[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by harry10

Expected line up.

Starting 11 should be -

Mayank
Rahul
Pujara
Gill
Rahane
Shreyas
Saha
Jadeja
Ashwin
Axar/Jayant
Ishant
Umesh/Siraj

We have rested star performers. I hope that doesn't come back to bite us and we lose a home game or series.

I would like to see few changes in here.

1st Test

M Agrawal
S Gill
C Pujara
KL Rahul
A Rahane (c)
K S Bharat (wk)
R Ashwin
R Jadeja
A Patel
I Sharma
M Siraj

2nd Test

S Gill
M Agrawal
C Pujara
V Kohli (c)
S Iyer
KL Rahul (wk)
R Ashwin
R Jadeja
A Patel
P Krishna
M Siraj

We need to give good game time to S Iyer, Gill, KL Rahul in Test Matches. Even if we need to rest Jadeja for J Yadav that too is good.
As you said, we have nothing to lose. Even these so called 2nd string guys can beat NZ at home.

[Eddy]

Wait, where is Hanuma Vihari? Still unfit or dropped? He was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy recently so unlikely to be injured.

If he has been dropped, its very harsh.

[AZT]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Both England and Pakistan were favorites going into the game

A small correction, Aussies were the favs going in. My friend plays every match and tracks rate by the ball. In the start Aus were 5/3 favorites.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Wait, where is Hanuma Vihari? Still unfit or dropped? He was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy recently so unlikely to be injured.

If he has been dropped, its very harsh.

He is heading to SA with India A team, guess they want him to get used to SA conditions, and will be named in the SA squad.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

I would like to see few changes in here.

1st Test

M Agrawal
S Gill
C Pujara
KL Rahul
A Rahane (c)
K S Bharat (wk)
R Ashwin
R Jadeja
A Patel
I Sharma
M Siraj

2nd Test

S Gill
M Agrawal
C Pujara
V Kohli (c)
S Iyer
KL Rahul (wk)
R Ashwin
R Jadeja
A Patel
P Krishna
M Siraj

We need to give good game time to S Iyer, Gill, KL Rahul in Test Matches. Even if we need to rest Jadeja for J Yadav that too is good.
As you said, we have nothing to lose. Even these so called 2nd string guys can beat NZ at home.

Not going to happen.
Hear me out.

Rahul has made opening his position along with Rohit. In absence of Rohit, Rahul and Mayank will start or if they want to experiment then Gill can open too with Rahul. But, I see Gill/Iyer playing in middle order.

Saha has been confirmed to play and Bharat is just a backup. Rahul will never keep in tests. Bharat may play 2nd game if Saha is injured or performs badly in first game.

Same for 2nd test. Kohli will come in for Gill/Iyer. Rahane shouldn't even be playing this series let alone being Captain in first game but that means he won't be dropped for 2nd game too ( I wish I had Rahane's luck). If we win Jadeja might be rested for 2nd game and Jayant played. Prasidh is backup. Won't get a game above Umesh and Siraj.

Already experienced players are resting. We need to make sure we don't lose matches in name of experimentation. NZ team is after all WTC winners.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by harry10

Not going to happen.

Saha has been confirmed to play and Bharat is just a backup. Rahul will never keep in tests. Bharat may play 2nd game if Saha is injured or performs badly in first game.

Same for 2nd test. Kohli will come in for Gill/Iyer. Rahane shouldn't even be playing this series let alone being Captain in first game but that means he won't be dropped for 2nd game too ( I wish I had Rahane's luck)

Completely agree with A Rahane. He has good backing from Kohli. Hope Dravid brings a change by selecting players on the basis of their form and not on past performances or perceptions. Rahane has to play and perform in the domestic circuit to be included in the team again, let aside Captaincy.

Agree with KL Rahul as an opener. However we need to groom the next generation at the earliest. On similar logic Saha is already 35 I believe. Undoubtedly he is the best keeper in the country however from a long term perspective, we need to look elsewhere.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Wait, where is Hanuma Vihari? If he has been dropped, its very harsh.

Very harsh! He indeed has been dropped & to makeup for it the selectors it seems have drafted him into the 'A' team. He deserved some home games to get big scores.

Originally Posted by AtheK

He is heading to SA with India A team, guess they want him to get used to SA conditions, and will be named in the SA squad.

Get used to the SA conditions only to have him not play in the XI! Inconsistent selection policies again. This is a demotion for him. Selectors as usual haven't bothered to clarify.

Originally Posted by harry10

We need to make sure we don't lose matches in name of experimentation. NZ team is after all WTC winners.

I think NZ will fancy their chances in India. Its a short Test Series & 1 of the venues is Mumbai which is conducive to their kind of bowling.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by PPS

Get used to the SA conditions only to have him not play in the XI! Inconsistent selection policies again. This is a demotion for him. Selectors as usual haven't bothered to clarify.

That is exactly what will happen, some of the decisions these guys take is mind numbing. Guy played through pain to save you a test match, and which helped you to win the series, and he is rewarded like this. Feel sorry for him.

[VWAllstar]

Has the support staff under the Head Coach Rahul Dravid been finalized and officially announced by BCCI?

There are few articles mentioning Paras Mhambrey will be the bowling coach & T Dilip to be the fielding coach while V Rathore to continue as the batting coach. Few other articles mention Rahul Dravid keen on Abhay Sharma as the bowling coach.

Why not look for international players for these specific skill coaching? Who better than J Rhodes for fielding coach? May be even M Kaif. Personally never heard of T Dilip. Paras has been instrumental at India A sides and NCA so like B Arun, he could be a good bet. When we have Dravid, then why another for batting? Get coached directly under Dravid.

[AZT]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Why not look for international players for these specific skill coaching?

I think the IPL is more lucrative and gives them more flexibility. Ideally I'd like to see someone like Ponting coach India but it seems he's not interested.

Ricky Ponting Turned Down BCCI After Being Approached For India Coaching Role: Report

https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/n...t-4331408.html

There must have been back channel talks with others as well but nothing worked out.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by AtheK

That is exactly what will happen, some of the decisions these guys take is mind numbing. Guy played through pain to save you a test match, and which helped you to win the series, and he is rewarded like this. Feel sorry for him.

No doubt Vihari deserves a fair chance.
But, the competition is so tough you miss a few months and someone else gets ahead of you. Plus there is always favouritism by Coach and Captain. Even if you are in the 15 squad you sit out like Ashwin did in England. These guys are professionals, they know this will happen to most of them.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Why not look for international players for these specific skill coaching? Who better than J Rhodes for fielding coach? May be even M Kaif. Personally never heard of T Dilip. Paras has been instrumental at India A sides and NCA so like B Arun, he could be a good bet. When we have Dravid, then why another for batting? Get coached directly under Dravid.

Let's keep faith in Dravid for picking best people possible for specific roles. Head coach needs to look at lot of areas and might be short of time. That's why they get a batting coach who can solely work with batsman for improvement. Likewise bowling and fielding coaches.

[Akshay6988]

I saw the Aus v Pak semifinals highlights and man what a match it was ! Sucks I couldn't watch it live. Pakistan cricket team looks so composed and in form ! Leaving the politics aside, I really hope we get to see Ind v Pak series again. Some people are saying to shut down the ODI matches, but I don't think ODI series is the issue. N number of T20 tournaments like IPL are burning out players IMO.

[NPV]

So the biggest game is today - final of the T20 World Cup.

I hope New Zealand win this, but there seems to be a weird bit of history in the statistics - a team that has faced India in the group/league stage has Never gone on to win the T20 World Cup , so that record favours an Australian win today.


And on Steve Smith..

[AtheK]

Australia wins the toss and bowls first, congratulations to them for winning the T20 World Cup for the first time.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Australia wins the toss and bowls first, congratulations to them for winning the T20 World Cup for the first time.

I was more concerned about Starc bowling an inswinging yorker to bowl out Guptil like he did to Bazz.

Today is NZ's day, we are going to see the most liked team lift the World Cup. Come on Guptil, give us one of your special century.