India Team Discussion

[asprin]

What would be interesting is to know is whether Rahane would still have made the squad without his stellar 2-4 IPL innings at CSK. I read that he did fairly well at Ranji, so I've to believe that that was the factor that put him back on the map and not the IPL.

 

[Bevab]

What would be interesting is to know is whether Rahane would still have made the squad without his stellar 2-4 IPL innings at CSK. I read that he did fairly well at Ranji, so I've to believe that that was the factor that put him back on the map and not the IPL.

He was Mumbai’s highest run scorer so there is merit in that argument. However it does leave a sour taste in your mouth if you’re Sarfaraz Khan as you have another monster season and see a thirty four year old who was previously discarded for being terrible over three years in tests get back into the lineup after one great season and some IPL hitting.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

What would be interesting is to know is whether Rahane would still have made the squad without his stellar 2-4 IPL innings at CSK. I read that he did fairly well at Ranji, so I've to believe that that was the factor that put him back on the map and not the IPL.

I guess with no Pant or Iyer they are going for experience in England. Might not be a long term recall.

Rahane will be in England anyway, I believe.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Rahane's scores in Ranji.
Vs Saurashtra: 24 & 16
Vs Maharashtra: 14 & 35
Vs Andhra: 44
vs Hyd: 204
vs Assam: 191
vs TN: 42 & 11
Vs DEL: 2 & 51


Well IPL definitely paved way for his selection considering his experience playing in England.

Also while considering the Ranji stats it is important to consider the quality of bowling and the ground they play in, both of his came against the bottom two teams where Mumbai sored 600 each time and won by an innings.

Rahane's 191 came against a considerably weak opposition Assam where a certain Prithvi Shaw scored 379 at an 100 SR pretty much sums up the opposition.

And his 200 came against Hyderabad again batting first a team which failed to win any matches in last season.

So yeah stats in domestic cricket can definitely be misleading and in rahane's case it his experience and recents exploits that paved for his selection in the Test squad.

 

[Ashutosh.]

He was Mumbai’s highest run scorer so there is merit in that argument. However it does leave a sour taste in your mouth if you’re Sarfaraz Khan as you have another monster season and see a thirty four year old who was previously discarded for being terrible over three years in tests get back into the lineup after one great season and some IPL hitting.

These Ranji performances came before BGT but Rahane was not selected for the BGT. So his IPL performances definitely played a major role in his comeback.

 

[Bevab]

These Ranji performances came before BGT but Rahane was not selected for the BGT. So his IPL performances definitely played a major role in his comeback.

I suspect they had Rahane back on a shortlist for WTC but had hoped that Shreyas would have become fit by then or that SKY would have worked in tests with Bharat. When none of that panned out and Rahane went bonkers in the IPL it may have just forced their hand.

Rahane's scores in Ranji.
Vs Saurashtra: 24 & 16
Vs Maharashtra: 14 & 35
Vs Andhra: 44
vs Hyd: 204
vs Assam: 191
vs TN: 42 & 11
Vs DEL: 2 & 51


Well IPL definitely paved way for his selection considering his experience playing in England.

Also while considering the Ranji stats it is important to consider the quality of bowling and the ground they play in, both of his came against the bottom two teams where Mumbai sored 600 each time and won by an innings.

Rahane's 191 came against a considerably weak opposition Assam where a certain Prithvi Shaw scored 379 at an 100 SR pretty much sums up the opposition.

And his 200 came against Hyderabad again batting first a team which failed to win any matches in last season.

So yeah stats in domestic cricket can definitely be misleading and in rahane's case it his experience and recents exploits that paved for his selection in the Test squad.
View attachment 278555

I used to delve deeper into such figures but figured out that plenty of players have such skewed records anyway. Rahane's Delhi knock for me deserves a bit of credit when the rest of the team collapsed (didn't change the outcome). Sarfaraz was the more impressive player for me in their campaign (I thought the century against TN and Delhi in particular were really high quality) but it seems he isn't getting picked unless he improves his fitness and India A record.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

I suspect they had Rahane back on a shortlist for WTC but had hoped that Shreyas would have become fit by then or that SKY would have worked in tests with Bharat. When none of that panned out and Rahane went bonkers in the IPL it may have just forced their hand.



I used to delve deeper into such figures but figured out that plenty of players have such skewed records anyway. Rahane's Delhi knock for me deserves a bit of credit when the rest of the team collapsed (didn't change the outcome). Sarfaraz was the more impressive player for me in their campaign (I thought the century against TN and Delhi in particular were really high quality) but it seems he isn't getting picked unless he improves his fitness and India A record.

India A is the keyword here.

All of the domestic players who got their chances lately were due to their performances hace been selected in the India main squad.

Agarwal, Vihari, Siraj etc. to name a few who not only had decent domestic season but also followed some good performances in the A tour .

Even Pant got chance in the squad because of the subsequent India A tour in England back in 2018.

Unfortunately due to COVID these A tours haven't happened much only one against South Africa.

 

[SaiSrini]

I wouldn't throw Sarfaraz Khan for his debut into a World Test Championship Final and that too in England and that too against possibly the world's best bowling attack in Australia. If they had to blood Sarfaraz, they should've done it in the BGT or in the preceding Bangladesh series.

Without Bumrah and Pant (who has developed a strong reputation in away tests), they had to go for experience. If Shreyas was fit, he would've been given the nod ahead of Rahane. It seems a happy coincidence that Rahane's revival in the IPL came at just the right time. His mental state of mind must have also played a role in the pick (his accomplishments in the past are never in question; he has been one of those guys who has done better overseas than at home).

 

[Till Valhalla]

Also while considering the Ranji stats it is important to consider the quality of bowling and the ground they play in, both of his came against the bottom two teams where Mumbai sored 600 each time and won by an innings

You think Hyderabad is weak huh?

 

[icyman]

Why do I get the feeling that it will be Ajinkya Rahane who will captain the team in the WTC Final? Have this nagging feel that Rohit is going to come up short on account of an injury that he'll pick right before the WTC game.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Why do I get the feeling that it will be Ajinkya Rahane who will captain the team in the WTC Final? Have this nagging feel that Rohit is going to come up short on account of an injury that he'll pick right before the WTC game.

Well if this happens we might just win the elusive ICC title after a decade.

 

[Till Valhalla]

Rahul Tewatia in India squad when?

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

And yet another blunder… Ishan Kishan in WTC final squad. Like wtf?????????? We love screwing around and dont we?

 

[Bevab]

And yet another blunder… Ishan Kishan in WTC final squad. Like wtf?????????? We love screwing around and dont we?

I don’t understand this take, who else would you have picked? Upendra Yadav is the only alternative, I’d have personally gone with him because he has more recent experience with the A team as a keeper but I don’t mind Kishan in the team given that he’s being taken as the backup keeper.

r/cricket was moaning about this too, it’s not like we have prime Farokh Engineer waiting to step in. Now the lack of a latter can be squarely blamed on our management and I’d happily join the chorus for it…

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

I don’t understand this take, who else would you have picked? Upendra Yadav is the only alternative, I’d have personally gone with him because he has more recent experience with the A team as a keeper but I don’t mind Kishan in the team given that he’s being taken as the backup keeper.

r/cricket was moaning about this too, it’s not like we have prime Farokh Engineer waiting to step in. Now the lack of a latter can be squarely blamed on our management and I’d happily join the chorus for it…

We have Bharat Sarkar, its only 1 game. We dont need a keeper.. we could have taken Sarfaraz Khan