Asia Cup 2014

[Aalay]

We're handicapped here by the non-selection of Suresh Raina, whose problems can't really be exploited on subcontinental tracks. Raina's an electric fielder and a useful third spinner whose overs I'm sure would have come handy. I don't deny that he has obvious problems that he's shown little ability to fix, but these conditions will nullify most of those. He's a very very handy energy guy to have in the team. I know he hasn't scored fifties in a while, but useful thirties, 10 runs saved in the field, and 3-4 decent overs isn't a bad combination.

Anyway, within the squad selected, this would be my starting XI:
1 Shikadawann 2 Rohit 3 Pujara 4 Kohli 5 Rahane 6 Dhoni 7 Jadeja 8 Ashwin 9 Bhuvneshwar 10 Shami 11 Pandey

If Rohit fails, replace him with Rayudu and move Rahane to open.
If Ashwin fails, replace him with Mishra.
If (when) one of the pace bowlers fails, replace him with Aaron. (Then go in a corner, curl up in a fetal position and weep silently)

I don't think Raina qualifies just based on his fielding and his bowling is not that special. Pujara deserve his chance now, he might not be as good a fielder as Raina but he is a much better batsman than Raina. I also would start with Aaron rather than Pandey. I know Aaron is a bit iffy in the fielding but I am sure he will improve if he gets consistent chances. Ashwin will get the best condition to get back in the form and if he does not perform on those Bangladesh surfaces than we have to bring Mishra back.

 

[used2bcool]

I don't think Raina qualifies just based on his fielding and his bowling is not that special. Pujara deserve his chance now, he might not be as good a fielder as Raina but he is a much better batsman than Raina. I also would start with Aaron rather than Pandey. I know Aaron is a bit iffy in the fielding but I am sure he will improve if he gets consistent chances. Ashwin will get the best condition to get back in the form and if he does not perform on those Bangladesh surfaces than we have to bring Mishra back.

Absolutely agree that Pujara is a better bet than Raina, but I wasn't comparing the two of them. I know they dropped Raina and added Pujara, but I don't think of them as a like-for-like swap. I would have expected Raina to be picked ahead of Stuart Binny, who should never be near an international cricket field. I think we could field a team that has both Raina and Pujara. I feel they have vastly different roles to play.

Agree that Raina's bowling isn't all that flash, but on Bangladesh tracks it doesn't need to be. It would fulfill that need of having extra spin overs in hand (above the 20 we will get from Jadeja and Ashwin) that you know always seems to arise on low-and-slow tracks. And Rohit Sharma doesn't count!

 

[Aalay]

India news : MS Dhoni out of Asia Cup with side strain | Cricket News | Asia Cup | ESPN Cricinfo

Boom! There goes the Asia Cup.

 

[greymatter776]

India news : MS Dhoni out of Asia Cup with side strain | Cricket News | Asia Cup | ESPN Cricinfo

Boom! There goes the Asia Cup.

whoa You just gave me a heart attack.Hope DK could perform well and ensure a slot in the lineup for the future.Virat has experienced captaincy before but not sure how he will manage the very below average seamers.However as the spinners could do the job in Bangladesh,hopes the bowling would not cause much headache.

 

[Ahmad94]

This tournament looks good. All the teams are of the same/similar standards, excluding Afghanistan of course.

Now with Dhoni out the equation for India, I feel they will be a better unit. More attacking captaincy from Kohli. Plus the tracks are mostly flat so India would be up there is one of the favorites.

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Boom! There goes the Asia Cup.

Please tell me you are kidding. Admitelly, you have lost a great finisher, but with the likes of Kohli,Dhawan,Rohit Sharma who are all flat track bullies, you have a strong unit for this Asia Cup. Not too sure about the bowling department though.

 

[Champagnepapi]

I really hope Dinesh Karthik does an impossible and out shine MS Dhoni and Kohli does amazingly well with the captaincy. I have nothing against Dhoni, but I think he is lacking discipline and others should get their turn now.

 

[Addy]

Big blow but India should cope with that, as tournament is in Asia so FTBs will come into play

 

[Aravind.]

At least india is winning in flat track pitches.

 

[Champagnepapi]

At least india is winning in flat track pitches.

I read something else there.

 

[SaiSrini]

This tournament looks good. All the teams are of the same/similar standards, excluding Afghanistan of course.

Now with Dhoni out the equation for India, I feel they will be a better unit. More attacking captaincy from Kohli. Plus the tracks are mostly flat so India would be up there is one of the favorites.

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Please tell me you are kidding. Admitelly, you have lost a great finisher, but with the likes of Kohli,Dhawan,Rohit Sharma who are all flat track bullies, you have a strong unit for this Asia Cup. Not too sure about the bowling department though.

India will miss Dhoni the batsman/keeper a lot more than Dhoni the captain. I am not too sure Karthik's keeping can effectively replace Dhoni's stability behind the stumps. There used to be a time when we used to discuss about the effectiveness of our keepers behind the stumps. Ever since Dhoni took over, that talk has been non-existent. He has not been spectacular behind the stumps, but incredibly stable and solid.

But a positive thing is, we have an aggressive captain (which will be good). But if we get into a high pressure chase, we will feel the pinch quite heavily.

 

[used2bcool]

Missing Dhoni the batsman is critical. Karthik is probably adequate behind the stumps but he is nowhere near the standard of Dhoni when it comes to ODI batting, especially given that Dhoni has been in reasonable batting form.

It'll be a good test of Kohli's leadership skills. He seems like an aggressive guy in general, but do we know for sure what kind of captain he is? Maybe RCB followers can chime in.

 

[grkrama]

 

[used2bcool]

^ Pretty cool.

Doesn't answer my question though. What kind of a captain is he? How does he set his fields? How does he use his bowlers? If he's given selection input, what do you think he'll do? What kind of team balance does he like?

 

[grkrama]

^Well going by facts Captaincy is not new to him, he has lead the U19 to WC victory in malaysia, also did well with RCb and WI tour when dhoni was injured, He is Tactically good with bowling changes and everything,also he leads from front when as captain his figures improve as Captain in the limited sample, he may not be cool as MS by demeanor but quite capable in pressure situations, dont know about his selection stuff cause last time even though he lead the team Dhoni was around in the camp and selection would probably have been his, also cant read much into IPL selection.

 

[Aravind.]

Lol the image itself is a fake one because the Kohli image is from csk vs rcb ipl 2013 match & Dhoni image is from Clt20 2010 which was held in south africa.