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[Total Members Voted:]

VS

18 (9.1%)

GG

18 (9.1%)

RD

9 (4.6%)

SRT

18 (9.1%)

VVSL

18 (9.1%)

SB

11 (5.6%)

YS

13 (6.6%)

MV

4 (2%)

MSD

18 (9.1%)

ZK

18 (9.1%)

IS

18 (9.1%)

HS

18 (9.1%)

MP

0 (0%)

Amishra

15 (7.6%)

POjha

1 (0.5%)

IKP

0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 18

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[12th_Man]

I guess Badri,RD and YS will be among the most discussed

[Cover Point]

where is Harbhajan singh?

[12th_Man]

where is Harbhajan singh?

My mistake. I named 15 guys to chose from. Added

[justforkix]

Squad is only 15. You have 16. IKP is not in the squad.

[justforkix]

Eng team arrived Chennai earlier today !!! They will be guarded by 300 commandos and 1000 policemen at all times during their stay in Chennai 

Who will guard them against Veeru, Sachin, VVS, Gauti, Zak and Ishant 

[gouravk]

i hope the chennaites pack the ground and make a statement here - in two respects - one supporting the tour, the english team's decision and the victory of cricket over terror - and two, to dispel the rest of the world's allegation that indians do not care for test cricket. after all the most knowledgable crowd in the country should show the way ...

[justforkix]

i hope the chennaites pack the ground and make a statement here - in two respects - one supporting the tour, the english team's decision and the victory of cricket over terror - and two, to dispel the rest of the world's allegation that indians do not care for test cricket. after all the most knowledgable crowd in the country should show the way ...

I wish you can write to the TNCA with the same vigor. The big deterant against making such statements is the clauses in the tix. With a realistic threat of rain and TNCA having no refund clause under any circumstances, it is unreasonable to expect Chennaites to make some statement like this. In any case I expect the ground to be almost packed if there is no rain.

[gouravk]

yeah ... definitely on the weekend ... im sure it will be full ...

[justforkix]

it will be almost full on weekdays too if no rain - we are jobless people 

[keep-it-cool]

someone is really taken in by the english bravery & sacrifice ..wants us to go in with a 10 member team ...

[justforkix]

FWIW, it is currently pouring in Chennai 

[12th_Man]

Don't worry, The more moisture pitch retains, The quicker the result. Last chennai match was a bomber  though. Batting paradise.
Anyway interesting poll reults like Rajasthan pouring in:
RD:5
SB:6
YS:7

Good one. Will MSD be brave enough to take this kind of decision? Leaving RD out ? I doubt.

[ramshorns]

Why the hell they ever want to host Test matches in Chennai.  Always weather plays havoc.  Could they not have had Kolkata in this instance unless security concerns regarding Bangla. Muslims being a threat weighed in.

[gouravk]

i think england team pretty much insisted on chennai and nothing else 

[flute]

six votes for RD's selection? WTH

[gouravk]

wdym ?

[justforkix]

Don't worry, The more moisture pitch retains, The quicker the result. Last chennai match was a bomber  though. Batting paradise.
Anyway interesting poll reults like Rajasthan pouring in:
RD:5
SB:6
YS:7

Good one. Will MSD be brave enough to take this kind of decision? Leaving RD out ? I doubt.

Vijay inching forward too :

YS:8
SB: 7
RD: 6
MV:4

 

[12th_Man]

Well, Not too sure if MV will make this cut. But i like the idea of YS and Badri both playing.
My gut feeling says the following though:
YS will play in this with RD--> RD will fail again(<35)--> SB and YS play in next match.

[ramshorns]

Don't worry, The more moisture pitch retains, The quicker the result. Last chennai match was a bomber  though. Batting paradise.
Anyway interesting poll reults like Rajasthan pouring in:
RD:5
SB:6
YS:7

Good one. Will MSD be brave enough to take this kind of decision? Leaving RD out ? I doubt.

Vijay inching forward too :

YS:8
SB: 7
RD: 6
MV:4

 

I will cast the tie breaking vote  tomorrow.

[Cover Point]

Don't worry, The more moisture pitch retains, The quicker the result. Last chennai match was a bomber  though. Batting paradise.
Anyway interesting poll reults like Rajasthan pouring in:
RD:5
SB:6
YS:7

Good one. Will MSD be brave enough to take this kind of decision? Leaving RD out ? I doubt.

Nah. Its the Gangulians hatred for Dravid that drives people here. Most sane people want him in the team

[gouravk]

Makes no sense keeping him in the squad if he is not to be picked for the FIRST test at least. so he will be should be picked.

[12th_Man]

Don't worry, The more moisture pitch retains, The quicker the result. Last chennai match was a bomber  though. Batting paradise.
Anyway interesting poll reults like Rajasthan pouring in:
RD:5
SB:6
YS:7

Good one. Will MSD be brave enough to take this kind of decision? Leaving RD out ? I doubt.

Nah. Its the Gangulians hatred for Dravid that drives people here. Most sane people want him in the team

Not sure I would deduce it that way.
May be in current form and looking at future even you and me want to play SB and YS ahead of him.  The problem arises if RD and YS play and both succeed. SB will have to warm the bench with no fault of his.  GG,VS,SRT,VVS,MSD and the 5-0 history should give the team the confidence to play YS and SB both.  Let us see what transpires.

[dlee1]

5-0 was the odi and that cant be taken forward to the tests.am sure rd will be picked..the question is who will get picked between ys and sb?logically it should be badri given the fact that we all know ys is not one for the tests atleast for the long run and against quality bowling,but then given our fickle minded public and the fast that msd doesnt like badri am sure he will be warming the bench

[gouravk]

yeah it shud be badri - that said i dont think either badri/yuvi is at this moment promising to be a test match great anyway - so it doesnt really matter.

[teamindia]

wdym ?

imrdsbt.
 

[justforkix]

Makes no sense keeping him in the squad if he is not to be picked for the FIRST test at least. so he will be should be picked.

Why do another wrong to correlate with a previous wrong. RD should not have been picked for the squad and should not be picked in the XI. What is the use of playing with only 10 men !! will be I understand because RD is untouchable. should be defies all cricketing logic.

[justforkix]

yeah it shud be badri - that said i dont think either badri/yuvi is at this moment promising to be a test match great anyway - so it doesnt really matter.

There is more promise in YS/Badri than today's RD anyways

[Cover Point]

Makes no sense keeping him in the squad if he is not to be picked for the FIRST test at least. so he will be should be picked.

Why do another wrong to correlate with a previous wrong. RD should not have been picked for the squad and should not be picked in the XI. What is the use of playing with only 10 men !! will be I understand because RD is untouchable. should be defies all cricketing logic.

Even in the worse of form if he could average in the 30's AND he has the lifetime average of mid 50's! then let me assure you we are ok with him in the team. And we are talking about India's best test batsman ever!!!

[dlee1]

there is a diff between promise and delivery..agree with cp that even in the worst of his form  rd averages around 30 and that average is what ys has till now in tests(despite the so called promise).badri on the other hand has not grabbed what has come his way so he might consider himself a bit unlucky.

[feverpitch]

looks like the dg is more or less united about declaring an end to RD's career...

[gouravk]

Makes no sense keeping him in the squad if he is not to be picked for the FIRST test at least. so he will be should be picked.

Why do another wrong to correlate with a previous wrong. RD should not have been picked for the squad and should not be picked in the XI. What is the use of playing with only 10 men !! will be I understand because RD is untouchable. should be defies all cricketing logic.

whether it was wrong to pick rd in the squad is moot. fact is if now he is not picked in the 11 it will be against the principles of logic and i hate anything that is against logic.

[keep-it-cool]

Makes no sense keeping him in the squad if he is not to be picked for the FIRST test at least. so he will be should be picked.

I dont think anyone is arguing the "would be" part .. the debate is over "should be"

[gouravk]

yeah it shud be badri - that said i dont think either badri/yuvi is at this moment promising to be a test match great anyway - so it doesnt really matter.

There is more promise in YS/Badri than today's RD anyways

what a ridiculous comparison to make .... why should one talk of "promise" when it comes to a legend who has written so many glorious chapters and constructed magnificent monuments in the annals of indian cricket ?

you look for promises from ppl who are about to start their careers like badri and ys.

[keep-it-cool]

yeah it shud be badri - that said i dont think either badri/yuvi is at this moment promising to be a test match great anyway - so it doesnt really matter.

There is more promise in YS/Badri than today's RD anyways

what a ridiculous comparison to make .... why should one talk of "promise" when it comes to a legend who has written so many glorious chapters and constructed magnificent monuments in the annals of indian cricket ?

you look for promises from ppl who are about to start their careers like badri and ys.

if not promise, it should be form - shouldn't it?

[gouravk]

yeah that i can agree with. but as i already said if he was to be dropped for form he shudnt have been picked in the 15.

[gouravk]

this is very interesting ... 

http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Cricket/10265976.html

 Team India's boredom challenge

By Ashish Shukla, Cricket News
Published: December 09, 2008, 23:39

Chennai: With their movements outside the hotel and ground expected to be severely curtailed, Team India will have to find interesting things to do on the evenings of the first Test in Chennai.

The entire plush Taj Coromandel hotel will be booked for the two teams. At least the two teams will be spared a packed lobby of fans lying in wait for autographs and pictures.

But this is a small consolation. Once away from the ground at 5pm after the day's play, each player will have to figure out how to utilise the remainder of the evening to ensure they are not bored to death in the confinement of their rooms.

Captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh will certainly not be able to hit the nightclub in the evening nor will the families of local boys Murali Vijay and Subramanium Badrinath be allowed to meet them.

Similar restriction will be placed on the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who has an iconic following in the city following his triple century against South Africa in March this year.

Here's how each member of Team India could spend his evenings in the confines of his hotel room.

VIRENDER SEHWAG: Sehwag is a big-time fan of television serial Mahabharat, an Indian epic. He carries CDs of the television serial, as well as a few chosen ones of Laughter Challenge, a television stand-up comedy.

GAUTAM GAMBHIR: Gambhir is high on patriotic songs and films and carries a stock of the DVDs. He could get mushy watching them in his hotel room.

RAHUL DRAVID: A strong, silent type, Dravid will have his wife Vijeta and son Samit for company. He has also packed a few select books in his kit for his pleasure.

SACHIN TENDULKAR: A great fan of Kishore Kumar, Tendulkar is carrying a few select CDs of his favourite singer. He is also carrying DVDs of a few latest Bollywood flicks.

VVS LAXMAN: This man has plenty of DVDs of Bollywood flicks. He will greatly miss his wife as the couple have been blessed with a daughter, as recently as on November 28.

MAHINDER SINGH DHONI: The whiz kid of the block, the immensely successful Indian skipper is carrying his PSP (portable Playstation) to enjoy some games other than cricket in his free time. Dhoni is also a huge fan of Kishore Kumar so he is sure to have plenty of his music around.

HARBHAJAN SINGH: A fan of Laughter Challenge too, Harbhajan could as well exchange his CDs with Sehwag during his stay in Chennai. The crafty spinner is also a big-time visitor of Orkut and Facebook.

YUVRAJ SINGH: This hard-hitting batsman spends a great deal of time on Orkut and Facebook. With no nightclubs on the agenda in Chennai, he is sure to be online.

MUNAF PATEL: The bowlers loves watching television and sleeping. he will have lots of time for both in Chennai, more so if he is not picked in the playing eleven. He is also a big chatter on the phone.

ZAHEER KHAN: A fan of old Hindi songs, his Ipod is sure to be close to him during the evenings in Chennai. He also likes parking himself in front of the telly.

ISHANT SHARMA: The young pencil-slim fast bowler of the team is a big talker on the phone and a Facebook fan.

AMIT MISHRA: The young leg-spinner of the team, asked to fill the big boots of the retired Anil Kumble, likes listening to old Hindi film songs.

[justforkix]

Even in the worse of form if he could average in the 30's AND he has the lifetime average of mid 50's! then let me assure you we are ok with him in the team. And we are talking about India's best test batsman ever!!!

what 30s !!! RD averages 28 vs. non-minnows in the last 2 1/2 years !!!

Heck, what happened to the criteria that you set for RD for Aus series after the SL series: Needs to average 35 with at least 1 significant score, otherwise should be dropped !!!

 

[justforkix]

there is a diff between promise and delivery..agree with cp that even in the worst of his form  rd averages around 30 and that average is what ys has till now in tests(despite the so called promise).badri on the other hand has not grabbed what has come his way so he might consider himself a bit unlucky.

It is not about Yuvi or Badri. A batsman averaging 28 for 2.5 years does not deserve a place in the squad and XI. And may I know how Badri should grab his opportunities by sitting on the bench !!!

[justforkix]

whether it was wrong to pick rd in the squad is moot. fact is if now he is not picked in the 11 it will be against the principles of logic and i hate anything that is against logic.

And may I know what that principle of logic is ?!? It defies cricket logic to pick him in the squad. It defies cricket logic even more to pick in the XI !!

[justforkix]

yeah it shud be badri - that said i dont think either badri/yuvi is at this moment promising to be a test match great anyway - so it doesnt really matter.

There is more promise in YS/Badri than today's RD anyways

what a ridiculous comparison to make .... why should one talk of "promise" when it comes to a legend who has written so many glorious chapters and constructed magnificent monuments in the annals of indian cricket ?

you look for promises from ppl who are about to start their careers like badri and ys.

my defintion of promise is generic - what they will deliver on the field. And as per that criteria both YS and Badri >= today's RD. Yuvi only marginally.

Given this squad, I will pick Vijay and Badri ahead of RD and YS in the XI.