Who should be India's number three batsman ?

[Atharv]

says a lot about laxmans future in the team that no one here considers him a short term option.

I might still be be tempted to use him at 3, if he's not going to retire then he should be pulling his weight.

Laxman is having a bit trouble batting at number six, at three it might be too tough for him at this stage in career. But he can always take it up as a challenge and match Dravid's performance. After all he does not have much to lose . If he fails he might exit from the team in 6 months instead of 16 months .

IMO Laxman would have been a better number three than Dravid . India might have won a lot more matches. The guy has been always a bit unlucky .

 

[cricket_icon]

I like the look for Rehane as opener and would prefer it if he stayed there. Kohli is explosive in ODI cricket and had a very good 2011. He has translated some of that form into his Test batting but he lacks the steely determination (thus far) that would make him into a good no. 3. I don't know too much about the Indian domestic scene but Kohli seems more of a fit at 4, having said that I voted for him simply because I did not think the other batsmen were right for the position. Sehwag at 3 is a massive no no.

 

[AbhishekS]

Sehwag at 3 is a massive no no.

Even though I'm a Sehwag fan I agree with this. Sehwag should open or bat at number 4, 5 or 6.
He can never change his style of play, and if the first wicket falls early, you would not want to Sehwag coming out to bat.

Cheteshwar Pujara at 3 is perfect. I hope the selectors do not ignore him.

 

[Fenil]

VVS Laxman I say. He has plenty of experience of batting at that position in domestic cricket. He has batted a few times at that position in International cricket and has performed very well. So, till he reties, VVS should be the man and then someone from Virat or Pujara could take over.

 

[SaiSrini]

Yes . Raina is the best batsman to have ever played for India and he should be India's new number three - This is what MSD might think . So yes Raina might be the surprise choice if Dhoni has his way.

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Bist . That is a very remote possibility.

Oh, stop making Dhoni as the villain of the entire piece. How do you know that Dhoni is the only guy making the team XI selections at the end of the day? If Dhoni had his way, Raina and Jadeja would have been selected for the tests against Australia. Why weren't they selected? Dont dump every bad thing on Dhoni. Dhoni is undergoing the same path undergone by Ganguly. When Dhoni finishes up and the next captain comes in, Dhoni will again become the good guy who was the most successful Indian captain, blah blah blah....

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says a lot about laxmans future in the team that no one here considers him a short term option.

I might still be be tempted to use him at 3, if he's not going to retire then he should be pulling his weight.

Thats not a bad move if Laxman decides to continue playing. But the case with Laxman is that, even if he decides to continue, will the selectors be generous enough to let him continue? He is in the worst spot of all three seniors when it comes to their place in the side. Even when he was at his peak, he always had the axe sitting close to his head waiting for its opportunity to chop his head off. Now with him failing like this, I am expecting that axe to cut his head off pretty soon.

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VVS Laxman I say. He has plenty of experience of batting at that position in domestic cricket. He has batted a few times at that position in International cricket and has performed very well. So, till he reties, VVS should be the man and then someone from Virat or Pujara could take over.

One more thing. His epic knock of 281 came when he was promoted to No.3.

I dont understand why people are talking so much about Virat being the next Dravid. Virat is more of Sachin Tendulkar than Dravid. Virat is a very very flashy guy who at quite a few times like to show off his big batting talent by playing extravagant shots. He is a bit like our version of Micheal Clarke.

 

[Atharv]

VVS Laxman I say. He has plenty of experience of batting at that position in domestic cricket. He has batted a few times at that position in International cricket and has performed very well. So, till he reties, VVS should be the man and then someone from Virat or Pujara could take over.

He might succeed on the subcontinent and on spinning pitches. In fact he might be a huge success. But will he be upto the task in november 2013 when India tour SA . He has a dodgy knee . I think it will be a very good idea to put Laxman at three . It has been position he has long desired and rightly roo. But will the skipper agree ?

 

[SaiSrini]

He might succeed on the subcontinent and on spinning pitches. In fact he might be a huge success. But will he be upto the task in november 2013 when India tour SA . He has a dodgy knee . I think it will be a very good idea to put Laxman at three . It has been position he has long desired and rightly roo. But will the skipper agree ?

You do have something against Dhoni which is non-cricket related, dont you? I mean for everything, you jump right back to Dhoni?

 

[Atharv]

Oh, stop making Dhoni as the villain of the entire piece. How do you know that Dhoni is the only guy making the team XI selections at the end of the day? If Dhoni had his way, Raina and Jadeja would have been selected for the tests against Australia. Why weren't they selected? Dont dump every bad thing on Dhoni.

And who would have they superceded in test ?

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You do have something against Dhoni which is non-cricket related, dont you? I mean for everything, you jump right back to Dhoni?

How could I have anything against him not related to cricket . There is nothing common between him and me except that both of us play cricket.

 

[SaiSrini]

And who would have they superceded in test ?

Well according to your 'Dhoni is the reason why we are bad' theory, they would have superceded anyone, even Tendulkar.

 

[Atharv]

Well according to your 'Dhoni is the reason why we are bad' theory, they would have superceded anyone, even Tendulkar.

That is being too simplistic . They do not have ability to replace anyone in the team , yet they are in the team, that is proof enough of Dhoni's bias. Ashwin had to sit out for a long time even though Harbhajan had not being performing for a long time.

 

[hawkeye]

There is no player to me like VVS. But I think his time has come. He looked nothing like his true self in Australia. He will probably still catch but he is a liability in the field. It is time, I feel, for India to look to the likes of Kohli and Rohit and Pujara. Laxman has had a great career. It is now time for him to go.

 

[War]

As far as Badri goes, he is a done and dusted deal. He didnt pick his opportunities when it was given to him. India would want to look for a long term No.3 and Badri most likely wont feature in those plans.

Based on what i remember he didn't much of chance.

Just got two test vs SA in 2010, I recall him scoring a classy 50 in the first test, then got out some really good balls against Steyn.

Then in India's next tour to Sri Lanka, he was dropped for the tried and tested test failure of Yuvraj Singh.

 

[Champagnepapi]

i think kholi should be given chance in test a bit more on no.3

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

I'd want kohli to earn it a bit more really, in tests this was his first decent series, I think it sends out a better message if you say "ok, you did well, keep doing well and then you get a promotion." rather "ok, a hundred! you get the no.3 spot that's just been vacated by one of our best ever players."

 

[SaiSrini]

Based on what i remember he didn't much of chance.

Just got two test vs SA in 2010, I recall him scoring a classy 50 in the first test, then got out some really good balls against Steyn.

Then in India's next tour to Sri Lanka, he was dropped for the tried and tested test failure of Yuvraj Singh.

He got his chance in the West Indies ODI's and he failed. ODI cricket is used for test spots and he didnt grab it. In Indian cricket, one 50 is not enough, and more so when you have a player with the style of play like Badrinath. Badrinath is a far more slower version than Dravid and with that pace, he needs big scores to prove to the selectors.