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Yesterday's T20I between India W and South Africa W was wonderful to watch. I thought India lost it when they scored a below average 130 in their 20 overs. but then they won it by 11 runs! Harmanpreet quickly understood the pitch in the second innings and changed her strategy and bowled only spinners. and before that, her batting in the first innings was crucial. Even though Mignon du preez played equally well or even better, it was not enough with all her partners struggling and getting out to the spinners.

I guess you missed my point. I wasn't comparing Pant with Dhoni. I simply stated when they both started they had all the shots and the game to play big but MSD was smarter about it and Pant looks lost now. All he needs to do is build innings and be aggressive when needed. Somehow he isn't able to balance it out right now. What he needs is proper guidance which I dont see coming from our Bewda coach. I hope some senior like Dravid or Sachin have a word with him and clear his mind.

True. MSK prasad is rubbish but then most selectors around the world have no clue about ground realities. I blame team management right now for not able to manage a youngster. He is not a no.4 batsman. Period. He has been a opener in domestic circuit so either make him open or make him play at 5 or 6 where he can play freely.

Anyways let's see how Pant does in tests. Getting some runs there may give him his confidence back.

India have named their 11.

Agarwal
R Sharma
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Vihari
Saha
Ashwin
Jadeja
I Sharma
M Shami

I wish Rohit succeeds. The only thing he has to IMHO is respect the new ball for the first 15-20 overs. After that, he can dominate any bowling attack on any day.

This is the problem with picking 19 & 20 year olds in test cricket. They need to learn & fix their games on the biggest stage in the world. Don't pick anyone who hasn't played 5+ seasons of domestic first class cricket.
First axe the guy who picked someone who had hardly played any first class cricket for test matches.

Don't know what wrong has Bhuvi done to not being picked in Test matches. He is a good lower order batsman and a good fielder as well. Above all he is a nice guy, sincere and gives his 100% for the team.

Go slow is exactly what he does for the first 7-8 overs in 50 overs cricket.

I really hope he succeeds. After a long time, I am getting the feeling that India have found their best 11 for test matches. Here's wishing the team all the best for the game.

Yes, best 11 for home tests. Rohit will be like Bradman. And will cement his place & then will get a long rope to fail in overseas tests for a couple of series. Prithvi Shaw, bye-bye-o.

Well, being a nice guy never guarantees a spot in the team, does it ? :)

On Indian pitches, we need 2 spinners and hence Bhuvi loses his spot, tough luck. Also, Ishant seems to be in a good patch in terms of his form, so he gets preferred. This is in fact without Bumrah, so selection will be tougher with him around clap:

Yeah probably few tattoos and some Bollywood glamour may get the Captain's attention ;-)

Yeah that's true. May be in England and NZ Bhuvi is given an opportunity. He has done well whenever he has been given the new ball.

Interesting that Pant has been dropped from the Test XI because he's had issues in limited overs cricket. Shastri was quoted in an interview recently that "he'll back Pant to the hilt":D. Saha was very much part of the touring party in WI & he wasn't good enough then. Perhaps his superior wicket-keeping skills have to do with his selection.

Rohit Sharma has been picked in the Test Squad on the basis of his 50 over World Cup exploits. I know he got a 100 today but he needs to be consistent, he will also also agree that he's been privileged!

KL Rahul is a decent T20 players but he doesn't find a place in the XI because of lack of runs in Test Cricket.

This MSK + Virat combo really surprise us with their selection every other week.

I feel there is more to what meets the eye.
What happens when Shaw is back? It will be difficult to keep him away. Saha is 34+ and can play for another 2-3 years maximum. Who is the back up competent keeper?

They will again keep experimenting till the next world cup.

Current back-up opener is Shubman Gill. Shaw i guess will struggle to get back into the team after his ban gets over. I have no doubt KL will return to the Test Squad in NZ. Those tattoos always help.:uncontrol

I think there is some wicket keeper from Andhra who has been doing well, can't recollect his name. Ideally Pant should be the backup since he has decent record in Tests anyways, his problem have been in white ball cricket. Not discussing wicket-keeping skills here!

What is more worrying is apparently Hardik Pandya may have to undergo surgery which will keep him out for 5 months. Bumrah is anyways ruled out for a few months. Interesting times ahead. Back-ups will be tested for sure.

Prithwi Shah is young (and raw) so he can still wait it out a bit even after his ban period ends.

Giving Shubman Gill a chance is a good idea since he is extremely talented and can adapt easily to play at different positions in the batting order. Since test squad positions #3 and #4 are occupied strongly by Pujara and Kohli, it won't be a bad idea to try Shubman as an opener, provided there is an opportunity (though right now I think it's better to stick with Mayank and Rohit for a few tests and see how it goes).

Rahul is very talented and started well as a test opener but seems to have somehow lost the plot, hasn't utilised all the opportunities given to him and hasn't cemented his place in all formats (though he shows lot of promise and gets good starts almost every game, he tends to throw away his wicket). A good stint in domestic/English county games will do him a world of good for test cricket.

Prithvi Shaw : 17 first class matches (includes 2 tests), age 20 years
Shubman Gill: 15 first class matches, age 20 years

I would recommend keeping both of them out.

What was Sachin's age when he played first test match ?