***Official*** India in Sri Lanka

[Arjun]

The question might be the time they've had to see and analyze him. Do they have enough video? If they go in blind and unsure, they may be in for a surprise.

My team for the tracks in Lanka:

1. Sehwag
2. Jaffer
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Ganguly
6. Laxman
7. Dhoni
8. Kumble
9. Harbhajan
10. Zaheer
11. Sharma

Here we go again. I wonder, do they do any kind of analysis and research at all?

 

[Arjun]

Seems like this Indian team is on two years of continuous cricket. Madness.

Exactly. One more ODI tournament we can forget about. Makes us wonder- should India field two ODI teams to reduce the burnout?

 

[Jonty Lathwal]

No more Ajit Agarkar, please! We've had enough.

Ajit Agarkar is a wicket taking bowler ,,,,,,He strikes early and can put the opposition
under pressure,............

I have always supported him........

He is the most experienced in current ODI bowlers too......
and has nearly 300 ODI wickets

 

[adharcric]

The question might be the time they've had to see and analyze him. Do they have enough video? If they go in blind and unsure, they may be in for a surprise.

My team for the tracks in Lanka:

1. Sehwag
2. Jaffer
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Ganguly
6. Laxman
7. Dhoni
8. Kumble
9. Harbhajan
10. Zaheer
11. Sharma

Seriously, Jaffer? Bring in Gambhir and that looks good. Is Zaheer going to be fit?

 

[Jonty Lathwal]

The question might be the time they've had to see and analyze him. Do they have enough video? If they go in blind and unsure, they may be in for a surprise.

My team for the tracks in Lanka:

1. Sehwag
2. Jaffer
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Ganguly
6. Laxman
7. Dhoni
8. Kumble
9. Harbhajan
10. Zaheer
11. Sharma

R.P. would fit better in place of Ishant......

 

[silentstriker]

Here we go again. I wonder, do they do any kind of analysis and research at all?

Well, as long as Pathan and Yuvraj aren't in the squad, I'm happy. Yuvraj is going to get owned by Murali and Mendis.

Seriously, Jaffer? Bring in Gambhir and that looks good. Is Zaheer going to be fit?

Both Zaheer and Tendulkar are questions I think. I'm assuming both are fit. If Tendulkar isn't fit, you can put Gambhir in his place. If Zaheer isn't fit, maybe Sreensanth in his place.

As for Jaffer, he does great on flat pitches. Makes huge scores, which is what we need in Sri Lanka.

 

[silentstriker]

R.P. would fit better in place of Ishant......

No. Cannon fodder on SL pitches.

 

[Jakester1288]

Isn't Rahul Dravid liable to get stranded on about 50 batting at 6?

He will ne stranded on 10 more like it.

 

[duffer]

Good lord the tours keep piling up don't they? Never thought I'd say this but it's become excessive now. I'll be far more interested knowing we've got some meaningful Tests but damn the Indian team need a proper break, the injuries are already piling up and we don't want to burn out whatever fit starters we have now.

 

[Jono]

Couldn't give a toss for the ODI team. Looking forward to some real cricket again. Let's hope Tendulkar has recovered, and they've spend a lot of time looking at Mendis.

Mendis may find Rahul Dravid in a Test match a much different prospect than Suresh Raina, but then again, considering the total cluelessness that the entire lineup exhibited, you can never be sure.

Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar and Sehwag are all better players of spin than Dravid.

 

[silentstriker]

Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar and Sehwag are all better players of spin than Dravid.

I'd agree with that.. I was just making a point. All except Sehwag did not play that game and I'd back Dravid over pretty much anyone that played, and Sehwag had his usual brain implosion.

 

[Dissector]

In his last few series Dhoni has done little with the bat and it appear increasingly likely that he won't become a test-class batsman so it makes sense to have Karthik in the test team which will also give Dhoni the time to concentrate on his job as ODI captain. Unfortunately it appears that selectors are grooming him for test captain. I think that will leave him terribly overstretched and he won't be an effective test captain if he can't genuinely earn a test place.

As for Mendis I don't think he will be as effective in tests where the mystery element will fade away and batsmen will have a lot of time to get used to his variation. Like Kumble he doesn't have a lot of turn but he isn't as tall as Kumble who uses his height to great advantage. I think Mendis will have to develop a sharp leg-break to become a real threat. Still he will be interesting to watch and he is the most exciting new bowler in years; perhaps since Shoaib.

 

[Arjun]

Ajit Agarkar is a wicket taking bowler ,,,,,,He strikes early and can put the opposition
under pressure,............

I have always supported him........

He is the most experienced in current ODI bowlers too......
and has nearly 300 ODI wickets

Agarkar is a glorified minnow-basher and a bad-batting-worse-wicket-boy-wonder. He's only been lucky most of the time, with batting errors gifting him wickets. What use was he when batsmen batted sensibly? The Indian team has played countless ODI finals and lost almost all of them, or rather, since the 2000's, all of them, when Agarkar has played. He averages over 42 in finals and his average against most top teams is too high for a strike bowler. He's only got near 300 wickets because he's played so many matches, and because the Indians were stuck with him. One look at his Test bowling average would make you wonder, is he a strike bowler at all? We see several mistakes committed by young Indian pacers but Agarkar, despite all that experience, has made the same mistakes for so long, that he isn't different from any of them.

 

[Arjun]

Well, as long as Pathan and Yuvraj aren't in the squad, I'm happy. Yuvraj is going to get owned by Murali and Mendis.



Both Zaheer and Tendulkar are questions I think. I'm assuming both are fit. If Tendulkar isn't fit, you can put Gambhir in his place. If Zaheer isn't fit, maybe Sreensanth in his place.

As for Jaffer, he does great on flat pitches. Makes huge scores, which is what we need in Sri Lanka.

• We won't see Irfan and Yuvraj in the Test team for some time now. Hopefully they'll be out of the ODI side as well for this series.
• That team looks half-decent on paper, but those all-too-obvious weaknesses will appear again.
• The Lankans may not be as skilled, but they know these players inside out, so they'll have their plans ready for them- which often work.
• The Indians, in comparison, rely too much on skill, and that's not enough to win matches consistently.

 

[Arjun]

In his last few series Dhoni has done little with the bat and it appear increasingly likely that he won't become a test-class batsman so it makes sense to have Karthik in the test team which will also give Dhoni the time to concentrate on his job as ODI captain. Unfortunately it appears that selectors are grooming him for test captain. I think that will leave him terribly overstretched and he won't be an effective test captain if he can't genuinely earn a test place.

As for Mendis I don't think he will be as effective in tests where the mystery element will fade away and batsmen will have a lot of time to get used to his variation. Like Kumble he doesn't have a lot of turn but he isn't as tall as Kumble who uses his height to great advantage. I think Mendis will have to develop a sharp leg-break to become a real threat. Still he will be interesting to watch and he is the most exciting new bowler in years; perhaps since Shoaib.

Dhoni's initial struggle in Tests notwithstanding, we know what he's capable of with the bat. On song, he can be a huge asset to the team, with his striking power as well as an option of sneaking in an extra bowler- which is a necessity on flat tracks. These are just a form of 'growing pains' in this team; once he gets past that, he'll be just fine. Karthik, in comparison, is inadequate with the bat, even at his best. You can't even sneak in Sanjay Bangar with him in the batting lineup. Dhoni, despite his reputation as a hard hitter of the ball, has often batted with a great deal of maturity, especially as captain of the ODI team. Karthik, on the other hand, is quite a mercurial player, often prone to throwing his wicket away to a rash shot. There's no way replacing Dhoni with Karthik will make this team significantly better than it is now.

 

[Arjun]

Good lord the tours keep piling up don't they? Never thought I'd say this but it's become excessive now. I'll be far more interested knowing we've got some meaningful Tests but damn the Indian team need a proper break, the injuries are already piling up and we don't want to burn out whatever fit starters we have now.

Now who do you think needs a break? And your choice of reserve? Here are mine

• Yuvraj- Has been carrying an injury for a long time, which has weakened him as a fielder. He's also fallen to a slump in form. If he can play FC/ListA cricket in England, it will help him a lot more. RESERVE: Badrinath's supreme record for India A should force him in easily.
• Uthappa: Shouldn't get another match for India unless Karnataka win a tournament. RESERVE: Mohammed Kaif should make a comeback.
• Irfan: Picked up an injury, and seems affected by it. Not just his bowling, even his fielding has suffered. RESERVE: Joginder Sharma to make up the numbers, but elder brother Yusuf should make the first XI.
• Praveen Kumar: When your best swing bowler is now cannon fodder, you know that too much cricket is played. RESERVE: A comeback for Zaheer Khan.
• Piyush Chawla: Surely needs a break after all the hammering. RESERVE: Amit Mishra should make the team alongside Pragyan Ojha.

And a few borderline cases:

• The openers: They may have to be the same pair that opens the batting in Tests, and need to play more of Mendis to get used to him. They can use the frequency of matches to their advantage, in the long run.
• Raina and Rohit: As they get established in the ODI team, they need to learn more. They too should get used to Mendis and whatever new bowler the Lankans discover.
• Dhoni: He's the captain!

 

[Manee]

Praveen Kumar has not become cannon fodder due to burnout and it is near idiotic to say so. It is just that swing is his main (or only) weapon and there has been no swing in this Asia Cup.

 

[Arjun]

Praveen Kumar has not become cannon fodder due to burnout and it is near idiotic to say so. It is just that swing is his main (or only) weapon and there has been no swing in this Asia Cup.

Maybe not burnout, but this is one of those tournaments we wish hadn't happened. When he's getting hit for so many fours and sixes, you get the feeling something's wrong, and the Indians dropped him for the final.

 

[SJS]

I am amazed at how some people rate Praveen Kumar so highly. It was the same with Joginder Sharma.

Dhoni wants to try some bowlers, bowls them and they pick up a few wickets (not always with great deliveries) and Dhoni is lauded for his great captaincy which is not so bad and the bowlers are treated as if they are the best thing that happened to Indian cricket,

Joginder Sharma was a mediocre bowler and Praveen Kumar is only moderately better. What he has achieved in the limited cricket he has played is the best he can be expected to produce with his current level of skill sets. If he performs less than this, it is no surprise what soever. To find great reasons and expound theories for his 'sudden' drop in form or his 'burn out' is to bestow upon him a status that doesn't fit him and/or to fit oneself with a label of punditry that is hardly flattering.

Joginder Sharma cant play too much more cricket for India and Praveen will play for some more till Dhoni realizes there are others he could back with better results.

 

[Arjun]

I am amazed at how some people rate Praveen Kumar so highly. It was the same with Joginder Sharma.

Dhoni wants to try some bowlers, bowls them and they pick up a few wickets (not always with great deliveries) and Dhoni is lauded for his great captaincy which is not so bad and the bowlers are treated as if they are the best thing that happened to Indian cricket,

Joginder Sharma was a mediocre bowler and Praveen Kumar is only moderately better. What he has achieved in the limited cricket he has played is the best he can be expected to produce with his current level of skill sets. If he performs less than this, it is no surprise whatsoever. To find great reasons and expound theories for his 'sudden' drop in form or his 'burn out' is to bestow upon him a status that doesn't fit him and/or to fit oneself with a label of punditry that is hardly flattering.

Joginder Sharma cant play too much more cricket for India and Praveen will play for some more till Dhoni realizes there are others he could back with better results.

Even then, dropping them as 'mediocre' or 'limited' after a few failures and branding their success as 'one-off' or 'lucky' isn't doing anyone any good. It's giving a very negative message out there, that Indian cricketers are mediocre, and people taking interest in them are fools. That's not the case at all.

Praveen Kumar was never touted as a great exponent of swing bowling, but rather, a hard-working swing bowler who's a very useful team player, and has a lot of utility value. He has his problems, but he will have to learn. The support staff and captain needs to support him, and help him get better. Merely establishing 'an ideal profile for an Indian pace bowler' and discarding a decade's worth of prospects because they 'don't fit the bill' is being unfair on the players, unfair on the team and unfair on Indian cricket as a whole.

For all the trouble-

• Praveen Kumar has earned his place on the back of solid performances in Indian domestic cricket, not mere promise of pace.
• He's played for a team that's won a Ranji Trophy, and had a hand in their victory.
• He's done well for India A when he got a chance.
• He comes across as a very honest, hard-working player, and tries to make himself useful to the team in every way possible.
• He's proven himself against top teams on a consistent basis, and had a hand in a phenomenal ODI tournament victory.
• He tries to make his mark on the field, and not in the papers or on screen, and doesn't try to be a star at all.

He's no Hadlee, but to cast aspersions on him as a national player just because a few weaknesses got exposed is needless.