The Cricket Thread

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by PPS

Fail to understand why can't the cash rich BCCI provide team bus with bullet proof windows atleast, if not a bullet proof bus itself!.

Amongst other things!

One thing that comes to my mind is the hover cover at English grounds. It takes 2 minutes for the hover cover to slide over the pitch as opposed to 10 minutes that it takes for the groundsmen to scamper across the pitch and cover it up with those blue covers.

For a country that has arguably the richest Cricket board, I don't know why we don't have it here!

[Oxy]

The team selected for T20s is abysmal for a start. Why are we not building for the next World T20? Surely Dhoni won't be there till then, what's the point picking him?

Dhawan and Pandey are not T20 players either. We need proper hacks in this format.

Where is Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur? This was a time to give youngsters their chance and sadly MSK Prasad and co have disappointed.

[dailydriver]

Ashish Nehra will play his last international match on November 1 at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, reports espncricinfo.com.

The 38-year-old Nehra was one of the few remaining active internationals among those who began their career in the 1990s. He is also set to retire from domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League, which played a key role in paving the way for his international comeback in 2016... Nehra made his international debut in a Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo in February 1999, and for a few years was a consistent presence in India's limited-overs line-ups. He was a critical part of India's run to the final of the 2003 World Cup. His 6 for 23 against England in that event - even as he fought illness and vomited on the sidelines - remain the best figures by an Indian in World Cups.

Though part of the team in the current T20 series against Australia, Nehra had not found a place in the playing eleven in the first two games. Hope the Kohli-Shastry duo will allow him to bid good bye in style at his home ground.

The following photo is old and has been widely circulated on social media. Still, I couldn't help but post it here once again, just to give the news some context.



Two important takeaways:

1.Strange are ways of the world.
2.Cricket is indeed a game of glorious uncertainties.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

And I wonder why do we keep carrying on with Jadhav, he is a good batsman but this not the kind we need.

What our T20 team needs is an in form dynamic player like Raina! We also need to ensure Pandya gets to play 10 overs atleast since he's in form.

Meanwhile Manish Pandey is doing himself no favors.

He has wasted far too many opportunities recently, he badly needs a big score in the NZ series.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

One thing that comes to my mind is the hover cover at English grounds.

Not too many International games in India get affected by rain, maybe that could be the reason! This time monsoon has had an extended run & Aus series was cramped in more for monetary reasons perhaps!

Originally Posted by Oxy

Where is Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur?

Pant seems to have lost favour with the selectors! He had his opportunities in WI but failed to deliver. Let him & the others grind out in domestic cricket & A tours.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by Oxy

The team selected for T20s is abysmal for a start. Why are we not building for the next World T20? Surely Dhoni won't be there till then, what's the point picking him?

Dhawan and Pandey are not T20 players either. We need proper hacks in this format.

Where is Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur? This was a time to give youngsters their chance and sadly MSK Prasad and co have disappointed.

Completely agree! Where are the IPL T20 super stars in this side? Dhawan, Pandey, Dhoni have been strictly average performers in the T20 format. Samson is a star, Pant is the future !

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by Oxy

The team selected for T20s is abysmal for a start. Why are we not building for the next World T20? Surely Dhoni won't be there till then, what's the point picking him?

Never say never - the point about MSD is that he is supremely fit and it really boils down to what the team management want. He has never been a slogger from ball 1, never seen him do it. Every big innings he has played, he has taken his time.

Originally Posted by Oxy

Dhawan and Pandey are not T20 players either. We need proper hacks in this format.

Agree with Dhawan - he is a hit or miss guy. He invariably plays well in ICC tournaments and fails in the knock-outs. Pandey is on borrowed time now.

Originally Posted by Oxy

Where is Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur? This was a time to give youngsters their chance and sadly MSK Prasad and co have disappointed.

Pant was bad in the India A tours, Samson was ok at best recently. Thakur has been booted out - don't know what selectors saw in him anyway.

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

Completely agree! Where are the IPL T20 super stars in this side? Dhawan, Pandey, Dhoni have been strictly average performers in the T20 format. Samson is a star, Pant is the future !

Samson is a star? Pant is the future? Well, as they say, no one has really seen the future but for them to be selected in the team, they need consistent performances and they haven't done so. Just because someone has had a few food innings in the IPL, they won't get a direct ticket to the National team. I agree with the talent, but for that matter look at Karun Nair, that fellow has a triple ton in tests (and nothing else)

I repeat, the only person I see hitting from ball in this team 1 is probably Pandya and so far he hasn't been put through the hard yards. He has not come in a situation where the team needed 50 off 3 overs when the best opposition bowlers has overs up their sleeve. So far, I have seen him hit the spinners (and he is amazing with that). He is probably among the most cleanest hitters going around now but still too early to be relaxed about that.

I will say this, if there is 10 overs to go, I would rather have MSD in at that stage. Everyone scores runs when you are in the top 3/4, once you can do that at 5/6/7/8 then I truly tip my hat off to them, and boy MSD and Yuvi have been champions in that respect.

But I agree with the general direction, we should keep trying out new players in the T20s. But where is the scope of them actually batting when your top 3 plays out most of the overs? They are almost doomed from the word go. I will be pure luck if they succeed. My suggestion, rest 2 of the top 3 consistently in T20s.

[Eddy]

For T-20s, I think that KL Rahul should open and keep wickets after Dhoni.

I get the feeling that Raina may make it back to the T20 squad if he does well in the ongoing Ranji trophy.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I get the feeling that Raina may make it back to the T20 squad if he does well in the ongoing Ranji trophy.

I believe Raina, along with Amit Mishra, failed to make it to the team because they both failed the fitness test. I remember reading about it last month.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

But I agree with the general direction, we should keep trying out new players in the T20s. But where is the scope of them actually batting when your top 3 plays out most of the overs? They are almost doomed from the word go. I will be pure luck if they succeed. My suggestion, rest 2 of the top 3 consistently in T20s.

I respect MSD, Yuvi, Shikhar Dhawan but as far as I'm concerned, the top players for the T20 format in India are Rohit, Virat, Raina, Karthik, Pant, Robin Uthappa (how can anyone deny that) & maybe Yuvi. MSD is a great cricketer but a waste in T20. He won't bat high enough to get a proper hit and he won't get enough time to play a MSD innings at 6. Hence i think its better off having a Uthappa keep wickets and slam the ball opening the batting. Also having seen enough cricket, I can see that Pandya has the technique and X factor to play for a long time, he's no one hit wonder. Against Pakistan, we were some 120/5. He mauled their bowlers and could have probably won the game if he hadn't been run out.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

I respect MSD, Yuvi, Shikhar Dhawan
.

I don't like Dhawan. He will fail when the going is tough. He likes to hit his way out of trouble. As long as it works, I am fine with him though.

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

but as far as I'm concerned, the top players for the T20 format in India are Rohit, Virat, Raina, Karthik, Pant, Robin Uthappa (how can anyone deny that) & maybe Yuvi.

Rohit & Virat already bat at 1 & 3, personally I don't think Kohli is a great T20 player, he bats at 3 and he is a damn fine player, more so in conditions that suit him, he will always have the numbers to back himself. Think he had a bad IPL last year if I remember correctly (?) and on that flat Bangalore pitch with boundaries that can be considered a joke! But it is useless to argue against him, I can almost never prove my case.

Raina - Not sure anymore. He will bat below 4 and he won't ever get a decent run or a decent hit. But yeah, I would like to see him a long run at 3 (which isn't possible, unless Kohli opens).

Karthik - Very underrated batsman, I like him a lot.

Pant - Very clean hitting but needs to be given time to prove in A tours, which he hasn't so far. No harm in trying him though.

Uthapa- No, no, no way! He neither has the numbers nor the talent.

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

MSD is a great cricketer but a waste in T20. He won't bat high enough to get a proper hit and he won't get enough time to play a MSD innings at 6. Hence i think its better off having a Uthappa keep wickets and slam the ball opening the batting.

Probably yes, if he keeps getting played at 6, MSD should probably himself hang up his boots. I might play anyone really in place of him (Pant/Jadhav/DK)

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

Also having seen enough cricket, I can see that Pandya has the technique and X factor to play for a long time, he's no one hit wonder. Against Pakistan, we were some 120/5. He mauled their bowlers and could have probably won the game if he hadn't been run out.

I think that is a huge leap of faith that you are taking. He might as well prove it, but at this point no. I don't 'see' the technique against (1) moving ball - okay this is tough anyway (2) Ball spinning away - he kept falling in the trap of Zampa (who is nowhere near a great spinner) (3) Short pitched bowling - Aussies figured that out after the first game really.

The difference that I see with a player like Rohit/Dhawan/Kohli/Rahul and Yuvi/MSD/Raina/DK/others is that the first lot are given the first choices in the batting slots, while the rest for some time have been slaving away 'according to the team's interests'.

Especially MSD & Yuvi have been demoting themselves so that others flourish and it has come to bite them in the past few years. Imagine for a moment, Kohli/Rohit being asked to bat at 5/6/7 - would they even be 50% of the players they are now?
I remember the discussions; in case of Kohli and Rohit, they were as follows,"where are they most likely to succeed?", while for MSD and Yuvi it was "they will bat where it's best for the team".
I have always maintained had MSD/Yuvi batted at 3/4 in their careers their records would be something else. Example - MSD's average of 50 in 300 matches is actually the highest at 3/4, same for Yuvi.

I seriously think, if MSD has to play, he has to more than ever, bat at 4, period. He is the best we have at that number (ODIs specially). Else, lets give the man a proper exit. He has done more for Indian cricket than a lot of the legends.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

One thing that comes to my mind is the hover cover at English grounds...

For a country that has arguably the richest Cricket board, I don't know why we don't have it here!

Well, for starters I think it is the sheer number of grounds that we have as against those in England. In terms of rotation, these grounds would not see as many international matches per ground as those in England. I doubt that BCCI worries at all about hover covers in domestic matches.
Then we could add the fact that any ground in England is likelier to see rain than any ground in India.

What could really be the cause is that the BCCI would like to grant or withdraw any budgetary allocation overnight to any ground depending on how that state association votes or supports/ resists its other hare brained ideas

[PPS]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Karthik - Very underrated batsman. Pant - Very clean hitting but needs to be given time to prove in A tours. I seriously think, if MSD has to play, he has to more than ever, bat at 4, period.

Completely agree with you about the position of MSD. In T20 whoever is likely to create maximum impact should bat in the top 5. I feel there is too much emphasis on giving youngsters a chance in T20, likes of Jadhav & Pandey have already had a bit of exposure in ODI's. Shuffling the batting order as seen in ODI's makes Dhoni bat in a position where he isn't that effective! Though, about Dhoni i personally feel he should retire from T20's & concentrate only on ODI's.

[harry10]

Great discussion going on. Will pour in my thoughts. Let's take it position wise.

For T20 Rahul is a better opener than dhawan but dhawan has been in great form off late so he will continue along with Rohit.

No.3 is kohli monopoly. Period.

No.4 should be Dhoni if he is in the team. Cos he needs a couple of overs to settle and then he is the best analyst of how to build the match in our favor. Make no mistake he can still hit big sixes, but to do that he needs time to assess the conditions.

No.5 Pandey simply doesn't cut it. He isn't a big six hitter. He won't do a 20 ball 40runs innings which is needed at that position. So, it should be Pandya. Manish is better suited to Odis where he has the time and temperament to build an innings.

No.6 Jadhav. If Pandya fails then Jadhav can do the hitting duty. Personally I will play Pant at this position. Let's be honest. MSD isn't going to be here for long. We need another attacking keeper batsman. And pant is the best suited to finish the innings. All he needs is more exposure to international cricket. And MSD can guide him well during this period. At least for 2 successive series we need to try him.

Also , chahal and kuldeep should be given more chances. Any day they are better than jadeja/ashwin combo.

[Eddy]

I hope I am wrong, but I think Pant is very overrated. This is based on what I've seen of him in the IPL. His hitting technique is such that he will be sorted by international bowlers soon. Same goes for Ishan Kishan.
KL Rahul should keep in T20s.

Edit: Washington Sundar looks promising

[AltoLXI]

ABD never ceases to entertain his fans. Yesterday he scored his career best ODI score 176 of 104 balls with 15 fours and 7 sixes.
Another 500+ runs and he will join the 10000 club.