if indian tail can bat a bit india shoudld stop picking 7 batsmen for game.also why no gavaskar ,he showed he could bat on austrlia and did some bowling and was good in field, every time i have seen kaif play he has failed.
That's a good question- even I have to ask. What's the point of having good tail-end batting when there are 7 batsmen? Even if they get out for low scores and then expect the tailenders to contribute, who asked the top-7 to get out for low scores? And who asked those in command to persist with proven failures like that so-called one-day specialist who played in the World Cup? Instead, they should play just 6 batsmen, since Karthik, Pathan and ESPECIALLY Powar are capable of getting runs. First the batsmen should stay at the wicket a lot longer, before expecting tail-end support.
Anyway, what's the problem area? Batting or bowling? Time and again,
bad bowling has cost the Indian team many a match, yet they have gone in with 8 batsmen. Have you heard of anything as ridiculously defensive as this? Besides, some of them are more likely to stay in the team than get any runs. So why pick them? Badani was a mis-selection, he's likely to run out more partners this time, even doing better (or worse) than Inzy! Why they have left out Jai P Yadav, despite consistent performances as an all-rounder, is a mystery. He can hit the ball hard, REAL hard, unlike most Indian batsmen. He bowls good wicket-to-wicket Harris-like medium-pace, good line and length, unlike Nehra, who bowls at a good pace yet runs in diagonally and sprays the ball around. No bowler is worth a permanent place n the team, so why not go in for more bowlers or batting all-rounders?
why salvi and munaf dint get picked?
Salvi may not be fully fit. He has to be. When fit, he bowled very well in Dhaka, but after recovering from a hand injury, he bowled rubbish and messed up on field in Kolkata. The same will happen with Nehra. I think Bhandari missed out. He should have gone instead, he is a better batsman and fielder. Even Zaheer was rushed in too early. Sure, he may be better than someone who is 100% fit, even when he himself is only 1% fit, but in that condition, he's still a liability.
Could someone explain why Nayan Ramlal Mongia, the best wicketkeeper in India by a country mile, does not feature? He is a very gpood wicketkeeper against spinners, and spin is India's main bowling strength, while our so-called first choice wicketkeeper, messes up against the spinners occasionally and the seam attack is just an excuse, while the so-called all-rounder, fine batsman that he is, happens to be a horrible wicketkeeper.
Fielding should be a priority, since bad fielding lets down a raw bowling attack, as it did in the home ODI series and in the VB Series. Why Ganguly still stays, despite lack of form and utility beyond batting, is really strange. Captaincy is just an excuse. Besides, the Indians have NEVER won an ODI series in the recent past, so a few changes are needed. Nobody deserves a permanent place, except Sachin, Laxman and Dravid.
Zaheer is crucial for the Indian team. Unlike most Indian fast bowlers, who are either too small (Agarkar), or reed-thin (Balaji, Nehra), he is well built and gets a good pace at times. He can reverse-swing the ball quite well in the final overs. In mid-2002, he was one of the best bowlers in Test and ODI cricket, till the World Cup final, after which his bowling declined, with the fortunes of the Indian one-day team. He does try too hard, tries to do things he can't do due to lack of pace, hence he loses out. Not to mention he is injury-prone. He can also get some runs quickly- he could be India's answer to Flintoff, and he is a better bowler too. When he plays well, the Indian team plays well. That's the kind of player the team needs.
