***Official*** India in South Africa

[aussie]

We're touring England a few months after the World Cup.

and the Great Sachin Tendulkar will finally get to face a top quality English attack in home conditions.

 

[silentstriker]

and the Great Sachin Tendulkar will finally get to face a top quality English attack in home conditions.

It will hardly be English attack at its best vs Tendulkar at his best. That time ended about five years ago. Plus, is Jones ever coming back from injury? He was such a huge part of that attack.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

It also can't be taken for granted that Tendulkar will be fit for the game.

 

[silentstriker]

It also can't be taken for granted that Tendulkar will be fit for the game.

Or still even playing.

 

[marc71178]

What difference does it make?

A considerable one, both mentally and physically he is much older than his birth certificate suggests.

 

[marc71178]

Yes the body does not remain the same. However, it is not necessary that it means a player will become poorer. Courtney Walsh played 16 years of test cricket and he had great years at the end. He moulded his game. Also, a fast bowler's body takes a lot more toll than a batsman's. We cannot say because player x has played so many years, his game will necessarily deteriorate. The game of a player changes over the years but it is not the same thing to 'it has become worse'.

But the fact of the matter is that he is now nowhere near as effective as he was 4 years ago.

 

[marc71178]

You know, a fusion of Virender Sehwag and Akash Chopra might just be the perfect batsman.

Blocks for 20 overs then plays a rash shot and is dismissed in single figures?

 

[nightprowler10]

Blocks for 20 overs then plays a rash shot and is dismissed in single figures?

He'll get into the 20s and get the ball older. It could work.

 

[silentstriker]

Blocks for 20 overs then plays a rash shot and is dismissed in single figures?

That would be great, actually. OUr problem is that the middle order - already out of form - is being exposed to the new ball. As both the lower orders have shown, you can bat if the ball is old, so 20 overs for no wickets - I'll take that every time.

 

[Turbinator]

Or it could be he plays a rash shot then waits patiently in the dressing room...

 

[nightprowler10]

Or it could be he plays a rash shot then waits patiently in the dressing room...

 

[adharcric]

Yuvraj and Kaif are not test standard players, in my opinion.

Yuvraj hasn't proven much in test cricket apart from two or three classy knocks when everyone else capitulated, but he deserves more chances because of the maturity he's shown in one-day cricket of late. I'm quite confident he'll be a mainstay in our test side for years to come.

As for Kaif, he has been screwed tbh. He's scored big runs in tests whenever given the chance in the last one year. Now that he's out, we probably should give a shot to Badrinath while we can. Kaif will be back though, he's India's Collingwood. Doubt he'll be a mainstay though, with Badrinath, Venugopal, Raina, Sharma, Pujara and Kohli to come.

 

[adharcric]

There's a decent chance that Dinesh Karthik will don the gloves at Cape Town. This could be the chance that Karthik has desperately been waiting for.
Dhoni had a good test overall at Durban, but he took several blows on the fingers and resting him may be the wiser option with a quality reserve waiting in the wings.

 

[Perm]

Great for the series to be going into the next game tied at 1-1, should make for a really good game. Personally I hope that Sehwag is dropped, his performances haven't been good enough. My teams would look like this.

India
Jaffer
Gambhir
Dravid
Tendulkar
Laxman
Ganguly
Dhoni
Kumble
Khan
Sreesanth
Patel

VRV definately needs to work on his game, from what I've seen of him he doesn't look very good and bowls too many boundary balls. Get some time in domestic cricket son, and you'll come back stronger.

South Africa
Smith
de Villiers
Gibbs
Kallis
Prince
Boucher
Pollock
Hall
Morkel
Nel
Ntini

Just the one change, Kallis coming back in to replace Hasim Amla who has been pretty dire ever since he scored his maiden century. If South Africa feel they aren't batting deep enough they can always replace Hall with another batsman, someone like Jacques Rudolph, JP Duminy or Neil McKenzie.

 

[Perm]

There's a decent chance that Dinesh Karthik will don the gloves at Cape Town. This could be the chance that Karthik has desperately been waiting for.
Dhoni had a good test overall at Durban, but he took several blows on the fingers and resting him may be the wiser option with a quality reserve waiting in the wings.

Would be a good idea if his fingers aren't up to it, he batted very well I thought and showed great maturity until he was dismissed to a loose shot. Karthik has promise and this could be the chance to show it on the international stage.

 

[Turbinator]

^^ That's what the Indian team is, most likely, going to look like, considering the fact that my wish to put Sehwag down the order won't come true.

 

[Anil]

^^ That's what the Indian team is, most likely, going to look like, considering the fact that my wish to put Sehwag down the order won't come true.

who would he displace down the order assuming that gambhir would open?

 

[Perm]

Who would you replace down the order then? Nobody really deserves to be dropped unless you want to give Dravid the gloves and let Sewhag bat at #7.

 

[Turbinator]

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I've said this time and again and people have written it off, but dropping Sehwag and opening the batting with either Dhoni or Ganguly isn't as bad as it seems. I mean it can't get any worse.

I would prefer Dhoni, he has shown maturity, and he will step up if given the oppurtunity.

 

[silentstriker]

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I've said this time and again and people have written it off, but dropping Sehwag and opening the batting with either Dhoni or Ganguly isn't as bad as it seems. I mean it can't get any worse.

Few things would make it worse, and this would be one of them.