[AZT]

Just switched to Sony Liv and watching the Legends league. World Giants vs Asia Lions looks a lot more fun to watch.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by NPV

Over the years, India has won a sum total of 10 ODI's Vs South Africa in South Africa.

Of these, Kohli has won 5 out of 6 games as captain. The remaining 5 games have been won by 5 different India captains!

KL Rahul doesn't seem to be ready for captaincy even in ODIs (lost when it comes making field placement changes and bowling changes/rotation). And he completely lacks enthusiasm, energy, vibrancy and intensity that we've been so used to seeing with Virat Kohli. I wish we get back to winning ways soon and do well in the T20 World Cup and then the ODI World Cup next year.

Timing wise, I think the BCCI completely lost it when it came to showing/proving who is the boss, ego clashes and control freaks do not augur well for Indian cricket. I know many people think about Kohli in similar vein, but there's probably much more than meets the eye. In the BCCI Vs Kohli fiasco, Indian cricket seems to be the loser

Let's see how this pans out in the next few months, fingers crossed.

You are spot on.

• KL Rahul - He is so nervous and so defensive. Kings 11 Punjab have lost so many matches from winning positions under his leadership How did anyone even think that he could be a captain when there are better captaincy options on the table?
• Kohli - BCCI - Dada - Selectors fiasco is childish to say the least. It has become 'you said', 'I said', 'he said' game and as you rightly said Indian cricket is the loser.
• Honestly think Indian cricket has lost all the gains in the last 2 months fiasco.
• I was a big fan of both Dada and Kohli and both have come very poorly in this fiasco. There was no need for Ganguly to talk to press/media about captaincy and there is no need for Kohli to respond to each and each point. Both of them have exhibited poor temperament and lack of class
• The lesser said about Chetan Sharma (Chairman of Selectors!) the better. There was no need for him to come on 31st and talk about captaincy. Do all the talking with the captain before changing. Very poor!
• I am no big fan of Dravid either. Remember he was the one who couldn't build of Dada's team of 2003 and he allowed Chappell to run the team and he was jut a bystander! Both Dravid and KL's selections and strategies have been poor to say the least.

[NPV]

After today's ODI loss, I hope the BCCI will realise that captaincy is not something that can simply be handed over to anyone in the team on a whim overnight.

Kohli had almost the same team we have now and still won many ODI games, heck - even in 2018 it was a 5-1 thrashing for South Africa!

Reminds me of the Indian team of yesteryears when we had a star studded team of individuals but wouldn't play cohesively and win many games.

[deehunk]

Dravid is only good in grooming youngsters, Rahul is fit for exhibition matches. While Pujara and Rahane have tested our patience in test cricket, Shreyas and Bhuvi are doing it in ODI's. Why players have taken their place for granted? I am sure a bowler like Marakram or Keshav would have been smashed around by other teams, what happened to our batters? This team is one of the poorest playing XI representing India since 1999-2000.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by NPV

After today's ODI loss, I hope the BCCI will realise that captaincy is not something that can simply be handed over to anyone in the team on a whim overnight.

Kohli had almost the same team we have now and still won many ODI games, heck - even in 2018 it was a 5-1 thrashing for South Africa!

Reminds me of the Indian team of yesteryears when we had a star studded team of individuals but wouldn't play cohesively and win many games.

Well, everyone said who cares we are winning so many Bilateral series when we can't win an ICC Trophy. Captaincy change has made sure we don't win these bilaterals too now. This team and it's performance will find it tough to beat even Bangladesh let alone a top tier team. Everyone used to jump quickly to blame Shastri/Kohli combo when we lose, now who they gonna blame?

I said it before, I say it again, KL Rahul should not even be a captain of a club team. He has Zero qualities of being a good leader. His stupidity of opening the innings made sure we didn't had a stable and in form opener in Gaikwad and then again we didn't had the finishing power. Then he goes on to bat in test mode both games and kills all momentum right at the start. We got respectable totals because of Dhawan, Kohli, Thakur in first game and Dhawan, Pant, Thakur in second game. Rest all are in SA for vacation.

Kohli has 9 50+ scores in his last 15 ODI's and everyone is quick to say he isn't in form. What more people want. Can't make a century after century. Still doing much better than most in team. BCCI will soon realize what blunder they have done by this Captaincy saga. Especially in tests. Ganguly and Jay shah are the worst thing to happen in Indian cricket administration since the Greg Chapell saga.

Our bowling barring Bumrah looks so pedestrian.

Bhuvi needs to go. No pace, no movement, no death bowling. He is a liability.

Ashwin too needs to be axed from white ball and new crop like Bishnoi etc needs to be a given a go.

Thakur though expensive is a wicket taking bowler and plus his extra runs with bat justify his selection.

Venky Iyer was promoted too soon in national team. He needs more season of domestic and IPL to rise up.

On a side note we need an opener like Shaw. Who smashes the ball from the start. Even if he works in 3 out of 5 games we will be set for a big one in those 3 games. Just like Sehwag used to do.

In last game make Gaikwad open. Push Rahul to 5, give Sky a game at 4. Pant will bat 6 followed by Thakur. This gives more batting depth. Although with this bowling attack I have less hope.

[NPV]

Finally, 4 changes in today's India team for the last ODI Vs South Africa:
-Deepak Chahar in for Bhuvi, good move
-Jayant Yadav in for Ashwin, I hope he does better than Ashwin

-Suryakumar in for Venkatesh Iyer
-Prasidh in for Shardul
This now strengths both bowling and batting by replacing 'all-rounders' with specialist batsman and bowler.

Hope we can win today's game as consolation.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by NPV

Finally, 4 changes in today's India team for the last ODI Vs South

I feel the changes arent good enough.

1. R Gaikwad is in a form of his life. If we dont encourage him now by giving opportunities then when?

2. S Thakur has been above everyone with all round skills in the last couple of months. We should have played him again to evaluate him as a replacement for Hardik Pandya.

3. Jayant Yadav? Really? We have few who could fill in for Ashwin.

4. S Dhawan is debatable now since Rohit will come back to the playing XI.

Would have loved to see:
R Gaikwad, S Dhawan, V Kohli, KL Rahul, S Iyer, R Pant, V Iyer, S Thakur, D Chahar, J Bhumrah & Y Chahal.

Would have been good to bowl Venkatesh & Shardul full quota of 10 overs.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

I feel the changes arent good enough.

1. R Gaikwad is in a form of his life. If we dont encourage him now by giving opportunities then when?

2. S Thakur has been above everyone with all round skills in the last couple of months. We should have played him again to evaluate him as a replacement for Hardik Pandya.

3. Jayant Yadav? Really? We have few who could fill in for Ashwin.

4. S Dhawan is debatable now since Rohit will come back to the playing XI.

Would have loved to see:
R Gaikwad, S Dhawan, V Kohli, KL Rahul, S Iyer, R Pant, V Iyer, S Thakur, D Chahar, J Bhumrah & Y Chahal.

Would have been good to bowl Venkatesh & Shardul full quota of 10 overs.

1. Gaikwad is on paid Vacation. Let's not disturb him.

2. Shardul played the tests too so he needed a break. So did Bumrah but he is playing for some unknown reason.

3. Jayant isn't a better bowler than Ashwin. Is he a better bat in white ball. Will see.

4. What are you talking about. Dhawan is the only guy who has performed consistently in this series and for the last 2 years he is averaging more than 55. If KL had any brain Gaikwad should have open along with Dhawan in all 3 games.

Even Pant should have been given a break this game and Kishan should have played. He looks cooked and dropping easy chances. Dravid has been a colossal disappointment on his first tour as coach. In tests and in ODI our team has looked to gone back to their old ways.

[NPV]

India did come back well towards the end of the South African innings, but they still got 287 and now India needs to play outstanding cricket and win the game.

To win, they have to beat the record at the Newlands ground for the highest successful chase in ODI (current record is 259), won't be easy unless someone scores big along with significant contributions from others.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

I feel the changes arent good enough.

Well, this is a start given it is the last game of the series, and a decent set of changes.

-R Gaekwad hasn't been tested at this level and we really don't have a slot for an opening batsman (Rohit will be back soon). One option is for Rohit & Dhawan to open with Rahul down the order (he has more success batting lower down the order)
-Shardul has batted quite decently but leaked a lot of runs and lacks discipline in his bowling conceding too many no balls and wides. Since he played first 2 games, good that he was rested today
-Jayant Yadav isn't as good as Ashwin, but good to see he got a chance and he kind of matched what Ashwin did with 0-53 off 10. Once Axar is back we will have another option
-Venaktesh Iyer - I think he needs some more time at this level and his role for the team isn't kind of thought through yet
-Dhawan - yes, many of us have written him off but on the contrary, the fact is he still is doing quite well

[SILVER-ARROW]

Wonder what is below the skull of beloved Rishabh Pant! He wants to go hammer and tongs from first ball itself! 😁

[harry10]

Originally Posted by SILVER-ARROW

Wonder what is below the skull of beloved Rishabh Pant! He wants to go hammer and tongs from first ball itself! 😁

We have a love, hate relationship with Pant. No one infuriates us like him. Say whatever Pant shouldn't bat above 6. He doesn't have the temperament to build an innings without taking unnecessary risks. Maybe he is the way he is. Shreyas or Sky are good enough for no.4. Let Pant bat at 6 or 7 where going after bowling from Ball 1 is alright.

His shot today was as ridiculous as his shot in the test match. This has become a pattern with him. Sometime I feel he has no concept of match awareness.

On a side not i am so glad seeing the Kohli of old. Confident and full of shots. We desperately need him to get back to his big scoring form in all formats.

[NPV]

It was good to see Kohli bat well, but yet again after his dismissal, we have doubts on the team's ability to win from that situation

For too long now, in ODIs, our batting successes have centered around Rohit, Kohli and maybe Rahul, Dhawan, Shreyas sometimes. Unless others in the top and middle order step up and play well consistently, we're not going to win many games.

*5 down after Shreyas got out, seems like another loss for India, unless Surya and the lower order do some magic!

Edit:Surya out, looks like this will end with a 3-0 ODI series win for South Africa

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by harry10

1. Gaikwad is on paid Vacation. Let's not disturb him.

Indeed a big mistake by KL Rahul & Dravid to not play Ruturaj. Infact I was keen to watch him open in all three ODIs.

Originally Posted by harry10

2. Shardul played the tests too so he needed a break. So did Bumrah but he is playing for some unknown reason.

Yes but Shardul isnt a sure starter in any format. He is growing as a cricketer in the last 6 months. Its evident he needs to be played consistently to make him better.

Originally Posted by harry10

4. What are you talking about. Dhawan is the only guy who has performed consistently in this series and for the last 2 years he is averaging more than 55. If KL had any brain Gaikwad should have open along with Dhawan in all 3 games.

Yes, so either play Dhawan consistently in bith ODIs and T20s. Infact, even in Test Matches he could be given a longer opportunity. I called his place debatable because R Sharma will come back in playing XI and they are looking at KL Rahul as a long term opener. The latter is also been seen as a VC now. So where does Dhawan play? Middle order?

Originally Posted by harry10

Even Pany should have been given a break this game and Kishan should have played. He looks cooked and dropping easy chances. Dravid has been a colossal disappointment on his first tour as coach. In tests and in ODI our team has looked to gone back to their old ways.

Agreed. I Kishan is a good back up for someone like Pant. We could have like to like replacement when required.

Dravid been a disappointed is not true. Its his first tour and there was a lot of ambiguity surrounding the team's most decorated player.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Indeed a big mistake by KL Rahul & Dravid to not play Ruturaj. Infact I was keen to watch him open in all three ODIs.

Yes but Shardul isnt a sure starter in any format. He is growing as a cricketer in the last 6 months. Its evident he needs to be played consistently to make him better.

Yes, so either play Dhawan consistently in bith ODIs and T20s. Infact, even in Test Matches he could be given a longer opportunity. I called his place debatable because R Sharma will come back in playing XI and they are looking at KL Rahul as a long term opener. The latter is also been seen as a VC now. So where does Dhawan play? Middle order?

Agreed. I Kishan is a good back up for someone like Pant. We could have like to like replacement when required.

Dravid been a disappointed is not true. Its his first tour and there was a lot of ambiguity surrounding the team's most decorated player.

I was sure Gaikwad will play all 3 ODI as opener. I forgot how dumb the management is in making selection choices.

Shardul has grown tremendously as an all-rounder and we need to manage his workload too. This being an inconsequential game he was rightly rested.

Dhawan won't play T20 again. No place for him. Same for tests. But, in ODI he will keep playing due to his good form. Rohit and Dhawan will keep opening. Rahul stated start of series he is only opening cos Rohit isn't available. When he is back he will go back to no.5. That's why they should have opened with Gaikwad in all matches with Rahul at 5.

Dravid has been a disappointment cos he has a big say in playing 11 and selection has been bad in both tests and ODIs.

Chahar played a superb knock. He and Thakur can be considered as genuine Allrounders and should be a starter in white ball. Only if Chahar had stayed and finished the game.

Btw, just for that shot Chahal should be sacked. Brain dead cricket.

[fhdowntheline]

What can Dravid do if the batsmen get out to cavalier shots? By that token, Rishabh Pant needs to be dropped right away. His ZERO made the biggest difference today. Even a 25-30 could have helped. Hopefully this will.allow a full purge of the team. BCCI should.enforce a No- IPL participation rule for Indian test/ ODI team for at least a year.