Rahul Dravid

[Avada Kedavra]

Dravid is nigh on 38.He needs runs..and FAST.Tendu and Sehwag are in such good form that it's somewhat hiding Dravid's failures.Sehwag and Tendu cannot score in every match though,and if Dravid fails to score anything significant then questions will be asked,esp. if Ind end up on the losing side.TBF,he has looked pretty good out in the middle in this series.Brought Ind back into the match with his 45 odd in the second innings of the first test before playing a rash shot,failed to cash in on a road last match and now failed to convert a start - so unlike Dravid.

Pujara could be given a go in the home series against NZ.I would still want Dravid for the series against Aus.I just hope Ind don't play rubbish players like Badrinath.

 

[kingkallis]

In place of Dravid or Sachin? Once they retire, probably. In place of Yuvraj or Raina? Once they consistently fail (Yuvraj has, already). In place of Laxman? Not sure.

I think its time for RD to hang his boots!

 

[LJMJ]

and now failed to convert a start - so unlike Dravid.

Failing to convert starts is what Dravid's been all about the last 3 years. He's pretty much on his last legs now and could've easily been booted from the team a couple of years ago itself.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Failing to convert starts is what Dravid's been all about the last 3 years. He's pretty much on his last legs now and could've easily been booted from the team a couple of years ago itself.

Yeah there was a 20-25 test period in between spread out over 2 years where Dravid kept getting out in the 20s and 30s after scratching around for hours.

I would be wary of writing him off though.I don't think he is on his last legs just yet.He has done reasonably well in his last year and a half or so.Even in the current series he hasn't got owned or anything.He's been middling the ball well.The problem is that if he keeps getting out in the 20s and 30s then people will start questioning his place in the side given his age.Out of the "fab 3",Dravid's place is most vulnerable.Laxman is the youngest and Tendu is Tendu.I still believe that Ind need him for the series in SA later this year but I daresay they can do without him for home tours except maybe the series against Aus.

 

[vcs]

Yeah there was a 20-25 test period in between spread out over 2 years where Dravid kept getting out in the 20s and 30s after scratching around for hours.

I would be wary of writing him off though.I don't think he is on his last legs just yet.He has done reasonably well in his last year and a half or so.Even in the current series he hasn't got owned or anything.He's been middling the ball well.The problem is that if he keeps getting out in the 20s and 30s then people will start questioning his place in the side given his age.Out of the "fab 3",Dravid's place is most vulnerable.Laxman is the youngest and Tendu is Tendu.I still believe that Ind need him for the series in SA later this year but I daresay they can do without him for home tours except maybe the series against Aus.

Couldn't agree more, hope he picks up some form by then. I think he will.

 

[Shri]

Nah, time to bring Pujara in.

 

[silentstriker]

I think he is probably done. It's iffy about SA - considering we still have Sachin, Sehwag, etc, SA tour might be the perfect time to bring in some new blood and get them some experience. It would suck if Sachin and Dravid both are gone at the same time. I mean aside from Bradman + anyone, this is probably close to the best 3-4 combo that has played the game.

 

[Uppercut]

The SA tour is a horrid time to drop him. It's not a place you can expect his replacement to get any runs, and it's too important a series to be talking about blooding someone for the future.

As for the problem, I just don't think he's really been that good for the past few years. The horrid run of form didn't make him a terrible batsman, nor did the brief run of good scores mean he was back to his best. From what I've seen he's still a good option at number 3 for India, but you just can't expect him to score as many runs as he did previously. A bit like Ricky Ponting.

 

[honestbharani]

Dravid is nigh on 38.He needs runs..and FAST.Tendu and Sehwag are in such good form that it's somewhat hiding Dravid's failures.Sehwag and Tendu cannot score in every match though,and if Dravid fails to score anything significant then questions will be asked,esp. if Ind end up on the losing side.TBF,he has looked pretty good out in the middle in this series.Brought Ind back into the match with his 45 odd in the second innings of the first test before playing a rash shot,failed to cash in on a road last match and now failed to convert a start - so unlike Dravid.

Pujara could be given a go in the home series against NZ.I would still want Dravid for the series against Aus.I just hope Ind don't play rubbish players like Badrinath.

Tipping a big one against Aus for him...


And FTR, the said rubbish player made more runs than Sachin in his first knock in a tough situation..


Think people have been fooled easily by Badri's lack of adjustment to real pace.. The fact is, even blokes like Dhoni, Ganguly and quite a few others looked just as rubbish against that kind of pace, esp. when they were new and not used to this.. Once settled, they can be much much better. I still think Badri could be India's best shot for #5, once Dravid and Laxman are gone..

 

[weldone]

I think its time for RD to hang his boots!

I don't.

 

[Cevno]

And FTR, the said rubbish player made more runs than Sachin in his first knock in a tough situation..


Think people have been fooled easily by Badri's lack of adjustment to real pace.. The fact is, even blokes like Dhoni, Ganguly and quite a few others looked just as rubbish against that kind of pace, esp. when they were new and not used to this.. Once settled, they can be much much better. I still think Badri could be India's best shot for #5, once Dravid and Laxman are gone..

Agreed.

I don't know what fascination people have with batsmen looking good.

Murali Vijay looks good while batting,but i would easily rather have Badrinath in my team,as the runs matter not how elegant you look while getting them.
That fifty in tough conditions was a very good knock by Badri when everyone was falling around him .Vijay in comparison has done f all except scoring a couple of decent 40/50 innings on flat tracks.

I would have Pujara,Mukund and Badri in the test team ahead of the IPL stars like Vijay,Kohli and even Sharma.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Vijay's not an IPL star in this context, tbh. He's played test cricket even before the last IPL where he made his mark.

 

[Cevno]

Vijay's not an IPL star in this context, tbh. He's played test cricket even before the last IPL where he made his mark.

There was something wierd about his selection from the start. If they wanted a opener should a have picked Rahane or even Mukund at the time.

And then shifting him to the middle order ahead of Pujara ,Sharma and Badri was even wierd.

 

[Teja.]

Badri is clearly not an International test match Batsman, for mine.

 

[honestbharani]

Badri is clearly not an International test match Batsman, for mine.

Well, I am not saying that is a wrong conclusion.. It may well be right but I just don't think we have seen enough to pass judgement yet. I still think he will make a better test batsman than Vijay at least right now..

 

[Sir Alex]

Well, I am not saying that is a wrong conclusion.. It may well be right but I just don't think we have seen enough to pass judgement yet. I still think he will make a better test batsman than Vijay at least right now..

I wouldn't want Badri to open.

 

[Jono]

Dravid can retire after the South Africa series.

We NEED him for that one.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Harbhajan and Zaheer scored more than him in the second dig so what is the point?He is a massively overrated player.People have been making him out to be India's version of Mike Hussey whereas he is just another Venagapal Rao - in other words,a domestic bully who thrives on below average bowling on flat pitches.

He needn't worry though.As long as Srikanth is at the helm he will keep getting chances even if he doesn't deserve it.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Dravid can retire after the South Africa series.

We NEED him for that one.

Agreed

 

[Uppercut]

Badri is clearly not an International test match Batsman, for mine.

There's no way you can possibly say that based on what's been seen of him at that level. Two tests and three ODIs! I mean, you may be right, he might not be up to scratch. But you're just guessing, you have next to no basis on which to form this opinion.

EDIT: wait, what HB said.