[mercedised]

Players are too tired, seems from their faces. No concentration levels, no enthusiasm, IPL has extracted FULL JUICE out of them..

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by RX135

I am not a big fan of "slam-bang" batting of T20 style. And whatever you said about Sehwag, was probably true when he arrived on international scene.

I did not mean it in that way. What I meant was why so much attention is being diverted to a man who is yet to set foot there when you already have 3 greats of the game on your side.

Like mercedised said IPL and the WC have taken it's full toll on this wonderful side.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by mercedised

Players are too tired, seems from their faces. No concentration levels, no enthusiasm, IPL has extracted FULL JUICE out of them..

Too tired ? Tell me you were joking !

Dhoni, Sachin, Laxman, Dravid, Zaheer, Gambhir --- all came to England after skipping the WI series and you say they look tired ??

I know injuries can happen anytime but breaking down within 15 overs after a rest period - I really don't know why Zaheer breaks down like a fragile doll everytime ? Before you guys start pointing fingers at me ...think Glen Mcgrath.

Harbhajan is a good actor - no wickets , idiotic bowling - what does he do ? Pull an abdominal muscle - so convenient ! I am with Bedi about Bhajji, it's time we took Ashwin (and talent) a bit more seriously.

Sehwag joins the team - but I really do not know what kind of fitness he has and a 2 day (who the hell plays a 2 day game ?) game will not give us clarity on his form or fitness.

Gambhir is fit....I have my doubts.

Yuvraj is injured - what's new ?

And reports say - when Strauss and the England coach came to the Indian dressing room to beg for the run out appeal to be taken back, Dhoni asked them to leave. Apparently Sachin was the one who took the lead in convincing the others to take the appeal back !!

And I feel Dhoni was absolutely justified and within rules to ask for a review.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Too tired ? Tell me you were joking !

Dhoni, Sachin, Laxman, Dravid, Zaheer, Gambhir --- all came to England after skipping the WI series and you say they look tired ??

Small correction. Dhoni , Laxman and Dravid played in WI tour, only for tests though.

And as for the tiredness part, it is upto the players to pick their priorities. If they can't handle the pressure better take rest than play in IPL. They are anyway making good money from regular country duties than any other international players. If they can handle then let them play.

But no player should ask for rest when called to represent nation after playing in whatever league, counties, or IPL or big bash or recently started Srilanka cricket league. If they have energy to play that they should certainly have energy to play for the nation. Remember all these are under contract. But because IPL is BCCI's child it doesn't bother much.

And the worst part is there no preparatory matches before the tour begins, giving players time to adjust to the conditions.

The fact is we played pretty bad cricket except for a few players and ended up losing. Lets hope for the best.

[WindRide]

Oh yes the indian players are very tired - playing IPL, dancing the night away in the wild IPL after-match parties, attending 'charity' dinners, shooting for TV/print ads, chasing girls, etc.

Where do they have time to worry about mundane stuff like Test matches and preparations for an away-tour.

Only the blindly patriotic will be lenient on these 'hard(ly) working' bums.

Not me.

[vamsi.kona]

Also the injuries to Yuvraj and Gambhir are not because of fatigue. They were hit by the ball - Yuvraj while batting and Gambhir while fielding close in.

[normally_crazy]

I cannot understand why Ashwin did not make it in place of Bhajji ? Ojha comes in - and he himself says that I have not played much cricket but I have been practising !

BTW - anyone following the Emerging Players series ?

I love the way Srikant's som Annirudh gets to open the batting and thus get to impress the selectors (not a big thing for him since he got selected for the tournament). Also Rayudu is batting way down the order at No 7 and playing some good innings.

Also I do not understand how Saurabh Tiwary bats above Rayudu , infact even Manoj Tiwari should be below rayudu IMO !

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Harbhajan is a good actor - no wickets , idiotic bowling - what does he do ? Pull an abdominal muscle - so convenient ! I am with Bedi about Bhajji, it's time we took Ashwin (and talent) a bit more seriously.

Bhajji has decided to drop himself out of the team else this time around sree would have slapped him. About , ashwin, I am not sure he is made for tests, at least now. He has tuned his bowling for containing more than picking wickets in a test level. Why not try Mishra who is already there ?

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

About , ashwin, I am not sure he is made for tests, at least now. He has tuned his bowling for containing more than picking wickets in a test level. Why not try Mishra who is already there ?

harbhajan cannot contain the runs too - so give Ashwin a chance.

But yeah Mishra has to play the next 2 tests no doubt.

[ghodlur]

Sehwag gone for 8 runs and Gambhir gone for 18 runs with India at 59/2 in the practice match against Northampton. Very familiar start I must say, no difference with Sehwag and Gambhir opening.

I hope Sehwag comes good before the start of the 3rd test.

[SilentEngine]

Just read the news that Dravid is back in ODI side.
Did two things after that
1)pinched myself to check if i am awake
2)checked the date to see if it's Apr 1

Even the Wall himself wouldn't have expected this. Or may be he did, who knows? As a fan of Dravid I am happy with this news, but it shows a high dependency on established seniors whenever team is in bad shape. What happened to the young Indian team that won the world cup?

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

Just read the news that Dravid is back in ODI side.
Did two things after that
1)pinched myself to check if i am awake
2)checked the date to see if it's Apr 1

Even the Wall himself wouldn't have expected this. Or may be he did, who knows? As a fan of Dravid I am happy with this news, but it shows a high dependency on established seniors whenever team is in bad shape. What happened to the young Indian team that won the world cup?

I believe this was bound to happen in England. And moreover the grounds in India have killed the opportunity for young batsmen to develop as they have been dishing out flat batting tracks. The same is happening almost in most countries. They don't have many genuine pace tracks in West-indies, the place which produced a factory of world renowned speedsters.

But scenario is different in England. Even if they prepared flat decks, they cannot change the weather, which will invariably assist in swing bowling and hence the need for more technique and temperament. Look at Dravid, he has curbed his leg flicks to a major extent in England. Though I am still not sure if he will start in the playing 11.

And as a fan of Dravid I am really happy for him, but also sad that our bench strength looks awful. And dropping harbhajan is good as he needs time to ponder over things and get back form. Though I feel he is over-rated, one cannot ignore the wickets he has taken.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

Though I am still not sure if he will start in the playing 11.

Yes, this might happen. But if he isn't going to be an automatic choice, why pick him at all?
What's the point if he has to fight for a place with kohli and rohit sharma?
Probably our selectors consider him literally a wall, where you throw anything, and it absorbs.
Now, just wait for next couple of tours. He will be missing from the team again.
This is a backward step.

[PPS]

Interesting move by the Selectors in choosing Dravid! This move clearly shows that we do not have the bench strength to maintain our no.1 ranking.
We need a solid player at no.4 to hold the innings together in the ODI's, seems as if Dravid will fill that role in England. Sehwag doesn't make too many big scores in one-dayers & we do not have Yuvraj Singh in the middle order. Nobody knows when Rohit Sharma will become more consistent!
But what after England tour? Drop Dravid?

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by PPS

Interesting move by the Selectors in choosing Dravid! This move clearly shows that we do not have the bench strength to maintain our no.1 ranking.
We need a solid player at no.4 to hold the innings together in the ODI's, seems as if Dravid will fill that role in England. Sehwag doesn't make too many big scores in one-dayers & we do not have Yuvraj Singh in the middle order. Nobody knows when Rohit Sharma will become more consistent!
But what after England tour? Drop Dravid?

We can be pretty sure of that. Even if they retain him in the squad after this series, he may not be the preferred in the starting 11 once cement tracks with no bounce, swing and seam movement are present in the ground, which is obviously the case . The best thing for Dravid would be to retire from ODI's after this series. He would be going out on a high note.