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Indian Domestic Season 2010-11
- Thread starter Arjun
- Start date
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Maybe that nonsense still persists. We haven't had draws in the last few seasons of the Irani Trophy.
The recurring RoI victories in the Irani Trophy (four in a row, before this one, and two before Railways' win in 2005-06) do stand out- what do you make of this? Are FC teams a lot weaker lately? Do they miss their stars so much? These days, even against a Ranji champion team, an assembly that resembles a Reserves XI more than the real Rest of India (who are either on a break or playing for the country) looks- and ultimately plays- a lot better. While it does show the huge gap between a state team and an amalgamated one, it's rather disappointing that a Ranji champion, especially Mumbai, capitulates against Rest of India Reserves. After all, the Ranji champions are a better team than what's essentially a cobbled-together unit.
The recurring RoI victories in the Irani Trophy (four in a row, before this one, and two before Railways' win in 2005-06) do stand out- what do you make of this? Are FC teams a lot weaker lately? Do they miss their stars so much? These days, even against a Ranji champion team, an assembly that resembles a Reserves XI more than the real Rest of India (who are either on a break or playing for the country) looks- and ultimately plays- a lot better. While it does show the huge gap between a state team and an amalgamated one, it's rather disappointing that a Ranji champion, especially Mumbai, capitulates against Rest of India Reserves. After all, the Ranji champions are a better team than what's essentially a cobbled-together unit.
Manee
Cricketer Of The Year
Interesting that you think Kulkarni is largely average. I'd have thought that he is our best Test pace option after Zaheer, Munaf and possibly Sreesanth. He bowls a solid pace and keeps taking wickets. He has done well in more than one season, which is more than can be said about Mithun, Yadav and Unadkat.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
India's Test pace options are horribly managed and possibly scarce if Zaheer, Munaf and Sreesanth are the best bowlers, and followed by Kulkarni. Kulkarni's largely been effective against domestic opposition, but rarely replicated that success against stronger teams- be it IPL or India-A. He's got an average over 30 for India A, including the tour of England, where he was over 36. And that's just two seasons he's played, as against Vinay Kumar, Irfan and Balaji playing several seasons and having international experience, more useful, and are also doing well in the same seasons as him. Let's not pick too many rookies in a frontline team.
And in yesterday's action, Yuvraj scored 204 off 195, with five big ones. Now, Jaffer and Rahane are making hay.
And in yesterday's action, Yuvraj scored 204 off 195, with five big ones. Now, Jaffer and Rahane are making hay.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Rahane gobbled up RoI (mostly the weak seamers) until he was out. That average seems to be shooting up. He should be a regular India A/Board XI player, and the IPL franchise that gets him should make the most of that- Mumbai Indians, in particular, should bat him ahead of stragglers like Dhawan and Duminy.
Cevno
Hall of Fame Member
You take the IPL too seriously .
For me it means very little in terms of India test selection.
Mumbai Indians prefer the likes of Rayudu ,Nayar,Tiwary and Dhawan ahead of Rahane because they are better than him in T20.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
A whole lot of these Indian batting prospects are domestic bullies and heroes, but struggle against international opposition. Be it hostile pace bowling, skilful seam and swing, or tight and razor-sharp fielding, it has levelled them often. We've seen Wasim Jaffer come, fail and go, countless times. Another example is Akash Chopra, who got opened up and phased out of the Indian team within a year of debut, by McGrath. There's not much to suggest otherwise for Rahane. Averages over 50 are no big deal in India, and even IPL finds can maintain them.
The IPL provides these batsmen opportunities to face quality bowling and they know what they need to do to shape up for the national team. The quality of the cricketers, and possibly the cricket itself, is a lot higher than other domestic events, and these prospects face the same obstacles that have been the shortcomings of many a new Indian player.
Those players in Mumbai are not necessarily better than Rahane, even in T20. They've just been given the chances, that he hasn't. Only Rayudu and Tiwari are good for T20. Dhawan's largely a passenger, with a poor strike rate. Nayar is a bit of this and that, with not a single fifty. Duminy is a mere price-tagger and not worth the chances he gets, especially ahead of Rahane and a superior bowler. There's no reason why they shouldn't play him. He's still a couple of seasons away from Test cricket, as there's no need for another batsman in the short term.
kingkallis
International Coach
Rahane is a classy player, looks very calm and composed.
hick2010uk
Banned
The Ranji Trophy should be split into three divisions of 9,9,10.. to ensure better quality cricket for the Indian cricketers to progress, As the current systems are mish mash
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
That doesn't serve much of a purpose. It will, instead, shrink the talent pool, to include average passengers from strong teams ahead of talented players from lower-league stragglers. The current 15-12 format is fine as it is, but they could do well to invite foreign players to the event, and also a foreign team to the Duleep Trophy. If it wasn't for their discovery of Dhoni, who carried a weak team repeatedly and won for them, they'd be stuck with Parthiv Patel or Dinesh Karthik, both weak links for whom the team needed to adjust a lot, and India would lose Rahul Dravid five years earlier.
A whole lot of internationals who are idle can fill in for the India stars away on national duty, often the bane of Indian domestic cricket. That will strengthen the standard of the game, although it will take time. These players should be full-fledged members of the teams, like the system in England.
The Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy should be played when there is no international action, like the IPL.
A whole lot of internationals who are idle can fill in for the India stars away on national duty, often the bane of Indian domestic cricket. That will strengthen the standard of the game, although it will take time. These players should be full-fledged members of the teams, like the system in England.
The Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy should be played when there is no international action, like the IPL.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
In other news, the Challenger Trophy becomes even more laughable, with India Red suffering a dramatic tail collapse to fold up for a paltry 185, chased down with ease by India Green. Any tournament that makes Sudeep Tyagi or Ashok Dinda look an India prospect should be ignored.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
One more one-sided match is on the cards in this circus, with India Blue (what horrendous names!) smashing India Green (hang on, India played in shades of blue and the odd yellow) bowlers for 320, with Rahane and Dhawan top-scoring. Dhawan finished a hundred, while Rahane missed it slightly, again. Manoj Tiwary was a tad scratchy until he smashed the bowlers in the final overs, finishing with 46 runs striking over 170, until he holed out. The one good thing that can come out of this event is Rahane becoming a regular fixture in the ODI squad and an automatic choice in games where seniors are rested.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Let's look at state associations now. Most of them are a total mess, and have no operational ability, especially among Plate teams. Yet, we find that it's Delhi that's shown up as a corrupt, inefficient association. Is too much made of it? I mean, reports were made public of Sehwag and Chopra fleeing Delhi for Haryana, a poorly-managed association, but not a word of Haryana's slip-shod operations, notably with captains and coaches. Delhi is the home of journalism, so it figures. Maybe nobody's as inquisitive about Haryana (captain of the week, coach of the season), Uttar Pradesh (where sporting grounds become memorials for leaders departed and serving), Karnataka (pick these star-sons in the XI and become captain), Vidarbha (shake your fist at the BCCI even if it means costing India a Test win) and many Plate associations. Delhi seems a better-run unit.
hick2010uk
Banned
Are Goa and Jammu and Kashmir ever likely to become a top side
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
The Challenger nonsense ends in another one-sided game, this time, the final. Tanmay scores a hundred, Yomi scalps two, Chawla snares three, with three by RP Singh, and Tiwary gobbled up the Greens. Outside of that, it was a tame end to a disappointing tournament. Disappointing, as this mess is supposed to be a platform for national selection.
Rahane, Ashwin, Yo Mahesh, Vinay Kumar and Chawla should get India caps for the forthcoming ODI series against Australia.
Rahane, Ashwin, Yo Mahesh, Vinay Kumar and Chawla should get India caps for the forthcoming ODI series against Australia.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
Aakash Chopra laments the decline of the Challenger Trophy and Corporate Trophy in his latest blog entry, urging the powers that be to keep them going.
Frankly, both need a serious revamp in order to stay relevant. The Challenger Trophy gave promising youngsters and domestic stalwarts a chance to play against India's frontline team. Now, it's a circus where these players, without competition from top Indian cricketers, compete in two and a half games for places in the national team. It's a little like building an Indian team in just four days. It should be a competition between the current Indian team, the immediate reserves and youngsters in the development squad. That will imply that the event be held at a time when India does not have international action. Likewise, the Corporate Trophy, as Chopra says, has too many teams playing too many games at a stretch. Some teams are full of extras and have average domestic players as their top professionals. The choice of teams, the management of players as well as the scheduling (yes, again) need to be fixed.
Frankly, both need a serious revamp in order to stay relevant. The Challenger Trophy gave promising youngsters and domestic stalwarts a chance to play against India's frontline team. Now, it's a circus where these players, without competition from top Indian cricketers, compete in two and a half games for places in the national team. It's a little like building an Indian team in just four days. It should be a competition between the current Indian team, the immediate reserves and youngsters in the development squad. That will imply that the event be held at a time when India does not have international action. Likewise, the Corporate Trophy, as Chopra says, has too many teams playing too many games at a stretch. Some teams are full of extras and have average domestic players as their top professionals. The choice of teams, the management of players as well as the scheduling (yes, again) need to be fixed.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
I guess not. Goa has a poorly-administered state association and no genuine talent beyond moderate IPL find Swapnil Asnodkar, T20-ready spinner Shadab Jakati and former India wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra. They don't win much. J&K, as we know, have other problems to sort out before cricket, right now, but they too don't have too many talented cricketers. Both are Plate league teams, and don't stand a chance of making the Elite league.
Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy starts tomorrow. For those who are not familiar, it's the poorer, weaker, more official inter-state cousin of the Indian Premier League- it's a T20 tournament. Once again, it's been marred by poor scheduling, but with a weakened Indian team facing the Aussies, we'll see better players this time around. I'll be backing Mumbai, TN, Delhi or Baroda for this event, though Maharashtra can spring up a surprise like they did last time.
What does Ajinkya Rahane need to do to play ODIs for India? They were likely to field a weakened side for this series, and did just that. While Mukund, Ashwin, Vinay and Vijay are good selections and Sachin, Zaheer, Bhajji and Gambhir, worthy exclusions (they need a break!), the non-selection of Rahane is questionable. He's taken his imperious first-class form to ODs, and has a very impressive OD sheet. In addition, he's also very effective on the field. He's also more experienced in domestic matches, with over 44. Instead, we see Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary and Jadeja in the team again. I don't quite believe Rohit Sharma isn't worth another ODI anymore, but Rahane would be a better option on form. Jadeja getting in ahead of Rahane, though, makes one wonder, what were the selectors thinking?
Also questionable is the exclusion of Yo Mahesh. In just 37 games, he's got 61 wickets, which indicates he'sbeen striking with amazing regularity. On the other hand, they've picked Jadeja, Praveen and Munaf, all of whom struggle to take wickets. Volumes have been written about the useless captain's boy Jadeja, and we already know about the poor strike rates of Praveen and Munaf. Moreover, these two pacers are such poor fielders, it's suicidal to go in with even one against a top fielding side like the Australians. On the bright side, worthy exclusions are those of Ashok Dinda, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Mithun and Jaidev Unadkat. Let them earn their India caps.
What does Ajinkya Rahane need to do to play ODIs for India? They were likely to field a weakened side for this series, and did just that. While Mukund, Ashwin, Vinay and Vijay are good selections and Sachin, Zaheer, Bhajji and Gambhir, worthy exclusions (they need a break!), the non-selection of Rahane is questionable. He's taken his imperious first-class form to ODs, and has a very impressive OD sheet. In addition, he's also very effective on the field. He's also more experienced in domestic matches, with over 44. Instead, we see Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary and Jadeja in the team again. I don't quite believe Rohit Sharma isn't worth another ODI anymore, but Rahane would be a better option on form. Jadeja getting in ahead of Rahane, though, makes one wonder, what were the selectors thinking?
Also questionable is the exclusion of Yo Mahesh. In just 37 games, he's got 61 wickets, which indicates he'sbeen striking with amazing regularity. On the other hand, they've picked Jadeja, Praveen and Munaf, all of whom struggle to take wickets. Volumes have been written about the useless captain's boy Jadeja, and we already know about the poor strike rates of Praveen and Munaf. Moreover, these two pacers are such poor fielders, it's suicidal to go in with even one against a top fielding side like the Australians. On the bright side, worthy exclusions are those of Ashok Dinda, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Mithun and Jaidev Unadkat. Let them earn their India caps.