***Official*** Asia Cup

[ret]

the tourney begins in Pakistan on June 24th .... the final is on July 6th

Fixtures

HK and UAE join the 4 teams from the subcontinent

the teams are divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each, then the top two from each group battle it out in another round-robin format to decide the two finalists

i guess that Ind would have learned the lesson to not pack its side with too many batsmen from the experience in BD tri-series .... Dhoni has been winning most of the tournament so in a way it's good to have lost an irrelevant tri-series like the BD and learn some lessons out of it and more importantly not repeat them in the Asia Cup

my recommendation for the X1 for the first few games

1 to 3 ----> Sehwag, Gambhir and Rohit
4 to 7 ----> Yuvi, Dhoni, Raina or Yusuf and Irfan
8 to 11 ----> Praveen, Chawla, Gony or RP and Ishant

 

[Prince EWS]

Will Sreesanth be fit for the tournament? I'd certainly back him as a better ODI option than RP Singh. They're both pretty dire in that format at the moment but Sreesanth has shown improvement at times - RP's performances are actually getting worse after a pretty decent start. Totally opposite situation in Tests, though.

Looking forward to seeing how Mendis goes, assuming he plays.

 

[duffer]

Oh man, another ODI tournament

Ah well, wouldn't mind seeing Ojha and Gony get a go, especially for that Hong Kong game. No need to rush back injured players for this.

 

[Isura]

this is like the summer of irrelevant cricket. dropping down from 6 to 4 teams LOL. should be straight to a final (or best of 3 final).

 

[Mard]

I love one day cricket please dont kill it

 

[Jonty Lathwal]

will b interesting 2 see how Hong Kong & UAE perform.......

 

[honestbharani]

the tourney begins in Pakistan on June 24th .... the final is on July 6th

Fixtures

HK and UAE join the 4 teams from the subcontinent

the teams are divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each, then the top two from each group battle it out in another round-robin format to decide the two finalists

i guess that Ind would have learned the lesson to not pack its side with too many batsmen from the experience in BD tri-series .... Dhoni has been winning most of the tournament so in a way it's good to have lost an irrelevant tri-series like the BD and learn some lessons out of it and more importantly not repeat them in the Asia Cup

my recommendation for the X1 for the first few games

1 to 3 ----> Sehwag, Gambhir and Rohit
4 to 7 ----> Yuvi, Dhoni, Raina or Yusuf and Irfan
8 to 11 ----> Praveen, Chawla, Gony or RP and Ishant

Agree with that team but would probably like to see Ojha get a game in somewhere, preferably when Chawla is also there. Teams are not used to facing two good (at least on potential) spinners in ODIs and sometimes it tends to get a bit suffocating against good spinners in the middle overs even for good batsmen. Inspite of the loss in the final, I still think the signs are very good from the Indian ODI side... so let's hope we win this one and continue our improvement.

 

[Arjun]

Should we forget the Asia Cup and that silly tournament in Bangladesh ever happened? After all, there is so much cricket going on these days, the only ODI tournaments that matter are the World Cup and the Champions' Trophy, and possibly those events involving Australia.

Even if we don't ignore these events, should performances in Asia Cups be taken seriously? After all, there is this trend of not recognising performances by Asian players against other Asian teams, and only looking at what they do against other top teams.

 

[Arjun]

Sanath makes a comeback here, yet again. Let's just hope he retires before he runs out of steam, totally, like his counterparts across the strait. Then again, will he play as a full-time bowler for SL?

 

[Mard]

Should we forget the Asia Cup and that silly tournament in Bangladesh ever happened? After all, there is so much cricket going on these days, the only ODI tournaments that matter are the World Cup and the Champions' Trophy, and possibly those events involving Australia.

Even if we don't ignore these events, should performances in Asia Cups be taken seriously? After all, there is this trend of not recognising performances by Asian players against other Asian teams, and only looking at what they do against other top teams.

May be for indians its too much cricket, but remember outside india almost no one cares about IPL. I am in pakistan and heck i didn't watch IPL or ICL at all, no body cares here despite them having pakistani players. For us its not enough cricket. Pakistan hasn't played a major tournament in a while now. Playing for a country is the pride, not for some stupid league matches

 

[Arjun]

Looking at the performance of the England team in a recent ODI against the Kiwis, there are a couple of points to take home from there. To begin with, Pietersen's innings was an example. We know Pietersen is famous for his huge (occasionally back-handed) hits, but more importantly, he had his focus on a big innings. He built partnerships- sizeable ones at that, and the contribution of his partners, few as they were, cannot be ignored. They tried to help him build those partnerships, without trying to be heroes to save their places in the XI. If one Indian (mostly Yuvraj) does that, they won't need to stack their team with seven batsmen trying to be heroes.

While the bowlers shared the wickets equally, the performance of Graeme Swann was noteworthy. He's no world-class spinner, but two wickets for 45 runs was definitely something of note. Likewise, the four wickets taken by Collingwood (albeit against the tail end) prove that a stock bowler can be very useful. The Indians have Yusuf Pathan, who can do just as well for them, if given a chance- and certainly a lot better than those mediocre part-timers. That is, if they don't go back to playing five bowlers again- which might be the best idea.

 

[Arjun]

May be for indians its too much cricket, but remember outside india almost no one cares about IPL. I am in pakistan and heck i didn't watch IPL or ICL at all, no body cares here despite them having pakistani players. For us its not enough cricket. Pakistan hasn't played a major tournament in a while now. Playing for a country is the pride, not for some stupid league matches

This has nothing to do with the IPL. This is about the excessive volume of cricket played, particularly by the subcontinental teams. Surely some tournaments can be skipped, with the focus on the more important ones. You cut out those silly matches, and you'd get as many matches as New Zealand gets each season.

 

[ret]

the BD tri-series was irrelevant, not the Asia Cup .... Asia Cup has a long history and ranks amongst one of the better tournaments, probably 3rd after the WC and Champions Trophy

 

[Mard]

This has nothing to do with the IPL. This is about the excessive volume of cricket played, particularly by the subcontinental teams. Surely some tournaments can be skipped, with the focus on the more important ones. You cut out those silly matches, and you'd get as many matches as New Zealand gets each season.

but again what are you talking? this year hasn't seen any major international tournaments so far. I think Asia cup is the first big one.

 

[Prince EWS]

the BD tri-series was irrelevant, not the Asia Cup .... Asia Cup has a long history and ranks amongst one of the better tournaments, probably 3rd after the WC and Champions Trophy

Yeah, I agree really. A lot of the long ODI segments of tours should be cut down a fair biy, but I don't mind the idea of this one. If anything, the overly large number of ODIs played in other tours is the main reason this tournament isn't more widely received.

Personally I think the Champions Trophy is pretty pointless; I actually wouldn't mind to see that killed off. It's basically just a World Cup no-one truly cares about - either let it die completely or let the World Cup legitimately be staged every two years.

I don't mind the Asia Cup though - decent concept. It makes the Kiptly Cup an utterly ridiculous tournament though, given the timing.

 

[Lambu]

the tourney begins in Pakistan on June 24th .... the final is on July 6th

Fixtures

HK and UAE join the 4 teams from the subcontinent

the teams are divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each, then the top two from each group battle it out in another round-robin format to decide the two finalists

i guess that Ind would have learned the lesson to not pack its side with too many batsmen from the experience in BD tri-series .... Dhoni has been winning most of the tournament so in a way it's good to have lost an irrelevant tri-series like the BD and learn some lessons out of it and more importantly not repeat them in the Asia Cup
f
my recommendation for the X1 for the first few games

1 to 3 ----> Sehwag, Gambhir and Rohit
4 to 7 ----> Yuvi, Dhoni, Raina or Yusuf and Irfan
8 to 11 ----> Praveen, Chawla, Gony or RP and Ishant

Ret, i feel Raina is wasted at 6..he should be tried at 3 imo.He has the technique and the aggression.Rohit struggles to rotate the strike sometimes and is not as attacking as Raina,though he is good.So why not put Raina ahead of Rohit at 3 and save Yuvi,Dhoni and Irfan for the big hitting??We should then drop Yusuf for a genuine bowler(RP/Goni/Ojha) as having another big hitter just doesn't make sense as the team is already packed with enough big hitters.Clearly playing an extra batsmen cost us in the final(however insignificant it may have be).

 

[Manee]

Personally I think the Champions Trophy is pretty pointless; I actually wouldn't mind to see that killed off. It's basically just a World Cup no-one truly cares about - either let it die completely or let the World Cup legitimately be staged every two years.

I don't mind the Asia Cup though - decent concept. It makes the Kiptly Cup an utterly ridiculous tournament though, given the timing.

AWTA. Both the Champions Trophy and Kitply Cup are tremendously pointless. Eradicating the Champions Trophy totally, without replacement, would do a lot to reduce the saturation of ODIs.

 

[Jono]

Yeah, I agree really. A lot of the long ODI segments of tours should be cut down a fair bet, but I don't mind the idea of this one. If anything, the overly large number of ODIs played in other tours is the main reason this tournament isn't more widely received.

Personally I think the Champions Trophy is pretty pointless; I actually wouldn't mind to see that killed off. It's basically just a World Cup no-one truly cares about - either let it die completely or let the World Cup legitimately be staged every two years.

I don't mind the Asia Cup though - decent concept. It makes the Kiptly Cup an utterly ridiculous tournament though, given the timing.

Agreed on all counts.

I like the Asia Cup, however what the hell is the point of the Kiptly then? The problem is not just a purely cricket one (where its pointless and mundane), but also a business one, where people actually stop giving a crap, both hardcore fans and regulars. This effects ratings and attendance, and yes generally most ODI cricket between India and anyone sells out, but it still has an effect.

 

[Arjun]

but again what are you talking? this year hasn't seen any major international tournaments so far. I think Asia cup is the first big one.

The Champions Trophy will happen a little later. That's the premier tournament after the World Cup.

 

[Arjun]

Will Sreesanth be fit for the tournament? I'd certainly back him as a better ODI option than RP Singh. They're both pretty dire in that format at the moment but Sreesanth has shown improvement at times - RP's performances are actually getting worse after a pretty decent start. Totally opposite situation in Tests, though.

Looking forward to seeing how Mendis goes, assuming he plays.

Sreesanth is out of the tournament. It's confirmed. A lot will now depend on RP Singh, since he gets more wickets these days, and has a relatively stable head on his shoulders. And he's in better form than Ishant Sharma.