[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Funny thing is our forum. Just couple of pages back, Rahane was being recommended for test captaincy, and in 2 matches he is being replaced by Bhpians. And the replacements proposed are M. Agarwal and S. Iyer. Mayank Agarwal made hardly any impact in tests in Australia and same is with S. Iyer in all the matches he played in white ball cricket in Australia.

Not sure which domestic matches these guys have played between these tours and performed stupendously to make a case for inclusion in test squad.

There were many here who felt Rahane as a captain when Kohli isn't available is a good option. However, as a batsman he hasn't performed as expected. Whenever questions are raised on his contribution, he scored a 50+ and then people stop contemplating on his replacement. Mayank did not get many opportunities in Australia. His record in India is impeccable and probably hard to understand why he is not a part of the team. KL Rahul has been in best of his form in other formats and surely can replicate the same in Test Cricket. S Iyer has some good numbers in Domestic Cricket however he has been sidelined as more of a T20 or ODI player.
Check the numbers of Rahane in the last 3-4 years and you would know that post that SA away series, he hasn't been very consistent. With Kohli as the captain, I strongly feel Rahane would not be contributing much with decision making as well.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/f...ricket-1252080

Sad to see the legend go. With RSA being not so competitive in the recent few series, I'm really not enjoying the two-tiered system Test cricket has become.

Right decision. He wants to prolong his white ball international career and T20 leagues. I have always seen Duplesis as talent unfulfilled. 40 Average in 69 matches doesn't qualifies him in legends category but his contribution to SA cricket has been invaluable. Along with ABD he was the pillar in middle order.

Originally Posted by meerkat

I fail to see how this can be interpreted as "politically incorrect". .. I rather see a cerebral cricketer, -- a rather uncommon sort, going by the 'expert' comments all over the media.
.

Well, most of indian cricketers are always politically correct in their interviews mainly because they don't want to offend their employer BCCI or create any controversy. Even Indian commentators often don't speak their mind considering how Bhogle was ousted when he made unbiased comments in a match.

On a side note- I don't like how test selections are done via IPL or white ball exploits. It's highly unfair to players who toil hard in Ranji all season to be ignored for somebody who performs in IPL and is selected in test team.

[KPR]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Funny thing is our forum. Just couple of pages back, Rahane was being recommended for test captaincy, and in 2 matches he is being replaced by Bhpians.

Rahane as a test captain scored 112 in Adelaide 2nd test first innings. That was a really special one by Rahane (as a captain) after that humiliating 36 all out. I think responsibility has brought the best from him. He had few good starts but failed to convert any one of them. Good that Ind won that series and I hail his calm captaincy though. If he continues this below average form in batting and if Ind win both games against Eng he is safe. If he continues wasting his starts and Ind loses this home series I'm sure he is going to be axed.

[sahil624]

Squad for third and fourth tests has been announced. Umesh Yadav will replace Shardul Thakur after a successful fitness test. Also, KL Rahul will be available for selection.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news...r-fitness-test

[shashant]

I think Hardik Pandya will get a game here as a third seamer. Kuldeep will sit out.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Mayank did not get many opportunities in Australia.

Well, Mayank played 3 out of the 4 tests in Australia.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

KL Rahul and many other performing players in domestic circuit hardly get an opportunity at the highest level.

Well, if you go by performance in domestic cricket, it's Vihari who is the most deserving. And he has left far less of a mark abroad.

The less said about KL Rahul the better. He had been given a long enough run and he was sitting duck on two full tours of Australia and England. Performing in India can't be the criteria. Otherwise Mayank Aggarwal would been the top pick over Gill . Almost everyone performs well at home which is why Rahane is a gem to be persevered with even at home.

In Australia, for all the talk of Rahane scoring well in only 1 innings , he scored a total of 268 runs which is 3rd for Indian batsmen with Pujara and Pant scoring 271 and 274 runs respectively. Only Labuschagne among both teams had a standout batting performance , such was the nature of pitches on which the tests were played.

Originally Posted by shipnil

Rahane was being recommended for test captaincy

Still think the team would do better with Rahane's captaincy and without Kohli's idea of showing intent all the time even when it's not needed. Never understood the reason Pant was sent in before Rahane , considering there was two and a half days left in the Test and quick runs weren't required.

[landcruiser123]

At the end of the day, we're all keyboard warriors who've never played any Test cricket.

Rahane is India's crisis man and he's shown that time & again. In 2018, he was dropped in SA, but came back strong with the 48 that set up the win in Jo'burg. Agreed that he needs to sort out his consistency issues - seems like he finds ways of getting out. (unforced errors)

Originally Posted by harry10

I have always seen Duplesis as talent unfulfilled. 40 Average in 69 matches doesn't qualifies him in legends category but his contribution to SA cricket has been invaluable. Along with ABD he was the pillar in middle order.

I agree. Considering the way he played in his first test, he should have been averaging 50+. Surely not a champion in absolute terms like Smith, Kallis, Amla, de Villiers etc. But in an era where South African cricket is crumbling due to kolpak, transformation, and other internal issues, Faf du Plessis has stood tall.

[mailbalaji]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

At the end of the day, we're all keyboard warriors who've never played any Test cricket.

Rahane is India's crisis man and he's shown that time & again. In 2018, he was dropped in SA, but came back strong with the 48 that set up the win in Jo'burg. Agreed that he needs to sort out his consistency issues - seems like he finds ways of getting out. (unforced errors)

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

In Australia, for all the talk of Rahane scoring well in only 1 innings , he scored a total of 268 runs which is 3rd for Indian batsmen with Pujara and Pant scoring 271 and 274 runs respectively. Only Labuschagne among both teams had a standout batting performance , such was the nature of pitches on which the tests were played.

Perfectly agree with you both !
Rahane has been our player for the crisis.

The new crop of players are truly adapted for Indian conditions only yet. They will have to be on 'A' tours are play more in SENA countries before they deserve their sport. You can see what happened to P. Shaw, Mayank in Australia.

[Venkatesh]

India’s squad for Paytm T20I series against England announced.

Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Y Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, W Sundar, R Tewatia, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep, Shardul Thakur.



Source

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

India’s squad for Paytm T20I series against England announced.

Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Y Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, W Sundar, R Tewatia, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep, Shardul Thakur

Should start with:
R Sharma
KL Rahul
V Kohli
S Iyer
SKY
R Pant (WK)
H Pandya
B Kumar
S Thakur
D Chahar
Y Chahal

This is like we have decent batting till number 10. When was the last time we had such belief on our tail?

[PPS]

My Preferred XI in the T20's -
Rohit Sharma
KL Rahul
Virat Kohli
Surya Kumar Yadav
Hardik Pandya
Pant
Washington Sundar
Shardul
Bhuvneshwar
Chahal
Natarajan

[landcruiser123]

Changes for the third test:
1. 3 pacers possible - Bumrah, Ishant, Siraj
2. Along with #1, 2 spinners - Ashwin & Axar will be the pick.

I don't understand why Kuldeep is bench-warming if the captain + management doesn't have confidence in him. They should let him off to play domestic/county cricket to improve his skills. He bowled <15 overs in the previous game whereas Axar Patel & R Ashwin bowled nearly 20 overs each in both innings.

It'll be interesting to see what bowling combination England will play with. Will Broad & Anderson play the test match?

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Should start with:
...
This is like we have decent batting till number 10. When was the last time we had such belief on our tail?

Originally Posted by PPS

My Preferred XI in the T20's -
...

Guys, we still have two more test matches and a lot can change w.r.t injuries

[Venkatesh]

India Playing XI for third test



England win toss, choose to bat.

Motera cricket stadium inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind, to be called Narendra Modi Stadium



Link

[Eddy]

I am a little confused by the playing 11

- We are worried about the English seamers with the pink ball and hence strengthened the batting with Washington.
- At the same time, we are playing only two seamers and three spinners.

One of the two teams has screwed up the playing 11, lets see which one.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I am a little confused by the playing 11

- We are worried about the English seamers with the pink ball and hence strengthened the batting with Washington.
- At the same time, we are playing only two seamers and three spinners.

One of the two teams has screwed up the playing 11, lets see which one.

Don't think we are worried of the seamers, Kohli said he needs some one down the order in 2nd innings. Don't think Kohli knew England will play three seamers, he must have been thinking they will have two.

Seeing how less Kuldeep bowled in last match, it's a good move. First session has been superb for us, if not for counterattacking innings from Crawley, England might have been in deeper trouble.