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[ramshorns]

Here is the averages of the openers in the Super league this season.  Cricinfo stats shows that Chopra has only one hundred.


Name                Mat    I  NO  Runs   HS     Ave     SR 100 50   Ct St Team


DS Jadhav             4    5   0   354  171   70.80  36.08   1  2    4  - MAHA
AR Uthappa            5   10   0   541  161   54.10  73.80   2  3    2  - KNTKA
M Vijay               5    9   1   426  179   53.25  41.76   1  1    7  - TN
GK Khoda              4    6   0   313  107   52.16  55.59   2  -    2  - RAJ
A Chopra              5    7   1   247  150   41.16  42.29   1  1    8  - DELHI

Also add the two low scores in the Andhra match to this.  15 and 0 presently going on and his numbers are going to slide further.  See the last year scores.  Even worse.  So over a 2 year period this guy was mediocre by and large.  And over the same time leaving aside WJ who is clearly better than any other opener in India presently, Uttappa and Gambhir against the same oppositions did a lot better than Chopra.  So why would I want to pick him.  Based on what? He has no pedigree whatsoever to consider based on the past.  Actually a case can be made for his axing from the Delhi team once Sehwag returns to play some domestic cricket.

[Jai]

Chetan,
Nice to know about your experience.
About Bose: Did you mean that he was very quick and hence you couldn't spot the ball? Is this guy well built? (Sorry I am sounding all excited like fineleg ). How quick is he compared to the other pacers?

he was quick. much quicker than any of the hyd bowlers for sure. i could pick the ball when the other bengal pacers were bowling (i was at deep mid-wicket position for them), so i think bose was quick. he has long munaf like hair and seemed to be well built. kaushik reddy of hyderabad(he opened the bowling) was taller, but didn't seem to be as quick either.

About his long hair, I hope you are aware that he idolizes Gillespie, even his hairstyle.

now that you mention it, you are right. it was the gillespie hairstyle

[dextrous]

Rams,
Didn't Shivlal's son make it to the team solely on his father's powers?

Chetan,
Nice to know about your experience.
About Bose: Did you mean that he was very quick and hence you couldn't spot the ball? Is this guy well built? (Sorry I am sounding all excited like fineleg ). How quick is he compared to the other pacers?

Bottom line Toney is he would have been kicked out by now if he grossly under performed.  He is a decent player with excellent fielding skills.  He can hold his own in a Ranji team.  Agree Shivlal pushed him but he did his bit to stick on.  Not international calibre but Ranji calibre.

This is Ranji class? I beg to differ. Even Tripura has batsmen that average more.

First-class   48   82   5   2126   155   27.61   2   11   13   0
List A   39   38   3   619   96*   17.68   0   2   15   

And this person was captain? Based on what?

[ramshorns]

Also if I consider Chopra's 188 in Duleep and his averages there were definitely boosted by the 2nd inning Not Outs and add them to the Ranji games it still is a little over 47.  Nothing earth shattering.

To put in perspective the much touted A.S. Yadav against the same SL 'A' side which Chopra scored that 188, also scored 133 Not Out.

Not making light of Chopra but instead of just looking into the numbers a little bit effort can always be put into the circumstances of those knocks to get a better perspective.

I think we should look elsewhere than Chopra if at all we need a partner for Jaffy.  Starting with GG would not be a bad idea, as that gives us a right/left combo and headaches to the opponents.

[ramshorns]

Rams,
Didn't Shivlal's son make it to the team solely on his father's powers?

Chetan,
Nice to know about your experience.
About Bose: Did you mean that he was very quick and hence you couldn't spot the ball? Is this guy well built? (Sorry I am sounding all excited like fineleg ). How quick is he compared to the other pacers?

Bottom line Toney is he would have been kicked out by now if he grossly under performed.  He is a decent player with excellent fielding skills.  He can hold his own in a Ranji team.  Agree Shivlal pushed him but he did his bit to stick on.  Not international calibre but Ranji calibre.

This is Ranji class? I beg to differ. Even Tripura has batsmen that average more.

First-class   48   82   5   2126   155   27.61   2   11   13   0
List A   39   38   3   619   96*   17.68   0   2   15   

And this person was captain? Based on what?

I am not going to sit here and debate AS Yadav.  All I am saying is for a fact I know Shivlal is a good man and not the media made out guy.  Like I said I know when he was the Ranji skipper for Hyd. around 1988, or 89, he brought in a 'B' division league player by name M.V.Sridhar who I know personally at the time through the many matches I attended at Gymkhana.  He is no way related to Shiv. 

Presently Shiv. is working so hard on the stadium.   He got accolades from no less a person than Sachin when he said "Shivlal is taking too many pains for bringing up a world class facility".  Sure there are things here and there you can criticise but to call him a crook without ascertaining all the facts is going a little overboard, I think.

[dextrous]

Rams,
Didn't Shivlal's son make it to the team solely on his father's powers?

Chetan,
Nice to know about your experience.
About Bose: Did you mean that he was very quick and hence you couldn't spot the ball? Is this guy well built? (Sorry I am sounding all excited like fineleg ). How quick is he compared to the other pacers?

Bottom line Toney is he would have been kicked out by now if he grossly under performed.  He is a decent player with excellent fielding skills.  He can hold his own in a Ranji team.  Agree Shivlal pushed him but he did his bit to stick on.  Not international calibre but Ranji calibre.

This is Ranji class? I beg to differ. Even Tripura has batsmen that average more.

First-class   48   82   5   2126   155   27.61   2   11   13   0
List A   39   38   3   619   96*   17.68   0   2   15   

And this person was captain? Based on what?

I am not going to sit here and debate AS Yadav.  All I am saying is for a fact I know Shivlal is a good man and not the media made out guy.  Like I said I know when he was the Ranji skipper for Hyd. around 1988, or 89, he brought in a 'B' division league player by name M.V.Sridhar who I know personally at the time through the many matches I attended at Gymkhana.  He is no way related to Shiv. 

Presently Shiv. is working so hard on the stadium.   He got accolades from no less a person than Sachin when he said "Shivlal is taking too many pains for bringing up a world class facility".  Sure there are things here and there you can criticise but to call him a crook without ascertaining all the facts is going a little overboard, I think.

Yeah, that's what I call all Indians (and Americans) promoting nepotism. What we are not debating is what he's doing for the stadium, etc. but clearly promoting his son is his Achilles heel.

[keep-it-cool]

Two things

1) Obsession with Pathan should end, unless he proves in domestics.  Why such importance to him, I have no idea.  For batting.  Then he need to compete with all the rest as a batsman.  As a bowler just about now he should not be even in the 10 top pacers in the country.  He is nothing special.  He should be at this point be treated on par with any other cricketer.

2) And Akash Chopra.  He first needs to score consistently and then into contention.  From the way he is going he may soon be dropped from the Delhi side.  Let us just say that Jaffy made that spot his own for the foreseeable future in tests.  For now Chopra the openor can be laid to rest.

Rams, there is obviously a reason for us discussing IP and AC. We have seen them play. And both have shown some talent at different times - obviously AC much lower than IP.

On IP - I dont think there will be any argument that if IP gets back in good bowling form, he has a lot to offer - to both the test and ODI side. Especially given that he is one of those rare Indian bowlers who seem to have some serious talent with the bat too. You just need to look at the likes of AA, VRV and MP at the crease to figure out why an inform IP is very important to Indian cricket at the moment. It is natural to keep focus on how he is progressing just as we kept a close watch on what ZK was doing when he was out of the team.

Personally, I think he needs to go the the pace academy and get some specific and directed help on his bowling than playing Ranji matches. Only after he does that, should he go and play Ranji trophy matches - else, you would have a situation where he has played three whole days of a Ranji match and bowled only 11 or so overs. How does this help at all, if the need is to get his rythm and swing back? Then, if he impresses in Ranji, he should be brought back to the team. That is the ideal process.

However, with the WC around the corner, I wouldnt be too averse to short circuiting this process a bit this time .. and play him in the ODIs after this tour. If he shows that he belongs, fine. Otherwise, we have other options that we can consider.

On Chopra - Agreed that he has not had a great time in domestics. But he has also performed better against good attacks in alien conditions - much better than GG has so far. Does this mean that he should be picked in the team right away? NO. But, there is no harm in keeping him on the radar - the BCCI should ensure that someone (maybe the NCA) should take him under their wings and try to work on whatever has gone wrong - while he continues to compete for a slot with the other contenders.

I personally hope he regains whatever touch he had earlier, which allowed him to be a success on the Aussie tour. I would like to see India have another specialist opener to replace VS and partner WJ. VS should, long term, move to the middle order - where, if he regains his form, he would help in managing the transition once some of our current veterans decide to move on.

[dave_dj]

It seems Bengal got too many LBW decisions in the first innings and they are going to lodge an official complaint about it. How was Ranadeb's bowling? Was he fast? How about Dinda? He bowled well in the first innings and seems to be a good find for Bengal in the absence of SS Paul. May be you can ask the Bengal lads about SG as SG played for almost a year with them. They may have some interesting tidbits to tell you, even SG's personal opinion on GC. 

6 of them to be precise - hopefully these are all honest and there is nothing fishy to it.

As I have already said, the Bengal team doesn't share your sentiment.

9 LBW decisions so far against Bengal; 4 against Hyderabad - 13 in the entire game.

[RicePlateReddy]

Yeah, that's what I call all Indians (and Americans) promoting nepotism. What we are not debating is what he's doing for the stadium, etc. but clearly promoting his son is his Achilles heel.

I don't know whether ASY should or should not belong in the Hyd team. His average and performance seem way too sketchy. Yet the guy got a chance to play recently in the South Zone team against SL-A and scored a great unbeaten century that was exactly 50% of the team score when all else around him crumbled and was the only one who tamed Ganegama. But on what basis he made it to the South Zone team, I really did not know!

A few matches ago too he top scored in a low scoring game for his side against Gujarat. He top scored against Bengal in the first innings and played well too in the first innings of the latest Ranji match. His average is pathetic though -- even though he has had a good last season. 48 matches for a sub 30 average for a full-time batsman?

I also don't know what he did to deserve captaincy. If Shivlal is truly a decent guy, he should step aside from all admin politics concerning team selection when his son is in the mix and not an obvious choice to be either in the team or be captain.

And let us not forget this from 2 years ago:

"Tension prevailed at the Rural Trust Development Stadium in Ananthapur during the course of the last day of the Elite Ranji Trophy match between Andhra and Hyderabad. Ambati Tirupati Rayudu, the dashing middle order batsman was attacked by a stump by rival Hyderabad Captain and son of former International Cricketer Shivlal Yadav’s son Arjun Yadav. According to a source at the ground, Rayudu’s wicket was followed with some sarcastic comments from some Hyderabad Cricketers and in particular skipper Arjun Yadav. Rayudu who felt insulted by those comments immediately told Arjun Yadav straight on his face that he (Arjun Yadav) was in the Hyderabad side only because of his father Shivlal Yadav's influence and had he not been Shivlal’s son then things would have been something else for Arjun. Arjun Yadav got heated up with these comments from Rayudu and the former took out a stump to attack Rayudu. Rayudu was ready with his bat to defend the attacker. Rayudu has always been the crowd's darling whether he was playing for Hyderabad or Andhra. The agitated Rayalseema crowd after witnessing the unruly actions in the middle started to hurl stones at the Hyderabad players and it was only after police intervention that the crowd was stopped from doing so! With a heavy police cover, players of both sides were taken off to the Railway Station safely.  Never mess up in the faction region of Ananthapur folks!"

Naxalite jokers.

[jaat69]

Great performance by Bose!
Hope he gets a fair chance for selection to the National team.

[caught and bowled]

Mumbai won by an inning and some runs...

[keep-it-cool]

Andhra - Delhi .. a tight draw .... Delhi gets 2 pts