Nah, Kuldeep is still better IMO and Axar has good domestic form behind him, and if we have learnt anything from the Australia tour, it is to value domestic FC performances.yeah i just don't want bumrah to play again so soon after he suffered from a workload related injury
ashwin floats it up and drifts the ball and is pretty much a world class off spinner at this point who bowls in the 80 kmph range
sundar bowls it at 90-95 kmph all the time and could hurry batsmen
there is enough variety already tbh
and i don't trust anyone to be as good a left arm spinner as jaddu so whichever slow left arm bowler we choose, it will be a massive downgrade
I'm not saying don't value domestic FC performances but I'm not sure the Australian series taught us that lesson. Yes we had Siraj (who's record also included a lot of A team success), but Sundar literally hadn't played an FC game for 3 years lol.Nah, Kuldeep is still better IMO and Axar has good domestic form behind him, and if we have learnt anything from the Australia tour, it is to value domestic FC performances.
The earlier wicket before the relaying had the similar red soil like Mumbai at its base, so it was always true bounce there. But seems it has been a conscious decision to go for more spinner friendly tracks. I am no geologist or anything ( @Gnske will know better ) but Mumbai has a natural harbour and so the sea is deeper closer to the city there, unlike Chennai. Dunno if that makes the base different when it comes to the pitches. But the endeavor seems to have been to create flatter tracks for some reason in the last 10 years, lol. Guess they know it will turn and help spinners at some point, so just ensure it happens in the last 2 days instead of the first 3 days.
Ashwin giving a nice history of Chepauk. Interesting that he tags it as a real bouncy hard wicket at least till 10 years back.
Nah, to me Sundar was the outlier. Literally every other person we debuted had FC success and did well on the step up.I'm not saying don't value domestic FC performances but I'm not sure the Australian series taught us that lesson. Yes we had Siraj (who's record also included a lot of A team success), but Sundar literally hadn't played an FC game for 3 years lol.
Gill & Siraj, pretty much? They both had A team success to back up the domestic stuff.Nah, to me Sundar was the outlier. Literally every other person we debuted had FC success and did well on the step up.
You are confusing domestic form with domestic success, which both Shardul and Saini had, especially Shardul who has had killer FC seasons in the past. Which is what I meant, not most recent domestic form. I feel confident about Axar doing well in tests because he has dominated in FC, not because he dominated in FC in the most recent season.Gill & Siraj, pretty much? They both had A team success to back up the domestic stuff.
Nattu doesn't have much in the way of FC success. Thakur averaged 35 with the ball in 2019. Saini averaged 43.
Again I do value domestic FC performance but I don't think this series made me value it any more/less.
But that's what you literally said earlierYou are confusing domestic form with domestic success, which both Shardul and Saini had, especially Shardul who has had killer FC seasons in the past. Which is what I meant, not most recent domestic form. I feel confident about Axar doing well in tests because he has dominated in FC, not because he dominated in FC in the most recent season.
Anyways, Thakur has had some very good seasons, agreed.Nah, Kuldeep is still better IMO and Axar has good domestic form behind him, and if we have learnt anything from the Australia tour, it is to value domestic FC performances.
Yeah I used form in the original post when I just meant past success, but in Axar's case both was the most recent Ranji season, so I guess it is accurate as far as it goes. And I am not saying Ranji success is the only criteria. Just like Sundar or Shardul, Axar is another we have seen a lot of through LO cricket and IPL and I think he has shown improvements in his abiltiies, esp. with the bat, over a period of time. When you combine that with the fact that, like Shardul and Saini and Gill and Siraj, he has had domestic success (meaning tearing it up 1 or more seasons), I think it is reasonable to conclude he can do well at this level as well. I dont expect any of these guys to be world beaters on their own or even to be the best in their disciplines in the world or anything like that, but I think as part of a team, when surrounded by good enough players, they can do a job and help the team win games. I did not think any less before their success in Australia and I am not thinking much more post their success in Australia either. And I think Axar will be the same.But that's what you literally said earlier
Anyways, Thakur has had some very good seasons, agreed.
Overall Thakur and Saini have some domestic success but the stats don't really scream select me lol. Plenty of bowlers with their numbers doing the rounds. In fact they both have similar numbers and Thakur bowled well but Saini didn't.
It's actually pretty rare to find a cricketer that's played for India in any format who hasn't had domestic FC success. Sundar was one such exception.
You had guys with success doing well, guys with success not doing so well. Then there was the guys with no success like Sundar who did well and Nattu who looked ok-ish.
So I don't think it's changed my opinion of how I value Ranji too much. It's very important but at the same time requires a bit more discretion than some other domestic structures around.
lol reading that article and from watching ashwin's latest video, it seems like ashwin's dad and washi's dad both attended the tied test match at the ground lmaoFirst day, no show - Chennai braces itself for a closed-doors first Test
It's the first international game in India since the pandemic began, but the usual fanfare will be missingwww.espncricinfo.com
Includes a cameo of one of CW's own.
I attended that game too, although as a 3 year old, I obviously had NFI what was going on. Hopefully it means my lil one can play for the country one day.lol reading that article and from watching ashwin's latest video, it seems like ashwin's dad and washi's dad both attended the tied test match at the ground lmao
and they might both be playing together in a test in chennai