[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

So, what would have happened if it rained and the match could not be played after lunch?

DL is applicable only after 20/25 overs aside have been completed?

So technically the game can be abandoned.

Agreed, bad weather is a case (highly improbable but still a case). But why did they extend play by 15 minutes before actually going for lunch? it could've rained in those 15 minutes and the match could've been abandoned isn't it. Why didn't they go by the rule book then? So when they have actually extended by 15 minutes, 1 or 2 overs extension wouldn't have killed anybody due to hunger.

On a lighter note, someone tweeted
Umpires were like Indian mother "Beta pehle khana khalo, baad me khel lena" ("First eat your food son, you can play later")

[srishiva]

Hopefully Pruthvi Shah doesnt turn out to be another Rohit Sharma, or should he ? He hits cleanly when the balls hold line. This is after watching most of his play in the world cup. I hope he can play well in English like conditions also.
The team should get opportunities to play in such conditions else we will continue seeing embarrassments that the senior team bestows.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Hopefully Pruthvi Shah doesnt turn out to be another Rohit Sharma, or should he ?

He definitely needs some work on his technique when running between the wickets. I saw couple of situations when he did not ground the bat and could have been out if the throw was on the stumps.

[Sawyer]

It isn't easy to learn to play well in English conditions except by playing there. Like Pujara is planning another stint in Yorkshire to prepare for the forthcoming tour. Of course he can do that only because he does not play in IPL. Now if someone could teach him to run between the wickets also, that would be good!

The fact that the U 19 guys are more excited about their IPL contracts is not an encouraging sign.

But there is nothing that prevents us from having tracks with pace and bounce in India to allow our batsmen to cope with that part of the overseas touring challenge. It will also encourage more to take up pace bowling. Otherwise with dead tracks and with the Indian heat, I can't see why anyone would opt for that as a career; it is a miracle that we have the current lot.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

The Kohli guy is a complete professional. Inside out. He has molded himself in a complete cricket player. Nothing else counts - his flings, cars, his aggression, his language, what a armchair critic sitting and tying on a forum, etc.

To want to win every game is seen in the eyes, every thing else outside of it is only what you want to display. All that counts is the hunger to win. See it in any top player in any sport. The best example of it is Mr Phelps when he got back from retirement and won at the Olympics. That resolve is similar in Kohli's eyes.

That is what Dravid said, it works for him. And not the other way round. i.e. Being aggressive like Kohli will not make you a better player. Dravid himself has no issues with Kohli's behavior.

To all those saying the calm nature of Dravid rubbed off on the U-19 boys. Hell no. They were swearing and yelling expletives too. It's a game, if you are concentrating on what the player is saying instead of doing your best then its your problem not the player's. Dravid did not do it, Kohli did. So what? Both are equally awesome and incomparable.
.

I totally agree. Could not have put it better.

PS: What is Swapnil upto now ? I hope he is doing well.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

It is true when he says it gets embarrassing when he gets more attention than the players because of his stature

And the BCCI has ensured the embarrassment continues for Dravid by curiously awarding him 50 lakh reward for winning the World Cup while each player of the squad got 30 lakh! This is the first time I've come across a Coach getting more than the player as a reward in Indian Cricket.
Offcourse, no one's doubting his credentials, he's definitely done a great job with the team.

[Sawyer]

Only Dravid could have come up with this:
"Only one Indian from the 2012 winners that defeated Australia has gone on to play for India, while five to six Australians have done so. In 2018 it is therefore debatable as to who really won that final."

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by PPS

And the BCCI has ensured the embarrassment continues for Dravid by curiously awarding him 50 lakh reward for winning the World Cup while each player of the squad got 30 lakh! This is the first time I've come across a Coach getting more than the player as a reward in Indian Cricket.
Offcourse, no one's doubting his credentials, he's definitely done a great job with the team.

I dont understand why BCCI has to demean players of this stature by announcing such money related awards. If they have to give the money, do so by all means. Why shout about it from the rooftops? only so that you are seen doing something.
Just plain cheap, this.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Only Dravid could have come up with this:
"Only one Indian from the 2012 winners that defeated Australia has gone on to play for India, while five to six Australians have done so. In 2018 it is therefore debatable as to who really won that final."

A powerful statement, no doubt, but if you put things into perspective, it isn't that impactful.

If you look at our team now, any format, we have a healthy balance and a decent bench strength. It is not like we have had to compromise on the selection just to fill an 11.

So, if barely any players have made it from the U19 winning team to the senior team, it says a) there's enough well-performing players in the senior team, and/or b) the U19 players have slacked after they're done with under-19.

What am I missing? What other factors must be causing this?

[comfortablynumb]

It's almost a miracle how such a balanced and sensible person lasted as long as he did in the circus that is Indian cricket. I guess being an all time great helped hugely

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/...ng-first-class

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

b) the U19 players have slacked after they're done with under-19.

What am I missing? What other factors must be causing this?

I can't speak to the factors, but what you are missing is this - could the senior team have been even better than what it is today if the U 19 players of 2012 had stayed on their growth trajectory instead of slacking off? Probably so - seems to be the answer to the question. No certainties obviously, even there.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I can't speak to the factors, but what you are missing is this - could the senior team have been even better than what it is today if the U 19 players of 2012 had stayed on their growth trajectory instead of slacking off? Probably so - seems to be the answer to the question. No certainties obviously, even there.

Nah; I did get your point the first time. My question is: where is Indian cricket losing the plot? Why is it the way it is.

Is the BCCI unable to make the most of U19 talent? Are the U19 winners not being consistent enough to make it to the top?

On a side note, if we have a decent senior team and very few of them are U19 winners, does it say something about the U19 selection itself? Or are players peaking much later than 19.

Is it the system or the players or everything in between.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Nah; I did get your point the first time. My question is: where is Indian cricket losing the plot? Why is it the way it is.

Apart from players falling away or being found out in the Ranji trophy or getting lured by other professions or them giving up when they realise the top flight is more challenging to reach, one of the other points could be the player pool.

In India the player pool is quite wide and many players keep making comebacks. with added fitness levels, we see that they play well into their 30s. Only recently, we have a change here that except Dhoni most of our team is not that old in the tooth (relatively). Till a few years ago, the fab 4 kept dominating cricket teams and the bowling was also dominated by Zaheer, Harbhajan, Kumble. The only slot that will open up in the future would be that of the wicketkeeper or perhaps the opening batsman in Tests. we continue to have a slot open for a tearaway fast bowler. But by the time anyone comes to the senior team, they have usually lost their pace or lost favour. In Australia, Brett Lee and Shaun Tait were encouraged to keep up their pace. In our neck of the woods, a majority of the pitches dont encourage such bowlers in domestic cricket. And unlike our immediate neighbors to the west, we rely more on the pitch than bowling yorkers. Some more reasons there, but I am sure there are more; such as politics in internal cricket associations and lack of access to training facilities and other infractructure, which I hear is more available in Australia and NZ.

In India, if a particular player is deemed as not cut out for the top level, suddently everyone loses interest. Perhaps even the player gives up on a 100% effort. Players elsewhere used to get a decent career playing domestic cricket. with the advent of IPL, maybe a few things change here.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Is the BCCI unable to make the most of U19 talent? Are the U19 winners not being consistent enough to make it to the top?

To make it to the Senior Team, one does need several seasons of good performances at the Domestic level. Its quite difficult to get into the senior team as most of the spots are booked.

But off late, performances in IPL also matter a lot, youngsters there are thrown into high pressure situations. Chahal, Pandya & Bumrah are all IPL discoveries, they haven't played much domestic cricket at all.
On the other hand, someone like Kuldeep Yadav has picked up a lot of wickets in the domestic season.

The U19 guys need to put in the hard yards & toil away in the domestic season & do well & only then they can hope for a berth in the Senior Team. Flashes of brilliance can only win you a T20 game, to win Tests you need to do well over a period of time, surely Dravid must have inculcated this during his coaching stint.

[Sawyer]

It is probably a combination of factors; all that Dravid probably meant was that the ones in the 2012 final did not go as much further down the cricketing road as the Australians they defeated did, so, in cricketing terms who really won that final, when seen from an individual basis.

Unmukt Chand is a classic example. Led the team, made a 100 in the final. All else since has basically been downhill from that high.

And I said in cricketing terms because some may have chosen other careers and may be very successful in them too, leveraging what they learnt in the U 19 team. So they are still winners.

In general, I don't think we are losing the plot either. The ODI unit has done very well in recent times in Australia, England, and looks to do that same in SA. In T20 we made a very close match of it in the semis against the eventual world cup winners. All that is missing are replicable overseas victories in test matches in the aforesaid countries. That is still a big miss, but all is far from doom and gloom.

PS: and let's not forget how well the women have done!