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[justforkix]

jfk

sorry i have issues with qualifying a player as opener and carrying him in the team when better players are waiting in the wings. my opinion is that we should pick our best 5/6 batsmen and the order should choose itself. this will not happen however and we will drop YS. poor judgement - poor cricketing sense - but that is what will happen.

No. I would disagree. The value the player brings to the table may depend on the position he bats and this is very true in the scenario we are discussing. Because all these 5 middle order bats are either poor openers or do not like/want to open.

[inoc]

jfk

enumerate your top six/seven

[justforkix]

atleast we are are dropping them after they failed.

As I already said, if the same criteria was used for our middle order, none of them would have lasted for more for this long.

[justforkix]

my starting 6/7 with MSD

WJ/RD/VVS/SRT/SG/VVS/MSD.

You may not agree but IMO this is what we should start with.

I don't think Aussies will allow VVS to bat twice

[justforkix]

jfk

enumerate your top six/seven

Here is my full team for MCG:

WJ/KKD/RD/SG/SRT/VVS/MSD/IP/AK/ZK/RPS

[inoc]

jfk

i will hold you for the statement above.

please prove/justify/even begin to be fair to what you said.

i dont know what criteria you are referring to -let it out in the open and then we can discuss.

[gouravk]

jfk
your team matches mine. except that i have picked ishant instead of irfan. this is primarily because i want a right arm bowler in there. also irfan has not necessarily impressed more with the ball in the bangalore test than ishant. plus with his height he can be a handful on aussie pitches. hence irfans batting prowess notwithstanding i would prefer ishant over him.

but just check the quality of the bench strength

sehwag yuvi and irfan on the bench !!! phewwww !!!

[justforkix]

jfk

i will hold you for the statement above.

please prove/justify/even begin to be fair to what you said.

i dont know what criteria you are referring to -let it out in the open and then we can discuss.

criteria is dropping a player when ha has 1 bad series after he has had 2 or more good series.

[inoc]

jfk
your team matches mine. except that i have picked ishant instead of irfan. this is primarily because i want a right arm bowler in there. also irfan has not necessarily impressed more with the ball in the bangalore test than ishant. plus with his height he can be a handful on aussie pitches. hence irfans batting prowess notwithstanding i would prefer ishant over him.

but just check the quality of the bench strength

sehwag yuvi and irfan on the bench !!! phewwww !!!

yuvi will not be on the bench, and irfan wont be either.

[gouravk]

Well they SHOULD be.

[inoc]

Well they SHOULD be.

you may be GOD but reiterate what you have successfully prejudged.

[gouravk]

huh ?

[inoc]

jfk

i will hold you for the statement above.

please prove/justify/even begin to be fair to what you said.

i dont know what criteria you are referring to -let it out in the open and then we can discuss.

criteria is dropping a player when ha has 1 bad series after he has had 2 or more good series.

you must be joking and i will take it as that. thanks the abortive discussion

[LosingNow]

my starting 6/7 with MSD

WJ/RD/VVS/SRT/SG/VVS/MSD.

You may not agree but IMO this is what we should start with.

I don't think Aussies will allow VVS to bat twice

LOL.. I think we should lobby the ICC!

[LosingNow]

jfk

enumerate your top six/seven

Here is my full team for MCG:

WJ/KKD/RD/SG/SRT/VVS/MSD/IP/AK/ZK/RPS

I think that is the right team.. but I expect VS to replace KKD.. or even RD to open and YS to come after VVS

[justforkix]

jfk

i will hold you for the statement above.

please prove/justify/even begin to be fair to what you said.

i dont know what criteria you are referring to -let it out in the open and then we can discuss.

criteria is dropping a player when ha has 1 bad series after he has had 2 or more good series.

you must be joking and i will take it as that. thanks the abortive discussion

HUH ?!? Thanks for a cryptic response...

[justforkix]

jfk
your team matches mine. except that i have picked ishant instead of irfan. this is primarily because i want a right arm bowler in there. also irfan has not necessarily impressed more with the ball in the bangalore test than ishant. plus with his height he can be a handful on aussie pitches. hence irfans batting prowess notwithstanding i would prefer ishant over him.

I don't see a problem with having 3 left-armers. I don't think teams complain about variety if 3 right-armers play. All 3 are different bowlers anyways. Even though Ishant took a 5-fer, 3 of those were tailenders and he is still raw and erratic. I would not want to play a right-armer just for the sake of variety. IP is bowling quite well IMO and can be a good stock bowler and his batting will be very useful in Aussieland, where not all our batters are going to succeed all the time - those 50-60 runs may end up being very vital !!

[gouravk]

Still tail-wrapping is important. I do not quite agree that IP is bowling well enuf to make it to the test team as of now. In such a scenario his batting becomes irrelevant for me. I think if Ishant can wrap up the tail for 20 runs that would be more crucial than IPs 50 runs with the bat !!!

[keep-it-cool]

Well Kumble is now on record saying that it will be healthy competition between Sehwag and Yuvraj for a spot in the playing XI.

To me, this sounds like KKD is sure to be benched. Either VS or RD may open .. depending on who among VS & YS make it to the playing XI.

The stupidest thing to do would be to make YS open.

I think we are tinkering with the wrong thing .. the openers have been largely fine, let them be. Tackle the middle order issue within the middle order itself.

[dextrous]

Well Kumble is now on record saying that it will be healthy competition between Sehwag and Yuvraj for a spot in the playing XI.

To me, this sounds like KKD is sure to be benched. Either VS or RD may open .. depending on who among VS & YS make it to the playing XI.

The stupidest thing to do would be to make YS open.

I think we are tinkering with the wrong thing .. the openers have been largely fine, let them be. Tackle the middle order issue within the middle order itself.

by what stretch of imagination have openers been fine?! surely, that 50 by kkd against a demoralized pakistan can't make everything fine!

the middle-order is pretty packed right now. the main question really is whether we'll select our 6 best batsmen or try to accomodate vs/kkd into the xi at the expense of (hmm? who?)

[keep-it-cool]

This is the first series where KKD has had a failure. He has been perfectly fine in the two tours prior to the Pakistan series - SA and England - both, better attacks than the Pakistan attack we played recently. I have yet to see a valid reason for any player to be benched after one poor series.

Sehwag does not even belong in the 15/16.

The middle order issues should be sorted out in the middle order itself ... YS CANNOT open .. he will not be the same player if he does. KKD as opener >>> YS as opener. I dont think any of the others are keen to open.

Take your current 5 MO bats ... and rank them on the basis of current form ... and pick the best 4. At this point, the order is pretty evident - SG, VVS, YS, SRT, RD is the pecking order if you are playing a test tomorrow. The only googly here is that it is an Australian tour, where we do not know how YS will fare. In that sense, I would imagine it has to be a straight shoot out between YS and RD - based on how the practice match goes.

Of course, the practice match also gives a further opportunity to VS to stake his claim and to KKD to validate his claim at the top of the order.

[kingcool1432]

Well Kumble is now on record saying that it will be healthy competition between Sehwag and Yuvraj for a spot in the playing XI.

I thought he was referring to the playing XI for the practice match only?

[broadbat]

Sehwag does not even belong in the 15/16

This is the selection that sticks out like a sore thumb. I find it very difficult to believe that he has been selected as a cover for the openers to spend time on the bench. As far as the middle order is concerned do not even think about it. When the team management are scratching their heads in trying to fit in YS, VS is an unwanted nuisance there. Therefore I believe he will replace KKD in the match at the MCG. The starting line up against Victoria should throw up some answers.

[keep-it-cool]

Well Kumble is now on record saying that it will be healthy competition between Sehwag and Yuvraj for a spot in the playing XI.

I thought he was referring to the playing XI for the practice match only?

That would be even sillier, no? I think both should play in the practice match.

[justforkix]

by what stretch of imagination have openers been fine?! surely, that 50 by kkd against a demoralized pakistan can't make everything fine!

the middle-order is pretty packed right now. the main question really is whether we'll select our 6 best batsmen or try to accomodate vs/kkd into the xi at the expense of (hmm? who?)

I guess you care very little if the opener did well in SA and the opener was the highest run getter for India in England not too long ago !!

[broadbat]

Remember Damein Martyn? Player of the year, then out of the team the next year and retired soon after.

[gouravk]

how does damien martyn come into the picture ?

[Cover Point]

Well Kumble is now on record saying that it will be healthy competition between Sehwag and Yuvraj for a spot in the playing XI.

To me, this sounds like KKD is sure to be benched. Either VS or RD may open .. depending on who among VS & YS make it to the playing XI.

The stupidest thing to do would be to make YS open.

I think we are tinkering with the wrong thing .. the openers have been largely fine, let them be. Tackle the middle order issue within the middle order itself.

by what stretch of imagination have openers been fine?! surely, that 50 by kkd against a demoralized pakistan can't make everything fine!

the middle-order is pretty packed right now. the main question really is whether we'll select our 6 best batsmen or try to accomodate vs/kkd into the xi at the expense of (hmm? who?)

Before the Pakistan series he was our best batsman all year.

So one bad series and he should be dropped. Do u want me to count SG's bad series? I will need a calculator.

[gouravk]

He was arguably our best batsman in England. And he did very well in the Cape Town test in South Africa. OK, the Bangladesh tests shouldn't count. I still maintain that making KKD an opener at the start of the last year was not the best move. But now that it has been done we should see it through.