[AtheK]

Pant is definitely over rated in White ball cricket, but there is something about him which makes you feel that till he is there, we can still win. KL Rahul should be no where near T20 team, ODI he can still be considered.

Pant will continue to play for sometime for sure and Samson has the calibre, he needs to calm down and take his chances. Jurel is still in early days and will need to see how he evolves in T20I format.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by AtheK

And one more duck, he is making it very tough for himself.

He isn't cut out for this. Played 3 dot balls and instead of going for a single to get off strike just slogged like a tail ender. Should stick with ipl only. Don't think he will get further chances.

SKY captaincy was real fun this series. Don't know how much input Gambhir had behind his decisions but their combo worked beautifully. SL have become the new chokers. Unreal how they lost this game. So now we have 3 batters - Parag, Rinku and SKY himself who can bowl decent overs when needed. This was highly required in modern day t20 set up. Parag even batted well this game so if he can keep a level head and perform then there can be a permanent spot for him in the team.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

...KL is not a good option for T20 cricket. He is an average keeper at best and an average batter...

I hope you are talking about T20s and not ODIs. He was phenomenal in both keeping and batting in the recent ODI WC'23.

Originally Posted by AtheK

...KL Rahul should be no where near T20 team, ODI he can still be considered...

He should be the default ODI team WK, considering his exploits in the ODI WC.

Originally Posted by harry10

He isn't cut out for this. Played 3 dot balls and instead of going for a single to get off strike just slogged like a tail ender. Should stick with ipl only. Don't think he will get further chances...

I think he will get few more chances. Probably a couple more series. It is on him to make bank with the given opportunities. Excuses can't fly anymore. And if he fails in those too, he'll be relegated to only IPL. There are too many talented folks vying for spots in the XI.

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by harry10

So now we have 3 batters - Parag, Rinku and SKY himself who can bowl decent overs when needed.

You can't really consider them to bowl in multiple matches. They are mainly in the team because of their batting. Bowling an over once in a while is different from considering them as all-rounders (players who can both bat and bowl).

[PPS]

Originally Posted by redCherry

To be fair to Samson, he only got his opportunities to play only when someone was not available or was injured.

Samson has played 14 T20s in the last 19 months & has only one 20+ score! Its unrealistic to expect to be given 10 matches on the go especially when you have failed miserably in the limited chances. In T20 format you only have to play 1 way & there should never be any scope for confusion.

Originally Posted by harry10

So now we have 3 batters - Parag, Rinku and SKY himself who can bowl decent overs when needed.

Had no clue that Rinku & SKY could bowl! They were forced to bowl because Khaleel (whats he doing in the team) & Bishnoi were rubbish! Don't think we'll be seeing these part timers bowl much in a long time.

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

He was phenomenal in both keeping and batting in the recent ODI WC'23. He should be the default ODI team WK, considering his exploits in the ODI WC.

Only 1 among KL & Pant can fit into the XI ! If I recollect Pant had cemented his place in the ODI format before his accident.

[Oxy]

With five tests coming up in Australia later this year, we really need to try out some fast bowlers in the test format. If Khaleel, Mukesh and Avesh are the best we have then we are doomed.

Bumrah and Siraj are default. Who else do we have? It's been very long since I have seen Shami bowl.

[VWAllstar]

Arshdeep somehow gets all attention to him

Arshdeep in a parallel universe

[harry10]

Originally Posted by It's Magic

You can't really consider them to bowl in multiple matches. They are mainly in the team because of their batting. Bowling an over once in a while is different from considering them as all-rounders (players who can both bat and bowl).

Why not.
When pitch assists spin they will do well. Look at Maxwell. He now bowls almost in every match for Australia. If you have 2 top or middle order batters who can give you 2 overs each then that opens up a spot for another batter who can strengthen the batting line up.

Even Gill was made to bowl yesterday which went for 14 but that's OK. Until these guys will bowl a few regularly they won't get in the rhythm. I am liking this approach from Gambhir. He saw it himself, how likes of Sachin, Sehwag, even Ganguly used to chip in with crucial overs when needed. Sachin even won us 2 matches bowling last over in ODI. It's not that they should bowl all the time, but when the need comes they should be ready to bowl.

Originally Posted by PPS

Only 1 among KL & Pant can fit into the XI ! If I recollect Pant had cemented his place in the ODI format before his accident.

Samson is going the Kambli way unfortunately. All that talent and all but no seriousness when it comes to international games. I really hope he is talked to and makes a reversal in his career. Otherwise he will be another case of What if.

Pant and KL both will be in ODI team as we need 2 keepers every series. Both will get chances. Who grabs them better will be main keeper and other as backup. Right now KL is in the lead.

Originally Posted by Oxy

With five tests coming up in Australia later this year, we really need to try out some fast bowlers in the test format. If Khaleel, Mukesh and Avesh are the best we have then we are doomed.

Bumrah and Siraj are default. Who else do we have? It's been very long since I have seen Shami bowl.

Shami on his day is even better than Bumrah. His seam position and the way he swings the ball both ways makes him a terror to batsman. Bumrah, Shami and Siraj will be 3 pacers in Australia. Mukesh and Avesh might be backups. Khaleel ain't a test bowler. We do need a good left arm pacer soon.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Arshdeep somehow gets all attention to him

Arshdeep in a parallel universe

I don't understand these players. Even in gully cricket you know when you need to make 1 in 14 balls, you just play couple of dots and wait for a bad ball to score a single or even a boundary. You don't slog your 1st ball like a mindless amateur in this situation. Absolutely rubbish. Siraj gave him a proper death stare and when Siraj says you have played a ridiculous shot then you are actually doomed

[rx100]

So there it is, the first loss under GG era after couple of ties. Absolutely shocking performance by middle order in both the matches and unnecessary experimenting with batting order too.

[AtheK]

So our almost full strength Indian team being humbled by Lankan spinners. Seems Indian batsman have forgotten the art of playing spin. Both the matches we had them under the mat while bowling first and then letting it slip, similarly while chasing.

Shreyas Iyer just does not seem to be cut for it, also this left right combination fascination of GG needs to have a method to madness. Some of our members thought this is just a practice tour and seniors should be rested, if not for Rohit two good innings we might have had lost both matches with an even bigger margin.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Shreyas Iyer just does not seem to be cut for it,

Why do you say so? He had an absolutely fabulous World Cup and attacks spinners well. Just had a bad game.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Why do you say so? He had an absolutely fabulous World Cup and attacks spinners well. Just had a bad game.

It could be just me, but it seems he does not just give any confidence when is on the crease that he has it in control and he will go the distance, specially during chase. I might be wrong but he really needs to stay and score big while chasing in difficult conditions.

[PPS]

Its still early days in this GG era but if your sole aim was to upset the already settled batting positions of KL & Iyer then the same could have been done by picking a bunch of youngsters & shunting them up and down the order! I don't mind India losing this series but provided you try out some new faces like Jaiswal,etc. Not sure what the thinking was to promote both Dube & Axar. Spin has been the achilles heel of India for a long time now & I hope Gambhir works on this weakness.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by AtheK

It could be just me, but it seems he does not just give any confidence when is on the crease that he has it in control and he will go the distance, specially during chase. I might be wrong but he really needs to stay and score big while chasing in difficult conditions.

Iyer and KL are identical in their temperament. When they have a partner batting well then they are in their best element. When team collapses especially during a chase, they look lost.

I don't mind batting order shuffles. Bilaterals are there for experiments. Win or loss doesn't matter much if the main aim is to identify players for tournaments. Last 2 matches only Rohit and Axar are performing well. Gill needs to buckle up as an opener. Why we are playing Dube on a spin track. Kohli too looks not in good touch. Middle order looks shambolic. Maybe it's time one of Iyer or KL is benched for last game and try Pant to see if his attacking brand of cricket against spin can rattle Lankan spinners. Riyan Parag should play in place of Dube.

[AtheK]

Iyer fails once again, Kohli looks out of place when ball is spinning. Sri Lanka spinners have made our first choice batsman look like club class. Even Rohit Sharma who played well, played well mainly when fast bowlers were bowling.

Looks pretty much like Sri Lanka will finally win a bi-lateral series against India after 1997. IPL has really made batsman just hitting machines on road like pitches, moment some temperament and technique is required, they just always come popper.