India tour of England 2018

[SaiSrini]

The entire problem lies with the pathetic lust of playing the extra batsman and not promoting Dhoni. It's the main reason why we cannot play another all rounder. In my opinion, Chahal is doing a fabulous job but second to Kuldeep. The two wristies make our death bowling, bowling up top and fifth bowler bowl certain overs of the innings and make them predictable. This is magnified because of the unimaginative captaincy.

What we truly need to do is NOT play one of the three openers. KL Rahul is being wasted. A blind man will tell you the destruction he can cause up top. Rohit in my view, is the most adaptable now to bat in the middle. If he doesn't want that, I would make the bold call of having Dhawan in the squad but not in the XI. You have to nail the combination, not please individuals. I get what Gambhir is trying to do with Ashwin at 4. He's not choosing the right guy for the job, but his idea is bang on. I'll tell you how-

KL Rahul
R Sharma
V Kohli
MS Dhoni
K Pandya
H Pandya
D Karthik
B Kumar
K Yadav
U Yadav
J Bumrah

S Raina
Y Chahal
S Kaul
S Dhawan


The above would be my squad. I don't mind Raina/K Pandya swapping, but I think Krunal deserves a run. Dhoni and Hardik bat too low at the moment. I think the Pandya's sharing 5th bowler duties renders enough protection to the bowling unit and Kohli. Karthik is the absolute ideal guy at 6/7. The guy can bat anywhere and he can float for me. He can finish, bat with the tail, bat at 4. He's the key guy for me. I don't think him and Raina are even in competition for the spot. DK is too versatile for me to miss out on the XI.

If Krunal Pandya had to play the World Cup, he should have been given a consistent run by now and by the time the WC comes, he should have had atleast 30 odd games in his kitty. But he is not likely to have that and that according to me itself makes me a potential non-starter. Krunal might offer you better bowling than Raina, but his batting does not impress. I know Raina has the short ball problem but he has been encountering that most often and just mentally, he is more wired as a batsman than Krunal. And consider me conservative, but my opinion is that I am not inclined to experiment with a 'bits and pieces' cricketer over a specialist batsman in an ODI World Cup. In T20, you can get away with that. But ODI's and tests, you most likely cant. And the Pandya brothers sharing 5th bowlers duties doesn't give me ONE iota of confidence, in English conditions. If the WC was in India, I would say yes (but that in the case Raina or Jadhav are unfit, because if they are fit, they will take that spot in Indian conditions without blinking an eyelid).

I am tending to agree with you when you say "three openers is a luxury". And seeing Rohit's form, it is clear that either Rahul is dropped and Dhawan plays or Rahul plays and Dhawan is dropped. Rahul better get some big runs in the last ODI. If he doesn't, he can't play just for his 'potential to cause destruction'.

 

[Velocity]

Gautam Gambhir has made an outlandish suggestion to bring Ashwin back at No. 4 in place of Raina. I mean, is he (Gambhir) high or what? Why would you want to replace a specialist batsman with a bits and pieces cricketer, who is not fast scoring enough for limited overs level? Ashwin is a good test batsman who can score a hundred here and there. But to make him the No. 4 in ODI's is laughable.

To be honest, the emergence of Kuldeep and Chahal at the same time has unfortunately imbalanced our bowling attack (as in forcing us to pick both) and our lower order batting. We though Hardik Pandya's rise as an allrounder would provide the team with that much needed balance. But this leggie duo have more than canceled that benefit out. And Pandya's inconsistent bowling means that he is not really fit to be handling the third seamer duties. When Ashwin and Jadeja were the prime spinners in ODI's, their batting down the order (even if they were not consistent) gave us enough hope and more importantly, gave our middle order to confidence to take slightly more risks.

India have a lot of work to do before they enter the showpiece event next year

Gambhir has the right intentions but again Ashwin is not the man for the job. This is the same guy who promoted Sunil Narine to open for KKR in the IPL when people thought it was an odd decision.

I think it might be time to move past Dhoni. He provides experience on the field, but India are missing some firepower in the middle order. The main reason for that loss was there was no one to support Raina by scoring briskly when he himself was struggling. This mounted pressure on him and wickets tumbled. Karthik is missing out big time from the team. His brisk scoring and aggression is missing. Having him at 5 or 6 would greatly benefit the team and he could give a boost to the innings. If Raina doesn't fire, either Jadhav or Krunal replaces him. Dropping Dhawan now would be surreal. He's gotten excellent starts but hasn't been able to push on. He's got a few innings coming his way by the looks of it. KL Rahul can retain his place at 4. He needs a few innings to establish himself there.

My lineup

Dhawan
Rohit
Kohli
Rahul
Karthik
Raina/Jadhav/Krunal
Hardik
Bhuvi
Kuldeep
Umesh/Chahal/Axar
Bumrah

The #6 position is very important IMO. It would be nice if Jadhav were at 6, considering he is a specialist batsman and he can finish the innings along with Pandya. In the event of one of the pacers being injured, Axar can come on for them. He provides protection for the tail as an all-rounder. If Krunal comes in, Hardik is promoted to 6 and Krunal is placed at 7. Even if it's gutsy, it's high time to drop Dhoni and try someone else. There are many players who could bat there such as Karthik, Iyer, etc. They could make a meaningful impact as well.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Why on earth would anyone go back to Kedar Jadhav ffs? And I'd love to be a fly on the wall and see a yo-yo test with Jadhav involved.[DOUBLEPOST=1531765700][/DOUBLEPOST]@SaiSrini KP made his debut in the 2005 Ashes over the then best batsman of England i.e Thorpe. I feel too much emphasis is laid on all these silly things. He's proven he has the bottle for pressure cooker situations.

 

[aditya123]

What do Kohli and Shastri smoke while making these selections? Rahul out and Raina continues to play. Also Shardhul! All this is because, for some reason known only to the two great men in the team management think Dhoni and Raina are undroppable. Also, Rohit Sharma in conditions which assist any kind of movement is an epic fail. Even in a meaningless home game against a hapless SL bowling side at Dharamshala, he gets found out. So all the talk of him being an ODI great is utter crap.

Sadly, this side will do just enough for the two morons to defend themselves. However, with the selection policy being the way it is right now, we will not win the World Cup. A side like this will do alright in bilateral series where there isn't much at stake, and a few men can carry you to a win. Also, most sides are not full strength in bilateral ODIs. Come the big nights such as a WC semi-final or a CT final like last year, most of these guys do not have the game. Its harsh but true. I will stick by this no matter what the result is today. This side will have its wheels coming off at vital times because it lacks balance or x-factor of any kind. Apart from Kohli, there is a lack of sheer talent or all-conditions cricketer in this side. KL Rahul has the potential to be that but we have guys like MSD/Raina being billed higher.

 

[SaiSrini]

What do Kohli and Shastri smoke while making these selections? Rahul out and Raina continues to play. Also Shardhul! All this is because, for some reason known only to the two great men in the team management think Dhoni and Raina are undroppable. Also, Rohit Sharma in conditions which assist any kind of movement is an epic fail. Even in a meaningless home game against a hapless SL bowling side at Dharamshala, he gets found out. So all the talk of him being an ODI great is utter crap.

Sadly, this side will do just enough for the two morons to defend themselves. However, with the selection policy being the way it is right now, we will not win the World Cup. A side like this will do alright in bilateral series where there isn't much at stake, and a few men can carry you to a win. Also, most sides are not full strength in bilateral ODIs. Come the big nights such as a WC semi-final or a CT final like last year, most of these guys do not have the game. Its harsh but true. I will stick by this no matter what the result is today. This side will have its wheels coming off at vital times because it lacks balance or x-factor of any kind. Apart from Kohli, there is a lack of sheer talent or all-conditions cricketer in this side. KL Rahul has the potential to be that but we have guys like MSD/Raina being billed higher.

I am not inclined to agree with you on the "Dhoni and Raina" thing. Dhoni is still our wicketkeeper for the World Cup, and he needs to play if he is fit. As far as Raina is concerned, he did not do much wrong last game. He batted at a time when the top order had failed and he had to steady the ship with Kohli and he did that to a good extent. Sad he couldn't go on for bigger things, but his performance last game was definitely not drop worthy. And added to that, his left handed variety in the middle order and his useful overs of spin makes him a utility player that's good to have. He has not aged at all in terms of fielding (he has gotten fitter, in fact) and he needs a few proper failures in ODI's before the experiment on him is stopped.

However, I could not understand the selection AT ALL today. Rahul is dropped after just two failures, even though he had a great T20I series. Umesh Yadav dropped even though he looked good for most of the games. Yes he gave away runs but he always looked the best guy to pick wickets and force his way through the England batting lineup. Shardul showed in the IPL that he is not at all there in terms of containing runs. Only Bhuvi returning for Kaul was the ideal one.

India have gotten into a big mess here with this opening conundrum and its going to cost them the World Cup next year. Rahul can't bat anywhere else other than the Top 2 and same is the case with Rohit and Dhawan. India have to take a tough call and sack either one of Rohit/Dhawan from the XI and make Rahul a permanent opener (have the sacked guy as backup). We have 15 or so ODI's left to make this call.

 

[SaiSrini]

Was that the last ODI Raina played in his career? Disappointing that he gets out twice in two games to Rashid. I can support him but only up to a certain point.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I am amazed. KL Rahul dropped!

 

[aditya123]

Watching MSD bat has to be one of the most painful experiences in cricket right now. He looks ungainly against spin. A far cry from the young Dhoni who had very quick feet against spin.[DOUBLEPOST=1531836347][/DOUBLEPOST]

I am amazed. KL Rahul dropped!

This team management has no long term vision and will leave India in a tight spot if it carries on this way. The way they are handling their resources right now is appalling.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Getting to 20s and then throwing it away is unacceptable at this level. Once you get a start, you have to make it count. Poor stuff from Pandya and DK

And why the hell would you drop Rahul. Ridonkulous

Anyways, looks like we are set to lose this game by being a good 30-40 runs short

 

[Gaurav_7]

Wow I really find all the Dhoni criticism baffling. In the last ODI, the whole batting unit failed miserably. Today too barring Kohli, no one could make a substantial score. It is always the same old with MSD being made a scapegoat whenever India loses. Kohli personally is a batting great but his captaincy sucks big time. Rahul should never have been dropped and if DK was to play, Raina should have sat out. Period. Umesh dropped for Shardul is another stupid decision.

 

[Ahmad94]

Wow I really find all the Dhoni criticism baffling. In the last ODI, the whole batting unit failed miserably. Today too barring Kohli, no one could make a substantial score. It is always the same old with MSD being made a scapegoat whenever India loses. Kohli personally is a batting great but his captaincy sucks big time. Rahul should never have been dropped and if DK was to play, Raina should have sat out. Period. Umesh dropped for Shardul is another stupid decision.

The point isn't making Dhoni a scapegoat rather criticising his actions as an experienced player and controller of the middle to lower order. Every batting line-up is prone to a little collapse but in this generation of 300+ scores, the likes of Dhoni are expected to play innings so that India can achieve scores of 270-280 still. Instead, Dhoni has failed to strike over a 70/80 in recent times. Last ODI and today, he laboured along and put pressure on his partner. He struggled against spin and has defended a lot. Both games he wasted starts after consuming a lot of deliveries. He was around 40-50 SR for a lot of his innings which is just not acceptable for someone at this position or of his talent and calibre.

 

[abhi_jacko]

It is always the same old with MSD being made a scapegoat whenever India loses.

Huh ? What cricket and forum have you been following. Until last year, there was no such talk about Dhoni. It has only started since last year, when his batting really has taken a turn for the worse

I accept, that he came in trying times. But a GOOD middle order batsman would actually help the team push forward instead of going into a shell and playing out umpteen number of dots. A strike rate of 50-60 is fine if it was coming from a tailender (which is why Kuldeep and co. are not being criticized). MSD is supposed to do better than tailenders.[DOUBLEPOST=1531839498][/DOUBLEPOST]Shardul is slogging them well ... big over that. Gives us some respectability, but still we will be short by 30-40 runs I feel

 

[abhi_jacko]

I am amazed. KL Rahul dropped!

I thought, you of all people, wouldn't be amazed you anyways think Kohli is a shitty captain

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I thought, you of all people, wouldn't be amazed you anyways think Kohli is a shitty captain

This shitty?

 

[Skankhunt 42]

Absolutely disastrous team selection! And equally awful batting line-up. What was DK doing at no. 4? And why was Raina at no. 6? That should've been Dhoni, Raina and then DK. Dropping Rahul and Umesh, purely shows sheer absence of hindsight in management! Today India doesn't deserve a win. Even if they do, courtesy of the brilliance of spinners and harakiri by England; I'd say they just got lucky!