Ramesh Powar

[Arjun]

"I am ready for Test cricket"- Ramesh Powar
With Harbhajan Singh out of action for a long time and Karthik getting hammered in the Australia series, the Indians can look to Ramesh Powar as Kumble's spin partner and a bowling all-rounder, to add that balance the Indian team needs rather urgently.

 

[Deja moo]

Romesh powar is certainly a better( much better) batsman than any of the spinners in India. But is he a better bowler too?

 

[Arjun]

Look, you don't have Harbhajan Singh. He's out of action for a long time. He did not do his chances of lasting longer in the team much good by hiding his injury, did he?

You may have Murali Karthik, but he has taken far too much damage. He is definitely a very good bowler and a decent batsman given that, but his bull-headedness and hot temper did him no good and he should return to form first.

Where does that leave you, as a selector? Sharandeep Singh is no great bowler-he just bowls the same ball time and again, but we already have Anil Kumble, who does it a lot better. There's Amit Mishra, but he's young and inexperienced, and he's another leggie. Bahutule's another bowler who doesn't bowl to his field. That's why I have suggested Powar, who's a far better batsman than all of them. Besides, spin is the team's main bowling strength, so it is necessary to have at least 3 spinners in the team, irrespective of where they're playing.

 

[Deja moo]

Got it

 

[Arjun]

2 for 32 in 7 overs. Not bad, though a few runs could have made the Indian A team's win a lot more convincing. Ratra and JP disappointed, though Munaf bowled well for his 3. Strange, CricInfo does not list run-out credits.

Ramesh is one of the fitter players at hand and can definitely field well, adding more to his role in the team.

 

[Richard]

Look, you don't have Harbhajan Singh. He's out of action for a long time. He did not do his chances of lasting longer in the team much good by hiding his injury, did he?

You may have Murali Karthik, but he has taken far too much damage. He is definitely a very good bowler and a decent batsman given that, but his bull-headedness and hot temper did him no good and he should return to form first.

Where does that leave you, as a selector? Sharandeep Singh is no great bowler-he just bowls the same ball time and again, but we already have Anil Kumble, who does it a lot better. There's Amit Mishra, but he's young and inexperienced, and he's another leggie. Bahutule's another bowler who doesn't bowl to his field. That's why I have suggested Powar, who's a far better batsman than all of them. Besides, spin is the team's main bowling strength, so it is necessary to have at least 3 spinners in the team, irrespective of where they're playing.

Completely pointless picking fingerspinners if the conditions don't help them. You'd do better to pick seamers.
IMO Sarandeep Singh is a better bowler than Powar and Kartik, but still not one who will be effective in any conditions.
Mishra should certainly not be rushed. That goes without saying IMO.

 

[Arjun]

This is India, not England. Spin is this team's main bowling strength.

What great thing have Indian seamers achieved away from India, to be better than the spinners? Can't think of any. None of them have 5-wicket hauls, except Zaheer's 3 (including 2 on that custom pitch) and Agarkar's gift-wrapped 6-wicket haul. Look at the averages and number of 5WI's. Not home or away, but overall.

As you have seen on their tour of Australia, the seamers were of no use. They lack the experience. Besides, when they get good pitches, they bowl too many short deliveries and get carried away, thus wasting helpful conditions. If the pitches are flat, the very purpose is not served. No point picking seamers just to exploit the conditions. Just get bowlers, spinners or seamers, who can get the most wickets. I don't care how seamer-friendly the pitch is, I'd still pick a spinner over Nehra or Zaheer or Agarkar, unless they are really great bowlers.

If you look at the better bowlers in India, they have been spinners. They are not picked just to make the numbers, but because they are better bowlers. These days, except in the Australia tour, the spinners have been more effective.

Mishra should not be rushed, but you still need backup.

 

[Richard]

Arjun, surely you should pick every bowler you ever pick to exploit the conditions?
What great things have the Indian spinners achieved away from India, to be better than the seamers?
The fact is, fingerspin is totally useless at most grounds outside Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
A fingerspinner can, quite simply, never be a better bowler than a seamer in normal non-subcontinent conditions. Even if a seamer is less accurate, there is still a chance that he will "fluke" a good delivery; Harmison's to Kirsten in the second-innings at The Oval for example. If Harmison has ever bowled a deliberate leg-cutter in his life, I'll be amazed. But there he bowled one that Kirsten had sod-all chance of playing, dismissed the form man and played a big part in England winning the game.
No, Agarkar, Khan, Nehra and the rest are simply not good enough almost all the time to bowl good teams out. But still, they've always got a better chance than Kumble and the crew in non-spin-friendly conditions.
In India, of course, you can have up to three spinners - there are easily enough good ones.
But if you don't exploit the conditions, you won't get batsmen out, unless they play poor strokes.