The Cricket Thread

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

I think they have stuck to the combination that has been playing ODIs recently. Yuvi was not in the 30 man list, why do you expect him to suddenly feature in this 15 man final squad?

Just out of curiosity, what would your ODI team for WC be, if given a chance to select the squad?

1. I'd pick Vijay ahead of Dhawan any day on pitches with a bit more for bowlers. I think he was picked in ODIs in England? Dhawan if anything is a flat track bully. No substance whatsoever. And specially after the performances in the tests I felt it was right and in my mind it was a no brainer.

2. Yuvi instead of Binny/Raydu : Neither of these two will do anything noteworthy, they cannot win a match for you if a tight situation comes along. We needed Yuvi, now that he started scoring in the domestic matches - he was ready.
I remember people had cast doubts on him before the WC 2011 and I thought that India will never win the WC if he did not play - turned out to be mighty correct.

3. Aaron instead of Shami - I was a fan of Shami when he started his Test journey; now he has completely lost his way. I wanted him back playing domestic cricket. Aaron is wayward but he is getting better with every game he plays - he is a wicket taker too.

4. Only two of Ashwin/Jadeja/Aksar : Wouldn't pick all 3 of them, Aksar is highly unlikely to get any chance. Would have picked a fast bowler - Dhawal Kulkarni

5. Robin Uttapa: Would pick him as a backup keeper batsman

The problem with this selection is that they have made a very 'safe' choices. They have tried to cover all bases and in the process given weightage to the runs and wickets scored against a half Sri Lankan side. You cannot win a World Cup where you need something extra from players when the chips are down. Mind you this team will beat decent sides in an ODI series but when it comes to the crunch games - this won't work.

Originally Posted by Marauder

If anything, he has been too imaginative or "funky" with his field placements. But, people will slowly realize that the captain cannot make much of a difference if the bowling is so pedestrian.

Honestly speaking I was some bit of highlights and it looked like we were getting a pasting every ball. I did not even watch the highlights in full.

Next question - Why drop Pujara? That too bring No-Hit Sharma. Even if he scores runs what does it prove? Nothing? When would be come out of the bubble that Nohit is simply a glorified flat track bully?

I cannot come up with a single explainantion to drop Pujara - it's not that he has looked hopeless or played atrocious shots. He has had 2 bad decisions and an absolute peach against him.

[Eddy]

Who's our vice captain for this match ? Is it Ashwin ?

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Who's our vice captain for this match ? Is it Ashwin ?

I guess he is.

Taken from Cricbuzz:
Ashwin walks up to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and has a chat with him. Kohli is not on the field. Ashwin is the stand-in-skipper.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Next question - Why drop Pujara? That too bring No-Hit Sharma.

Pujara has been the biggest disappointment in the batting department in all our recent overseas matches. A lot was expected of him but he has failed to deliver & at best has been mediocre! He had nothing to gain by playing this match as the next test is a long time away & the World Cup a few weeks away, hence it was important Rohit gets some batting practice in the middle.

[Eddy]

There is an entire ODI series for Rohit to get batting practice. We cannot and should not use test matches as practice games for ODIs.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

I guess he is.

Taken from Cricbuzz:
Ashwin walks up to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and has a chat with him. Kohli is not on the field. Ashwin is the stand-in-skipper.

So our vice skipper & vice vice skipper are both people who barely deserve a place in the side.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by PPS

Pujara has been the biggest disappointment in the batting department in all our recent overseas matches. A lot was expected of him but he has failed to deliver & at best has been mediocre! He had nothing to gain by playing this match as the next test is a long time away & the World Cup a few weeks away, hence it was important Rohit gets some batting practice in the middle.

He has been mediocre? Maybe yes, maybe no - he has had a couple of bad decisions going against him, he has looked gingerly against Lyon - something that was not expected of him.

The point of giving Rohit practice is ridiculous - if it is true why stop there?

Pujara is probably the one batsman I feel confident going ahead in Tests. Yes, he hasn't had a good year in office; but he would only get better - this is not a great way to treat one of your youngsters who is giving his all in Tests.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Pujara is probably the one batsman I feel confident going ahead in Tests. Yes, he hasn't had a good year in office; but he would only get better

The first time Rahul Dravid toured Australia even he struggled to get big scores. Hopefully Pujara learns from his mistakes & gets better when the next overseas tours happen.

[carboy]

Dravid actually did well in only one of his 4 tours of Australia. The first was the worst, but the 3rd and the 4th also weren't really good. In his 3rd and 4th tours, Dravid did as well as Pujara did in his current tour.

He did well only in one of his 4 SA tours also, the first one. In his other 3 tours to SA, Dravid was quite bad, much worse than Pujara in the current tour.

[shashank.nk]

Surely Yuvraj deserved a place ahead of Binny. I don't understand why Binny with no record whatsoever gets picked,whereas a man who played a significant role in our 2011 triumph is ignored.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Surely Yuvraj deserved a place ahead of Binny. I don't understand why Binny with no record whatsoever gets picked,whereas a man who played a significant role in our 2011 triumph is ignored.

Cos his dad is a selector. Simple.
I have not watched a single day of this test series and don't plan to watch too.

Never ever thought I will give up watching Indian cricket but this team is such a disappointment on all levels with ridiculous selections.

As for world cup I have no hopes again with this team. Indian cricket is going downhill very fast and no one seems to be bothered at the highest levels.

[SchumiFan]

I am sure each one has their own reasons to be disappointed with the team selections, but we must remember to give our support to the team. There is a time to scrutinize which might come after the tournament is over. But right now is the time to stand by the team and wish them all the best to retain the cup.

They did well to win it in 2011. I hope they give a fight this time as well. I have high hopes for this team, no matter who's in or not.

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by harry10

Cos his dad is a selector. Simple.

It's easy to come up with conclusions like that but the truth is that Roger Binny voluntarily does not take part in the discussions regarding the selection of Stuart Binny.
If Vijay and Mohit Sharma would have been picked, people would have said that they have been picked because they are/were teammates of Dhoni at CSK,and Dhoni just wants his CSK players to be there.

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

There is a time to scrutinize which might come after the tournament is over. But right now is the time to stand by the team and wish them all the best to retain the cup.

completely

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Marauder

It's easy to come up with conclusions like that but the truth is that Roger Binny voluntarily does not take part in the discussions regarding the selection of Stuart Binny.
If Vijay and Mohit Sharma would have been picked, people would have said that they have been picked because they are/were teammates of Dhoni at CSK,and Dhoni just wants his CSK players to be there.



completely

Vijay should have been picked on current form. Yuvi should have been picked cos of good performances in Ranji off late and also everyone knows what he can do in big tournaments.

However, what has Binny did? Any performance noteworthy or match winning? I can't recall a single one.
Anyways, the tri series will show clearly how well we can do in the world cup.

[Oxy]

Yuvraj was the Man of the Series in the previous world cup. He deserved a place ahead of Axar Patel/Jadeja if not Binny.