PDA

View Full Version : Test Team: Who Should Replace Ganguly and Kumble



raj2rif
November 16th, 2008, 04:10 PM
Dear Cricket Lovers,

Two of the five veterans of Indian Cricket retired in last series. With series with England coming up, a lot of thought process will go into finding out their replacements. While Anil Kumble’s replacement is likely to be Amit Mishra, a three players are eyeing for Ganguly’s spot. I will come back to Kumble’s possible replacements later.

Purely based on form of past one year and consistency, Suresh Raina should be the front runner. But we never know the selector’s mind. All we know that they might stick to Murali Vijay as opener and bring Sehwag or Gambhir at number 3, with Dravid falling to # 5 or 6 spot. If we go by the precedence, or the way the selectors had treated Sehwag or Ganguly when not in form, then Dravid should not be in the 15 member squad. But I don’t think selectors will be bold enough in doing that.

Assuming selectors do drop Dravid, then there would be two spots vacant. Murali Vijay has impressed in the two innings he has played and comes from the state of the Chief Selectors. While I don’t doubt Srikanth’s judgment we don’t know what transpires behind the scene. Vijay is promising and is in form and therefore should be considered seriously for either of the first three spots. Yuvraj’s inning in the last one day match may prompt selectors to pick him up for Ganguly’s place. But considering the consistency with which he is getting injured, and restrictions these fitness problems pose on this greatest skills (fielding), I would not risk him using in a five day match and there by losing him even for one dayers. Another strong contender is Rohit Sharma. No doubt he is most talented of all discussed, but has not been consistent during the last year plus.

Now the question of Kumble. I think Piyush Chawla should also be a strong contender. He is promising, young and has performed consistently. He has never been given a long lease. Frequently in and out scenario shakes the confidence of a young player. Pragyan Ohja is another person. I think Piyush Chawla has been a better batsman then Mishra and Ojha. So it is a toss up, and considering the fact that Mishra did get 5 on debut and is in the team, it is likely he would continue, which is fine too.

Based on all these facts, I would go for the following line up

Gautam Gambhir
Virender Sehwag
VVS Laxman
Sachin Tendulkar
Suresh Raina
Rohit Sharma
M S Dhoni
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Amit Mishra
Ishant Sharma
Reserves
Murali Vijay
Piyush Chawla
Munaf Patel
S Badrinath/ Manoj Tewari

Opting out of Dravid is going to create a lot of heat, but as senior players had said time and again that form and not the age should be a selection criteria, then on their own logic Dravid should make a come back of his own like Ganguly and Sehwag had done.

siwach2767
November 16th, 2008, 05:02 PM
sir, how about yuvraj singh? i think he is a class player and best replacement of ganguly.

sunillathwal
November 16th, 2008, 05:54 PM
Yes, Yuvraj is talented batsman (and great fielder also), he should be in playing 11.

Wasim Jafar (experienced and he had performed well on the tours also) can be included instead of M Vijay, S badrinath or Manoj Tiwari...

raj2rif
November 17th, 2008, 07:48 AM
Dear Friends,

I agree with you about talent of Mr Yuvraj Singh, and with his current form, may be he deservs a place as any one else. My problem with him is that he is too prone to injuries. There are more chances of his getting injured in a five days game rather in the shorter version purely due to the time of exposure to risk of injuries.

He is extra ordinary batsman who has good nerve and can bat efficiently in adverse situations. His this quality can be gainfully used in shorter versions of the game. I would like to preserve him for 20/20 and ODIs.

Nishantrathi82
November 17th, 2008, 12:04 PM
Dear Cricket Lovers,

Two of the five veterans of Indian Cricket retired in last series. With series with England coming up, a lot of thought process will go into finding out their replacements. While Anil Kumble’s replacement is likely to be Amit Mishra, a three players are eyeing for Ganguly’s spot. I will come back to Kumble’s possible replacements later.

Purely based on form of past one year and consistency, Suresh Raina should be the front runner. But we never know the selector’s mind. All we know that they might stick to Murali Vijay as opener and bring Sehwag or Gambhir at number 3, with Dravid falling to # 5 or 6 spot. If we go by the precedence, or the way the selectors had treated Sehwag or Ganguly when not in form, then Dravid should not be in the 15 member squad. But I don’t think selectors will be bold enough in doing that.

Assuming selectors do drop Dravid, then there would be two spots vacant. Murali Vijay has impressed in the two innings he has played and comes from the state of the Chief Selectors. While I don’t doubt Srikanth’s judgment we don’t know what transpires behind the scene. Vijay is promising and is in form and therefore should be considered seriously for either of the first three spots. Yuvraj’s inning in the last one day match may prompt selectors to pick him up for Ganguly’s place. But considering the consistency with which he is getting injured, and restrictions these fitness problems pose on this greatest skills (fielding), I would not risk him using in a five day match and there by losing him even for one dayers. Another strong contender is Rohit Sharma. No doubt he is most talented of all discussed, but has not been consistent during the last year plus.

Now the question of Kumble. I think Piyush Chawla should also be a strong contender. He is promising, young and has performed consistently. He has never been given a long lease. Frequently in and out scenario shakes the confidence of a young player. Pragyan Ohja is another person. I think Piyush Chawla has been a better batsman then Mishra and Ojha. So it is a toss up, and considering the fact that Mishra did get 5 on debut and is in the team, it is likely he would continue, which is fine too.

Based on all these facts, I would go for the following line up

Gautam Gambhir
Virender Sehwag
VVS Laxman
Sachin Tendulkar
Suresh Raina
Rohit Sharma
M S Dhoni
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Amit Mishra
Ishant Sharma
Reserves
Murali Vijay
Piyush Chawla
Munaf Patel
S Badrinath/ Manoj Tewari

Opting out of Dravid is going to create a lot of heat, but as senior players had said time and again that form and not the age should be a selection criteria, then on their own logic Dravid should make a come back of his own like Ganguly and Sehwag had done.


Dear sir No doubt Yuvraj is a great player but for me he is still not mature to play in test cricket. I will keep Dravid in this team and it will like

Gautam Gambhir
Virender Sehwag
Rahul Dravid
VVS Laxman
Sachin Tendulkar
Murali Vijay
M S Dhoni
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Amit Mishra
Ishant Sharma
Reserves
Piyush Chawla
Munaf Patel
RP Singh
S Badrinath/ Manoj Tewari

jitendershooda
November 17th, 2008, 04:38 PM
Gautam Gambhir
Virender Sehwag
VVS Laxman
Sachin Tendulkar
Suresh Raina
Rohit Sharma
M S Dhoni
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Amit Mishra
Ishant Sharma
Reserves
Murali Vijay
Piyush Chawla
Munaf Patel
S Badrinath/ Manoj Tewari



I agree you Tewatia Ji, Dravid should be dropped off till he do some hard work in domestic. He needs break. Also Yuvraj Singh should be kept for 20-20 and One dayers. But looking at the record of selectors they will keep in for tests too.

For opening options Gambhir and Sehwag are best and after a long time the openers are consistent for India. So there should be no inclusion of Vijay in between. If he is good then he can be given different slot. Or he should perform good till these two get out of form or injured.

They should also keep shuffling Fasters like Ishant who is also going prone to injuries and this may ruin his career.

One more thing could be done, instead of Munaff for tests, we can try some others like parveen kumar etc. He can do better in One dayers and may get injured in tests.

raj2rif
November 17th, 2008, 06:11 PM
Dear Members,

What a performance yet again by Yuvraj, this time both with bat as well as ball. I think he has got a special liking for English players. Sehwag also did well as a bowler. This team seems to have learnt the advantage of winning and therefore doing better than earlier teams. You don't need big guns and there is always a time for younger generation to step in.

In my earlier posts, I forgot to mention about Virat Kohli. Just about 20 he has shown maturity and should be considered. On current form, time is running out for Rohit Sharma. He is not only getting out early but getting out to poor shot selection. That is a big worry.

About Vijay Murali. I think we do need a reserve opener specially when the team goes abroad. Any opener is also a good player to bat at No. 6. Usually around the time No. 6 comes to bat, a new ball is due. Sehwag and Gambhir are doing a wonderful job for now and should continue. An opener could also be useful at No. 3 as well. So there are a lot of options. I would keep Murali Vijay in team for what he had done in domestic cricket recently and in only test he has played. It will be very demoralizing for him to be dropped. I was surprised when they did not have Virat Kohli considered, for he and Akash Chopra did pretty well in matches prior to Australia series. For Akash Chopra I would say time is not on his side since there is a lot of competition for non existing opening slot.

Nishantrathi82
November 17th, 2008, 06:16 PM
Dear Members,

What a performance yet again by Yuvraj, this time both with bat as well as ball. I think he has got a special liking for English players. Sehwag also did well as a bowler. This team seems to have learnt the advantage of winning and therefore doing better than earlier teams. You don't need big guns and there is always a time for younger generation to step in.

In my earlier posts, I forgot to mention about Virat Kohli. Just about 20 he has shown maturity and should be considered. On current form, time is running out for Rohit Sharma. He is not only getting out early but getting out to poor shot selection. That is a big worry.

About Vijay Murali. I think we do need a reserve opener specially when the team goes abroad. Any opener is also a good player to bat at No. 6. Usually around the time No. 6 comes to bat, a new ball is due. Sehwag and Gambhir are doing a wonderful job for now and should continue. An opener could also be useful at No. 3 as well. So there are a lot of options. I would keep Murali Vijay in team for what he had done in domestic cricket recently and in only test he has played. It will be very demoralizing for him to be dropped. I was surprised when they did not have Virat Kohli considered, for he and Akash Chopra did pretty well in matches prior to Australia series. For Akash Chopra I would say time is not on his side since there is a lot of competition for non existing opening slot.

Sir i will love to see SHIKHAR DHAWAN playing for India don't know why selectors r not ready to give him the break he a class batsman we can say he is another Gambhir but he is still out of the team he perform better than Virat kohli but didn't get the chance bad luck but surely he will get the chance.

raj2rif
November 20th, 2008, 08:51 PM
Dear Mr. Rathi,

I agree with you that Shikhar Dhawan has been scoring consistently in doemestic cricket for quite some time. Actually, I watched his one innings batting with Robin Uthappa in under 19 match. He was outstanding at that occassion and scored a fluent century. I love watching left hand batsman, and he was really great in that innings.

Well two changes. If Tendulkar is in, he would be playing. Either Suresh Raina or Rohit Sharma would sit out. Both are good players and have been equally inconsistent, with Rohit being a little more inconsistent.

I don't think Irfan Pathan would get a chance to bowl with both Zaheer and Munaf doing a great job. Ishant did not have a good game after injury and to me should be in playing eleven in next game too.

Let us see if they can win all 7 games against this English side.

Nishantrathi82
November 21st, 2008, 09:11 AM
Dear Sir u r absolutely correct Tendulkar is going to be the part of playing 11 but i suggest they should not touch opening pair and he should play and number 3 position but is think they will play with sachin and sehwag.
And yes Irfan i don't think he will get any place for atleast next 2 games then if India win the series they might give him a place by resting Zaheer.
Hope India will win by 7-0.:rock

raj2rif
December 12th, 2008, 06:36 PM
Dear Friends,

Another failure of Mr. Rahul Dravid. I was wondering why are we shy of giving a break to a player who is struggling for the form, for too long for comfort of any one.

Another thing that surprises me that he is still being sent to bat at No. 3 position where the person in best form and with best talent should bat. While Dravid fulfills the second criteria, he is not fulfilling the first and the more important of the two. I think it might be wise to send Laxman or for that matter Yuvraj (if he makes an impact in second innings) at that position. I personally believe, it is time that we give Dravid a break and use Badrinath instead. May be Laxman/Tendulkar can come at No. 3 while Badrinath can bat at # 5 or # 6.

It is time for Dravid himself to gracefully go to the domestic cricket and come back on merit. He has the talent and I am sure he will get that necessary confidence that he is lacking now.