India's first XI

mehro

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i wanted to discuss with those interested as to what they think is the best XI for india in ODIs, esp. with the world cup not too far. here's what i think we should be playing:

Sachin
Sehwag
Dravid
Yuvraj
---
---
Dhoni
Pathan
harbhajan
Agarkar
M. Patel


i really can't decide on the 2 remaining spots. from the current crop of kaif, raina, powar, mongia i don't think any of them are fit enough to play in that eleven. I'd much rather see ganguly and laxman come back into the team.
 
To be honest i think it has more to do with cohesiveness, morale and basic things. The batsman will eventually come good but we need a bowling coach. Theres a lot of pace talent in this country and it isnt being handled properly. Munaf, the 'fastest bowler in India' is now slower than Mcgrath. I remember his first test against England where he was clocking 140 plus comfortably. Pathan is the most serious and important case.

As for generally not taking into consideration this blip:

ODIs:
Sachin
Sehwag*
Dravid
Ganguly/Kaif/Laxman*
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Pathan
Harbhajan*
Kumble
Munaf
Zaheer

*These positions should be up for grabs. On current form most should but these in particular for me. There are some big young hitters in the domestic circuit and Viru needs to start perfoming in Odis finally. The final slot in the batting order is again one to fight for. I would go with Ganguly right now, but Kaif has done well there in the past, he simply isnt a no.3 and Laxman is a top quality player. There are other who could stake a claim. Pathan regaining his form of last year is the most important thing for me, it allows us to go in with 3 pacers and 2 spinners without really weakening the batting.

Tests:
Sehwag
Jaffer*
Dravid
Tendulkar
Laxman
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Pathan
Kumble
harbhajan
Munaf
Zaheer

*Personally not sure if Jaffer is good enough in all conditions and secondly there seems to be a visible lack of opening batsman as compared to middle order bastman. I want to include Ganguly but everyone else is too comfortable in the middle order.
 
i really don't see the need for playing 5 bowlers in the ODIs. sachin, yuvraj, sehwag can easily pitch in 10 overs together. also, i think we should stop looking towards pathan for runs and play him as a bowler alone. any good batting from him is just a bonus. for one dayers i think 6 batsman 4 bowlers and dhoni would be the ideal mix. the problem lies in finding the right 6 batsman. i'm not sure if zaheer coming back into the squad is a good thing. i don't like his laidback attitude one bit.

as for ganguly, while i'd like to see how he does in one day team, i can't really see him coming back to the test squad.
 
Sachin
Sehwag
Dravid
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Raina
Dhoni
Pathan
harbhajan
Sreesanth
M. Patel
 
mehro said:
i really don't see the need for playing 5 bowlers in the ODIs. sachin, yuvraj, sehwag can easily pitch in 10 overs together. also, i think we should stop looking towards pathan for runs and play him as a bowler alone. any good batting from him is just a bonus. for one dayers i think 6 batsman 4 bowlers and dhoni would be the ideal mix. the problem lies in finding the right 6 batsman. i'm not sure if zaheer coming back into the squad is a good thing. i don't like his laidback attitude one bit.

as for ganguly, while i'd like to see how he does in one day team, i can't really see him coming back to the test squad.
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This has been Indian crickets biggest weakness in one dayers durin this last decade - the fifth bowler. Tendulkar, Sehwag and even Yuvraj are a handful when you have spinner friendly conditions but if not we usually end up getting a hammering in that phase of the game. We've had quality upfront with Srinath, Kumble etc but after that there isnt much whereas SA have Kallis and earlier Klusner. Australia have Shane Watson amongst others. Pakistan have Razzaq, Afridi and Malik. We bring on Sehwag and Yuvi.

Hence the perennial need for an all rounder. Yes, Pathan needs to go back to the basics and concentrate first and foremost of becoming the fantastic wicket taker he was. But in the long run whether its him or someone else we need a fifth bowler, who would have to know how to bat, to come in and keep the pressure on. We do have options.. Pathan of course, Pawar IMO should never have been dropped.
 
Kumble was the pick of the bowlers. They really should have gone with two spinners today. Pathan was pretty decent. Here are the figures:

Z Khan 8 1 38 1 4.75
S Sreesanth 7 1 29 1 4.14
AB Agarkar 5 0 33 0 6.60
IK Pathan 7 0 28 0 4.00
A Kumble 10 0 42 2 4.20
V Sehwag 5 0 22 1 4.40
SR Tendulkar 8 0 46 1 5.75

Don't ask..
 
here's the test squad:Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman (vice-capt), Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, VRV Singh, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh.

i'd start with:
sehwag
gambhir
laxman
sachin
dravid
ganguly (only because since he's been picked might as well give him a chance)
dhoni
pathan
Kumble
munaf
VRV
 
Mehro, how can you leave Zaheer out after the way hes been bowling in the ODIs? Hes been absolutely brilliant with the new ball. Seems to be discovering his best form. I'm not sure about Gambhir, hes always struggled with the ball coming back in.

But it is a very good test team on paper. The look of Ganguly, Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and Sehwag gives one some confidence.

Sehwag
Jaffer/ Gambhir
Dravid
Tendulkar
Laxman
Ganguly
Dhoni
Pathan
Kumble
Munaf
Zaheer

Would go with 6 specialist batsman for the first test only because of how much we've been struggling with the bat. If we do well there then maybe back with the five bowlers.
 
The Indian team, on paper, looks good. However, the team itself just doesn't seem to be bothered... During the previous World Cup, Srinath, Nehra and Zaheer were in cracking form. However, Zaheer never recovered from the finals... I haven't been following cricket in the recent past, but apparently, his form has taken an upturn now. About time, too.

From what I remember (of the recent past), the bowling attack should be:
Irfan
Zaheer
Munaf
Harbhajan
Nehra/Balaji (they should get a call-up)
Kumble

The batting, on the other hand, lacks reliability. With Sachin, Dravid and Sehwag in the team, one would think the batting's sorted. However, Sehwag's unreliable, and will throw away his wicket at the most crucial point, and shrug it off. Sachin's play has been like a rollercoaster, ever since his return from injury. It was great for a good period of time, but now there seems to be a blip. Anyway, the batting will eventually end up looking like:

Sachin
Sehwag
Yuvraj
Dravid
Kaif
Ganguly
Raina
Dhoni (WK)

Laxman should not be a part of the ODI team.

Also, in my opinion, the problem lies with the management. It seems like Dravid fails to inspire and motivate like Ganguly once used to do. Hence, when the team is low on confidence, it's the likes of Ganguly that should be captain, for they can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Case in point: Natwest Finals 2000.

Oh, and the team should be: 6 batsmen + 1 wk (incidentally, one all-rounder) + 4 bowlers. Between, Sehwag, Sachin, Yuvraj & Sourav, I'm sure the team can manage the additional 10 overs. Due to the unreliability of the batting, it's better to have an extra batsman.
 
The general feeling in the media is that Chappells contract will not be renewed. So expect another whole media ruckas on the hunt for a new manager after the world cup.
 
Tendulkar has become an achilles heel of late and now he is a broken tooth living purely on reputation - with some of the tooth remains in the socket while the remainder is broken off…Its needs amputation.

Those gutless gonads that pose as selectors should’ve dropped him earlier but now with the World cup around the corner the jokers have created a needless dilemma of whether to carry or drop the little goblin.

If his experience can help the team he can very well travel with the team as a cheer leader and entertain their wives and kids of our lads with his “ONCE UPON A TIME” fables and exploits.
 
vijay said:
Tendulkar has become an achilles heel of late and now he is a broken tooth living purely on reputation - with some of the tooth remains in the socket while the remainder is broken off…Its needs amputation.

Those gutless gonads that pose as selectors should’ve dropped him earlier but now with the World cup around the corner the jokers have created a needless dilemma of whether to carry or drop the little goblin.

If his experience can help the team he can very well travel with the team as a cheer leader and entertain their wives and kids of our lads with his “ONCE UPON A TIME” fables and exploits.
Click to expand...

:lol: oh vijay pls leave this thread.
 
vijay said:
Tendulkar has become an achilles heel of late and now he is a broken tooth living purely on reputation - with some of the tooth remains in the socket while the remainder is broken off…Its needs amputation.
Those gutless gonads that pose as selectors should’ve dropped him earlier but now with the World cup around the corner the jokers have created a needless dilemma of whether to carry or drop the little goblin.

If his experience can help the team he can very well travel with the team as a cheer leader and entertain their wives and kids of our lads with his “ONCE UPON A TIME” fables and exploits.
Click to expand...

Fans have the shortest memories. He was playing great cricket just over 2 months back, and now he's the Achilles heel?

Sehwag or some of our bowlers could be considered the same, y'know...
 
Sehwag
Jaffer
Dravid
Tendulkar
Laxman
Dhoni
Pathan
Kumble
Bhaji
Munaf
Zaheer (only on this tour)

South Africans, with the exception of Kallis are pretty weak against spinners.
 
vijay said:
Tendulkar has become an achilles heel of late and now he is a broken tooth living purely on reputation - with some of the tooth remains in the socket while the remainder is broken off…Its needs amputation.
Click to expand...
:lol:
Vijays attempt at being intellectual.
 
I would go with:

Sehwag
Dravid
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Laxman
Yuvraj/Raina right now
Dhoni
Pathan
Kumble
Harbajhan
Patel
 
vijay said:
Tendulkar has become an achilles heel of late and now he is a broken tooth living purely on reputation - with some of the tooth remains in the socket while the remainder is broken off…Its needs amputation.

Those gutless gonads that pose as selectors should’ve dropped him earlier but now with the World cup around the corner the jokers have created a needless dilemma of whether to carry or drop the little goblin.

If his experience can help the team he can very well travel with the team as a cheer leader and entertain their wives and kids of our lads with his “ONCE UPON A TIME” fables and exploits.
Click to expand...

Are you high???? or just intellectually challenged?
 
Desert Eagle said:
I would go with:

Sehwag
Dravid
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Laxman
Yuvraj/Raina right now
Dhoni
Pathan
Kumble
Harbajhan
Patel
Click to expand...

i assume it's the one-day team you're talking about.
i'd like to see that team happen too but can't really see laxman getting a call to the odi squad. i really wish they'd tried ganguly in the one-dayers and not the tests.
 
mehro said:
i assume it's the one-day team you're talking about.
i'd like to see that team happen too but can't really see laxman getting a call to the odi squad. i really wish they'd tried ganguly in the one-dayers and not the tests.
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Yeah I'm talking about the One day team. Kaif is jsut not cut out to be in the team. He's been poor for almost two years now. RainaI think could do really well.
 
mehro said:
DE, you watcing the match? the bloody toss is fixed man, how the feck does smith win it every time?
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With Mongia and Karthik in the team I have no hope. Might tune in to see India bat.
 
Mongia has done pretty well in 20/20 here in the UK for Lancashire - he's quite useful in this form of cricket.
 
Sultan said:
Mongia has done pretty well in 20/20 here in the UK for Lancashire - he's quite useful in this form of cricket.
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Is this supposed to make us more miserable? Cuz its working
 
Zaheer seems to have got his previous zip back, or does SA pitches suit his style?

Smith gone, again Zaheer.
 
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