[thefreak]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Actually, hardly any!!! He was a failure as a Captain too!


Yes, he is called Wall coz he can only block the bowlers, but can't score runs!

Disagree on both points.

The wall scored heavily and quickly in the one day games at times. And in tests he still remains the best batsman from India (I am a die hard Sachin fan but facts remain so).

And IMHO Dravid led India very well and was quite a decent captain. Why would you say that he was a failure as a captain???

[snaronikar]

@finneyp: No I do not agree on this. Pls see the stats. How many matches he had played and won and the same to others.

@eddy: It is better if he is left out. As he will not be able to rotate the strike as others do. He will just waste the **** too many of them as we have seen this in Aussies series recently.

Moreover, he does not last long enough against the quickies like Shoiab & others

[diabloo]

Not really. Regular bowlers mentioned in bold.

1. Zaheer Khan,
2. RP Singh,
3. Praveen Kumar,
4. Irfan Pathan,
5. Murali Kartik,
6. Virender Sehwag,
7. Yuvraj Singh,
8. Sachin Tendulkar.

Anyway I mentioned the best 11 among 15, for better chances of winning.
Dada has good record against Pakistan. But that was before. Now can he last against Pakistan quickies? Also can Bajji mange to bowl his quota of 10 overs?

Originally Posted by Eddy

I think this side is too batting heavy. I think Harbhjan will play instead of Praveen Kumar.

I seriously doubt if Dada will be left out. I think he will play and the choice will be between Gambhir and Sehwag and the latter might play.

Coming at No 3 might actually help Ganguly, instead of opening, after the ball has lost the pace. Only question is his ability to run singles for himself & his partner.

Originally Posted by thefreak

But who at one down? Gambhir seems to be the logical choice though it will be between Dada and Gambhir I thinks.

[thefreak]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Coming at No 3 might actually help Ganguly, instead of opening, after the ball has lost the pace. Only question is his ability to run singles for himself & his partner.

Not having the ability to score singles is one thing but Dada may potential start running himself and his partners out at that position. I feel that if it is one down then Gambhir should come in for Dada else Dada and Sachin should open.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Not really. Regular bowlers mentioned in bold.

1. Zaheer Khan,
2. RP Singh,
3. Praveen Kumar,
4. Irfan Pathan,
5. Murali Kartik,
6. Virender Sehwag,
7. Yuvraj Singh,
8. Sachin Tendulkar.

Anyway I mentioned the best 11 among 15, for better chances of winning.
Dada has good record against Pakistan. But that was before. Now can he last against Pakistan quickies? Also can Bajji mange to bowl his quota of 10 overs?


Coming at No 3 might actually help Ganguly, instead of opening, after the ball has lost the pace. Only question is his ability to run singles for himself & his partner.

I think Praveen Kumar should not be played as a regular bowler upfront since Irfan is still coming back to form and is currently the fifth bowler-cum-batsman in the team.

And I agree with Saurav, he should be left out. But knowing the selection criteria, I am sure he will play and open. Sehwag will come in at number 3 and gambhir might have to sit out.

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by thefreak

The wall scored heavily and quickly in the one day games at times.

Good joke! Pls let us know the matches where he scored 'heavily' and 'quickly'!

Originally Posted by thefreak

And IMHO Dravid led India very well and was quite a decent captain. Why would you say that he was a failure as a captain???

Another joke! We didn't win any Championship since he took over as Captain!
In World Cup'2007, we were knocked-out in the group stage itself!

[pmbabu]

There you go. Reaction/report from Prem Panicker on ODI team selection.
Smoke Signals

Worthy reading in full, not quoting in parts here

[snaronikar]

We were knocked out not because of Dravid or his captiancy. It is because of other players like Sachin,Sehwag, Gangauly, Yuvaraj, Dhoni who did not even live upto the reputation and I hope everyone knows about this and our bowlers the less said the better.

[thefreak]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Good joke! Pls let us know the matches where he scored 'heavily' and 'quickly'!


Another joke! We didn't win any Championship since he took over as Captain!
In World Cup'2007, we were knocked-out in the group stage itself!

Sir sir!

Winning a championship is one of the criterions of success. Not the only one. We won a test series in the Indies and also against England. How many Indian captains can flaunt such credentials

Also remember his 90 odd in the match against England in the not too distant past? And the most non-Dravid like innings against SA where he took out Allan Donald single handedly.

PS: I am not saying that he was in prime form recently or whatever. But that does not make him any less great a player. He has an average of close to 40 and a strike rate of roundabout 75. More than respectable and respectable IMHO.

Cheers!

[snaronikar]

Well babu, every bit of the report from Prem Panicker is true and this is what is plaguing our indian cricket.....Hope somebody will listen to this.

[Eddy]

Shoaib Akhtar takes 4 wickets in his return match against SA.

What do you guys think ? Pakistan playing Shoaib in the team - Good for India ? or Dangerous for India ?

[snaronikar]

Anytime it is dangerous. Our guys cannot play the shear speed of the delivery. It zooms past you with 150kmph and you will have to just look for the ball.

Our players has not yet played in recent past this kind of speed except for Brett Lee (in few occasions). But Shoiab will rock our batsman and they will be mince meat. We have seen this in past and the same will happen in this series also.

Our selectors will have to depend on the experience with this kind of bowling for which we need a quality batsman

[thefreak]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Anytime it is dangerous. Our guys cannot play the shear speed of the delivery. It zooms past you with 150kmph and you will have to just look for the ball.

Our players has not yet played in recent past this kind of speed except for Brett Lee (in few occasions). But Shoiab will rock our batsman and they will be mince meat. We have seen this in past and the same will happen in this series also.

Our selectors will have to depend on the experience with this kind of bowling for which we need a quality batsman

My o my! With all due respect to Shoaib Akhtar I feel that he is not as good as Lee is. Lee is much stronger mentally and to destroy Akhtar all you need to do is take him for runs in one over.

Also with Akhtar coming to India, it is best if Sehwag opens with Tendulkar.

[safari_lover]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Good joke! Pls let us know the matches where he scored 'heavily' and 'quickly'!


Another joke! We didn't win any Championship since he took over as Captain!
In World Cup'2007, we were knocked-out in the group stage itself!

You should get your facts correct sir, before commenting on Dravid's ability to score quickly. For your information he holds the joint record for the fastest fifty (18 *****) by an Indian, against Newzealand at Hyd. And who will forget the way he dominated Alan Donald at South Africa. He's got an career strike rate of 71.16 against Ganguly's 73.60. I am not comparing both of them here, but just quoting facts.

As for the captaincy concerned, show me a captain in India who has won a Test match in South Africa, Test series in West Indies and England.
Remember one thing, Sourav became a great test captain, coz Dravid was at his best with the bat especially in Tests. In all the Tests that Sourav has won, Dravid has an average of more than 100.
That for you is winning matches. Remember the innings at Adelaide?

Don't blame the World Cup debacle on his captaincy. Since sourav is considered as the best Indian captain, tell me how many Finals has he won? And how many test series' has he won abroad except Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

It is irony that in India, if you don't flaunt, you'll never be recognized.

[snaronikar]

@thefreak: But the problem is who will face him and if we score well against him in one over and that's it. But Sehwag is out of form and do you think he will stand a chance...I have my own doubts.