and lacks that reach. It is more difficult keeping on the turning subcontinental wickets, especially those with wide cracks, and it is more difficult with spinners like Kumble and Chandrashekhar. In fact, Kirmani, the #1 keeper of that era, had a lot of difficulty keeping to him. As a keeper, Jones donesn't come close to Gilchrist.

 

[Arjun]

Thats a new theory !

Wonder why almost all the great keepers down history have been of moderate height though

Chris Read was a very good keeper (and still is) at 6'1".

 

[tooextracool]

Chris Read was a fast keeper with good reflexes and very good reach. Almost all of Harmison's widest deliveries were stopped by him, and wide edges were taken.

err chris read didnt really play in the era popularly known as ' stephen wayward harmison'.

He was also capable of making quick stumpings. Geraint Jones, on the other hand, is a lot slower, and lacks that reach. It is more difficult keeping on the turning subcontinental wickets, especially those with wide cracks, and it is more difficult with spinners like Kumble and Chandrashekhar. In fact, Kirmani, the #1 keeper of that era, had a lot of difficulty keeping to him.

geraint jones is definetly not slow, he might not be as brilliant as read, who is probably along with taibu the best keeper in the world ATM. and keeping in england with movement behind the wicket is just as hard. mind you jones kept quite brilliantly in the 2nd innings at headingly against NZ and didnt do too bad a job in the tests against the WI on slow turners with plenty of rough.

As a keeper, Jones donesn't come close to Gilchrist.

well not yet, but hes getting better after the work that hes put in with bob taylor,he may well go on to be better than gilchrist

 

[tooextracool]

Chris Read was a very good keeper (and still is) at 6'1".

chris read's not 6'1

 

[SJS]

Chris Read was a very good keeper (and still is) at 6'1".

Look up the dictionary meaning of the word 'almost'
And also ask yourself if Chris Read qualifies as 'great keeper'

Wonder why almost all the great keepers down history have been of moderate height though

If almost means every and if Read is a great keeper as per you, you win again !!

 

[marc71178]

actually if you'd taken the time to watch geraint jones, youd see that hes shown amazing improvements in the last few tests.

And ironically at the same time his batting has been going the opposite way!