India - Road to World Cup 2007

[adharcric]

Yadav.....replaced by Karthik? There's a MASSIVE difference in batting between the two. Not to mention, Yadav's fielding is a little better. If you want to replace Yadav with anyone, choose Bangar or Powar or Yusuf Pathan.

Raina will find it very hard to make the playing XI. Gambhir will (or should) have a better chance, since he's also a frontline Test opener and he combines well with Sehwag, unlike his more illustrious counterparts. Raina, however, will make a very useful substitute fielder or super-sub, and as a reserve, he can't be too bad.

They need to look for a new strike partner for Irfan. Agarkar is an easy target for the hard hitters and his lack of power won't inspire much confidence in anyone– nor will those occasional 20-run overs. VR Singh should be monitored as a future ODI contender, given his pace, and also his build, but he'll have to recover from his injury first.

Yadav/Kartik: I'm not saying they are the same type of players. India can either go with 5 batsmen, dhoni, 4 bowlers and yadav (supersub in if batting second) ... or 5 batsmen, dhoni, 5 bowlers (supersub in for a bowler no matter what). They tried both of these approaches against SL. For the all-rounder slot though, the options would indeed be Powar, Y Pathan, etc.

Raina/Gambhir: Raina will be the 2nd option to break into the playing 11 after gambhir, you're right about that.

Agarkar: I know what you're talking about, but were there any 'occasional 20-run overs' from him in the SL series. As far as I know, he's bowled well so far in the Dravid-Chappell era, so he should be judged on that and nothing else. Also, Pathan has been a pretty big target for batsmen in the slog overs as well, much more so than Agarkar. VRV Singh will be a good option though, guys like him, RP Singh and Sreesanth could be solid. (Munaf Patel, Abid Nabi??)

 

[Pratters]

As always..you are blowing your trumpet on Gambhir....

As usual the troll called Sanz speaks up when no one desired him to.

 

[Arjun]

Yadav/Kartik: I'm not saying they are the same type of players. India can either go with 5 batsmen, dhoni, 4 bowlers and yadav (supersub in if batting second) ... or 5 batsmen, dhoni, 5 bowlers (supersub in for a bowler no matter what). They tried both of these approaches against SL. For the all-rounder slot though, the options would indeed be Powar, Y Pathan, etc.

Raina/Gambhir: Raina will be the 2nd option to break into the playing 11 after gambhir, you're right about that.

Agarkar: I know what you're talking about, but were there any 'occasional 20-run overs' from him in the SL series. As far as I know, he's bowled well so far in the Dravid-Chappell era, so he should be judged on that and nothing else. Also, Pathan has been a pretty big target for batsmen in the slog overs as well, much more so than Agarkar. VRV Singh will be a good option though, guys like him, RP Singh and Sreesanth could be solid. (Munaf Patel, Abid Nabi??)

Yadav is the wrong choice for super-sub. Taking all his skills into perspective, he's a very good selection, but keep him as a super-sub is dumb, since he's being under-utilised. Rather, the playing XI should have two all-rounders (or three, taking Dhoni in the picture), with five bowlign options, and the super-sub (a batsman) should only be a last resort. They don't have to use one all the time. Again, the exclusion of JP Yadav was dumb, given Kemp's quickfire innings at the end.

 

[Pratters]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051117/asp/sports/story_5487245.asp

Mahendra: Sourav will be back
New Delhi: Sourav Ganguly has found support in his hour of crisis with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Ranbir Singh Mahendra saying the former skipper could not be ruled out of India’s scheme of things for World Cup 2007.

Mahendra said at the moment the selectors did not want to tamper with a winning combination but that did not mean the doors had been shut on the Bengal southpaw. “At present nobody wants to disturb the winning combination, otherwise I don’t think there’s any problem for Sourav to return to the team,” Mahendra said.

Asked specifically if Sourav held a chance to be a part of the team for the World Cup, he said, “who has ruled him out? nobody has. This is the handy work of gossipmongers who believe in sensationalism,” a press release quoted Mahendra as saying.

“He is a great player, he has also been a great captain. We are proud of him and he will definitely make a comeback to the team,” said the BCCI chief.

“In my view, even the selectors have not taken any negative view on Sourav’s likely comeback,” he added.

Mahendra said: “I don’t think anybody believes that Sourav does not deserve to be in the team. His performances in Zimbabwe and in Duleep Trophy have been good. I think he’ll make a comeback.” (PTI)

Really Ganguly's performance in the Duleep Trophy has been any thing but spectacular.

 

[adharcric]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051117/asp/sports/story_5487245.asp

Mahendra: Sourav will be back
New Delhi: Sourav Ganguly has found support in his hour of crisis with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Ranbir Singh Mahendra saying the former skipper could not be ruled out of India’s scheme of things for World Cup 2007.

Mahendra said at the moment the selectors did not want to tamper with a winning combination but that did not mean the doors had been shut on the Bengal southpaw. “At present nobody wants to disturb the winning combination, otherwise I don’t think there’s any problem for Sourav to return to the team,” Mahendra said.

Asked specifically if Sourav held a chance to be a part of the team for the World Cup, he said, “who has ruled him out? nobody has. This is the handy work of gossipmongers who believe in sensationalism,” a press release quoted Mahendra as saying.

“He is a great player, he has also been a great captain. We are proud of him and he will definitely make a comeback to the team,” said the BCCI chief.

“In my view, even the selectors have not taken any negative view on Sourav’s likely comeback,” he added.

Mahendra said: “I don’t think anybody believes that Sourav does not deserve to be in the team. His performances in Zimbabwe and in Duleep Trophy have been good. I think he’ll make a comeback.” (PTI)

Really Ganguly's performance in the Duleep Trophy has been any thing but spectacular.

screw ganguly, i care more about laxman's comeback.

 

[Sanz]

Really adharcric, what do expect RSM to say when journalists keep asking stupid questions ? I guess the media should get over the fact Ganguly is out of the team and stop asking questions about him every time they get a microphone in hand to anyone who is remotely related to cricket.

 

[honestbharani]

Really adharcric, what do expect RSM to say when journalists keep asking stupid questions ? I guess the media should get over the fact Ganguly is out of the team and stop asking questions about him every time they get a microphone in hand to anyone who is remotely related to cricket.

It is obvious that the INdian media cares lesser about INdian cricket than even Mahendra and the BCCI guys do.......which is an amazing feat!!!

 

[sheerindianspeed]

They need to look for a new strike partner for Irfan. Agarkar is an easy target for the hard hitters and his lack of power won't inspire much confidence in anyone– nor will those occasional 20-run overs. VR Singh should be monitored as a future ODI contender, given his pace, and also his build, but he'll have to recover from his injury first.

Zaheer Khan is far the best pacer that India have, if he's selected today then he will come up with better figures than the likes of Irfunk, VRS, Ajit etc.

Eventually Khan will be picked and will spearhead the attack, the reason for his ommision from the team (curent) is political

 

[nehrafan]

How much do you ppl think team India has improved in onedayers (since their last OD series against Pak) and what chances do you think this team has for world cup 2007??

Any idea?

 

[irfan]

How much do you ppl think team India has improved in onedayers (since their last OD series against Pak) and what chances do you think this team has for world cup 2007??

Any idea?

Well from reading the reports from cricinfo, it seems there is a marked improvement in the fielding under Dravid/Chappel and a lot more flexibility in the lineup with the use of floating No 3's (Pathan/Dhoni) and good field placements in the powerplay overs. With a lot of youngsters making impressionable starts (Rao,Raina,Gambhir,RP,SreeSanth) i think we have got a strong squad with good benchstrength for wc - esp on the batting side. We still need an accurate death bowler and pacy quick (VRV??) to support the bountiful supplies of med-fast.

my prediction is semi-finals, but a lot can happen from now and WC time

 

[Arjun]

Zaheer Khan is far the best pacer that India have, if he's selected today then he will come up with better figures than the likes of Irfunk, VRS, Ajit etc.

Eventually Khan will be picked and will spearhead the attack, the reason for his ommision from the team (curent) is political

Let's just hope his fielding improves to the level of the young tykes in this Indian side- that will ensure a return to the Indian side sooner than later.

 

[Arjun]

I apologise for lack of updates, but the last three days had been tough. I'll sneak in what I read in Times, who are taking this series very seriously......THIS WAS MEANT FOR THE DOMESTIC SEASON THREAD.....IT'S BEEN SHIFTED...SORRY

 

[honestbharani]

Good to see Kumble getting some good match practice. How is VVS going?

 

[Arjun]

Now Munaf throws his hat in the ring. He smashed 79 in his debu for Maharashtra, with four huge sixes. He's also taken four wickets so far. Wonder how good his fielding is. A fan told me he saw Munaf bowl in a club match in Delhi and go past the 140's a few times, and also strike 24 runs in 12 balls. He needs to keep this up more often and also improve his fielding– that will give the selectors a new option. He's built like Justin Kemp (so is Yusuf Pathan) and may be the power player missing from the Indian side for a long time. However, he's not one you can expect to score a big hundred most of the time, but he can still serve a purpose.

 

[Arjun]

Comments on this team?

• Sehwag
• Gambhir
• Kaif
• Tendulkar RESERVE: Raina
• Dhoni (WK)
• Dravid
• Munaf Patel (RFM?) RESERVE: Yusuf Pathan (LBG) This is the Justin Kemp position
• Irfan (LMF)
• Harbhajan (OB) RESERVE: Rajesh Pawar (SLA)
• VR Singh (RFM?) RESERVE: Sreesanth (RFM)
• RP Singh (LFM)
• SUPER-SUB: Yuvraj

Munaf at seven is a big risk, but that's taking into account potential over performance, and to satisfy those who don't think JP Yadav should play in the team, although Yadav's still a better choice, on batting and fielding. A possible alternative would be to have Munaf at nine and sneak in JP at seven, keeping out VR Singh/Sreesanth.

 

[honestbharani]

Why is Yuvraj out and Kaif in? I think Yuvraj has been the most consistent of our batters, barring that Lanka series, and when he is batting, he has certainly looked the most fluent of the lot, even though he sorta got himself out with daft shots every now and then.

 

[shankar]

Why is Yuvraj out and Kaif in? I think Yuvraj has been the most consistent of our batters, barring that Lanka series, and when he is batting, he has certainly looked the most fluent of the lot, even though he sorta got himself out with daft shots every now and then.

But do you think Yuvraj can succeed against Murali? I'd be surprised if he did TBH, he looked shaky against even Botha.

 

[Arjun]

Good point there. I forgot to mention that team is open for rotation, so even reserves and super-subs can be rotated in and out. However, if Yuvraj comes in, he should get four, five or six. He is shaky against the new ball.

But do you think Yuvraj can succeed against Murali? I'd be surprised if he did TBH, he looked shaky against even Botha.

Yuvraj has often played good innings against spinners, and he's built a few partnerships even against Murali. It's not so much about weaknesses against spinners (which are nonexistent, looking at those innings), as it is about playing the wrong shot at the wrong time.

 

[shankar]

Yuvraj has often played good innings against spinners, and he's built a few partnerships even against Murali. It's not so much about weaknesses against spinners (which are nonexistent, looking at those innings), as it is about playing the wrong shot at the wrong time.

His weakness against spinners is very much existent and it's not about shot selection either. His problem is that he pushes hard at the ball and doesnt play with soft hands when required. He manages to succeed inspite of it in ODIs because the bowlers dont get to bowl for long spells or have fielders close to the bat. Of course it's possible that he will work on it and improve. But at this point in his career I would prefer that he not play against Murali.