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Guys, Calm Down. It's Not That Our Batsmen Are Hopeless, It's Just That We Are Woefully Under-Prepared


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I know emotions are running high and ICFers are currently in a trigger happy mood to declare every batsmen (except Kohli) as useless and not good enough for these conditions.

 

I understand the frustration. It's after a LONG time that we stand a good chance to win a series in the SENA countries but much to our dismay, our team is trying its level best to botch it up (and they have already succeeded in SA).

 

Just because we collapsed doesn't necessarily mean we have a hopeless batting unit. It's just that we haven't prepared well enough to tackle swing.

 

When I talk about preparation, I don't mean playing just practice games. It goes much beyond that.

 

Preparation includes:

 

  • Team management preparing a strategy and giving a clear cut role for each member of the team, for each situation.

 

  • Making a list of possible mistakes batsmen could make on these conditions (poking, feet not moving, trigger movement, shot selection, etc) and creating an action plan to ensure these mistakes are rectified (to an extent) before the first game starts.

 

  • Ample practice to ensure all the technical aspects are getting taken care of. This is where team management closely the performance of each batsman and creates a progress report.

 

  • Playing actual warm up games and taking it super seriously. In the nets, if you play a wrong shot, what is the cost of it? Nothing. You will still get to face the next ball. In a warm up game, if you play a wrong shot, you have to walk back and wait for your turn in the next innings. And if the warm game is taken seriously by the team management and there is a culture of celebrating good warm up performances, batsmen would be falling over each other to prove themselves. 

 

Let's get down to analyze each batsman separately:

 

Dhawan

 

He is amazing on flat tracks. No doubt about it. But on tracks with a little bit of life and with quality bowlers on, there is ABSOLUTELY no guarantee he will score. Even if he had scored runs in the 2nd innings, you know failure is just round the corner. He is simply not the answer for opening slot. Not good enough, in my opinion.

 

Vijay

 

There was a time when he was the most complete batsman in the team. Swing, seam, bounce, spin...he could play it all. Had immense concentration which helped us blunt the new ball. But off late, he hasn't been the same. His concentration wavers but even that isn't the biggest issue. The problem is he has let a LOT of bad habits creep into his game. He pokes and feels for the ball when he shouldn't be doing. 

 

Now honestly speaking, he CANNOT rectify all his flaws in a tour. But if he had a ample practice before playing his first test, he could have learnt to curb his urges which would have helped us get some decent returns. He may be old but he still is skilled enough to score in these conditions.

 

Needs to practice. Can deliver if done right.

 

Rahul

 

This is a guy who scored BIG hundreds in domestics in COMPLETE green tops. All of a sudden, he could not have forgotten how to bat.

 

Right now, he seems to have a bunch of issues. Angled bat, poking, shot selection, etc. Partly this is due to pressure created by the team management. However, the main problem is that this guy has simply not prepared and let bad habits creep into his game.

 

It's unlikely he is going to sort it out in this series but he needs to go back and work on his flaws after this test. A good month of practice with the team could have helped his cause immensely, but right now, he has to make do with what little time he has. And I believe he can.

 

But it all starts with an honest assessment of himself: he sucks right now and needs to make changes.

 

Kohli

 

Absolute monster. Incredible batsman.

 

I feel that he is like the leader of a small group in his class who doesn't give a **** about exams or completing projects, but come the exam time, he will study hard and score well while all of his groupies will end up flunking it.

 

This bozo has to realize that lack of practice games may work for him but not for the team. 

 

As a batsman, no complaints. Has to exert a bit more control over outside off stump line cos another day, he might not have survived. Just needs some practice to get rid of that habit. Overall as a bat, faultless.

 

Rahane

 

Can't play spin but can play swing, seam, bounce and even spin in overseas conditions.

 

I know people are calling for his ouster but just remember, he was the guy who played a crucial knock in 2nd innings to setup a win in SA a few months back.

 

He couldn't have forgotten it all by now. Needs to just go back to the drawing board and figure out a plan. Must be given assurance that he will get to play ALL 10 innings this series. Let's not kid ourselves....we don't have a replacement better than Rahane.

 

He just needs to sort out whatever issue he has..mentally and technically. He is a true fighter and he can play match winning knocks.

 

Pujara

 

One of my favourite bats but has been woefully out of form and lacks the skills to score in these conditions. It's fair to sit him out of the playing XI but team management could take a look at how he is playing in the nets.

 

If he isn't showing any improvement, don't pick him. If there's any promise and there are any slots (say opening), it's NOT a bad idea to try Pujara and ask him to stonewall the crap out of bowlers.

 

DK

 

Immensely talented batsman. Could have been one of the mainstay of our lineup. But he has a small problem: he's a fuging mental midget. Still has the skills to play swing and has proven credentials in these conditions. With practice, he can deliver in England. Atleast, he has the skills to do so.

 

Pant

 

Some call him a hack. But this guy has proven himself in first class, in IPL (against international bowlers), in A tours...and he deserves chances. He is the dynamic player we need down the order who can make use of the older ball and pile on runs fast. It's a no-brainer to select him.

 

Hopefully he doesn't have any of the bad habits that afflict other batsmen. Team management has to make sure he eliminates the risky shots that could get him into trouble in these conditions. If he stays when the ball goes soft and doesn't swing, he is the kind who can turn around the game in a session.

 

A must have player in my opinion.

 

Pandya

 

Man, he is a complicated fellow. Can he play swing and seam? Yes, he can. Can he make it count when he survives? Yes, he can. Will he do it? I just don't think so.

 

If you go by his domestic records, he averages 30. He doesn't have the credentials of performing consistently and I think depending on him to deliver as a PROPER batsman is just risky.

 

He can play a great knock out of nowhere but can he be consistent, bail out team during tricky situations which is expected of a batsman who can bowl a bit? Questions remain.

 

Maybe he can be played for balance of a team but I firmly believe in 2 spinner theory for most pitches. So not my choice.

 

Nair

 

Based on what I have seen from his domestic exploits (scorecard reading)....he is the kind who will flop but can turn it around on any pitch against good quality bowlers and play a match winning knock.

 

As a batsman, I don't find him amazing nor do I think he belongs to this level, but I could be wrong. Can be tried out if other options don't click.

 

Ashwin

 

Absolute moron. I am sorry but it must be said.

 

When you don't have skills, there is no point blaming you. But when you have skills but you don't put in efforts for your team, you must be blamed. Today, he was playing at every delivery even though he was nowhere close to it. He was beaten 3-4 times and still he did it.

 

This guy has so much time to play. All he needs to do is simply cut out playing the outside off stump line balls and he can easily knock up 30-40 runs per innings and help his team. His approach in the first innings was good but he was back to his usual self in the second innings.

 

Needs to get down to the basics. For God's sake, control your urges and help the team out.

 

----

 

Conclusion: I am amazed how a professional unit can have players making such basic mistakes, over and over again. Shows lack of practice and in some cases, awareness. The team management has to get down to work. Focus on the basics. Review the progress of our bats and choose based on that.

 

This batting unit has ability. It has grit.

 

With practice, it can improve its output significantly.

 

Even now, it's not too late. But an honest introspection is needed.

 

Can we do it...is the million dollar question.

 

 

Edited by sensible-indian
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We shud calm down coz it was bound to happen 

 

1. didnt we knew rahane is inconsistent

2. didnt we knew dhawan is garbage overseas

3. vijay has been showing signs of going down, ok many of us had hopes with him but again he also was never consistent

4. Neither Rahul has been consistent

 

Also its the 1st, even our greats have struggled in 1st test most times + england batsman are themselves struggling

 

Now many of us are wanting pujara- kill ur hopes right now .....

Nair - he is also very loose at times .........so expect shockers from him to 

 

M not shocked at all , but what worrying me is not the slight bit of application which is shown by kohli in both innings n somewhat pandya in 1st innings n karthik in 2nd 

 

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The problem is basics even if you hear Sunil Gavaskar on commentary he always says stand outside the crease to negate swing but these bozos don’t do that. On top that they giggle when they drop catches. Batting is one thing they can’t field or bowl and get tailender out quickly. We are let down in all areas in cricket.

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25 minutes ago, sensible-indian said:

 

Kohli

 

Absolute monster. Incredible batsman.

 

I feel that he is like the leader of a small group in his class who doesn't give a **** about exams or completing projects, but come the exam time, he will study hard and score well while all of his groupies will end up flunking it.

 

This bozo has to realize that lack of practice games may work for him but not for the team. 

 

As a batsman, no complaints. Has to exert a bit more control over outside off stump line cos another day, he might not have survived. Just needs some practice to get rid of that habit. Overall as a bat, faultless.

 

 

 

Kohli already has full control over his offstump, in these conditions some play-misses and edges are bound to happen, they are unavoidable, but kohli has made a major change in his technique, he doesn't fish with hard hands anymore, instead he plays with soft hands, those dropped catches weren't luck, it was due to kohli's soft hands when made the catches come at awkward heights, none of the kohli's edge came to slips at waist high, that's why he survived, it wasn't luck

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Stop blaming preparation, coach and captain. Start blaming players for a change, they are not just good enough, if this was first time it happened we can understand.

 

What did they do in SA, openers are garbage but what happened to the so called victim of (Kohli and Shastri)  and possessor of greatest technique according to many Icfers.

 

Dhawan I can understand has no hope but what happened to rest of them.

 

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1 minute ago, kira said:

Kohli already has full control over his offstump, in these conditions some play-misses and edges are bound to happen, they are unavoidable, but kohli has made a major change in his technique, he doesn't fish with hard hands anymore, instead he plays with soft hands, those dropped catches weren't luck, it was due to kohli's soft hands when made the catches come at awkward heights, none of the kohli's edge came to slips at waist high, that's why he survived, it wasn't luck

Yes, plays and misses are bound to happen. 

 

I wasn't talking about catches falling short...those were due to him playing with soft hands. 

 

The two shots he played... Simple malan drop and another one which was flying away from the slip werent necessary. He didnt hav to play them. 

 

An amazing knock can come to an end with one small mistake.

 

Kohli's offside game doesn't hav a weakness but playing loi cricket constantly can result in shots you would not attempt otherwise. 

 

Maybe i should hav worded that part differently. 

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3 minutes ago, putrevus said:

They are not under preparred , they are just not good enough and consistent enough on these wickets.The team selection is not wrong either. These are best players who are out there.

 

If people expect Prthivi Shaws and Gills of the world to come in and make runs they have no clue about cricket.

From the 2 posts you made in this thread, we can conclude that you are saying:

 

India currently doesn't possess any batsmen to play in these conditions and no amount of preparation matters?

Edited by sensible-indian
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1 minute ago, sensible-indian said:

From the 2 posts you made in this thread, we can conclude that you are saying:

 

India currently doesn't possess any batsmen to play in these conditions and no amount of preparation matters?

What do you think we have any batsmen other than one who can consistently score on these wickets?? IMHO answer is no.

Unlike previous generation where we had couple of batsmen for every SENA country still they had lot of no shows too.

There is a reason why Indian test record in SENA countries is poor and it is not just due to lack of fast bowlers.I am okay with losing as long as they fight and improve.

 

Guys like Rahul and Rahane have lot to do to be counted as even good batsmen.

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5 minutes ago, putrevus said:

What do you think we have any batsmen other than one who can consistently score on these wickets?? IMHO answer is no.

Unlike previous generation where we had couple of batsmen for every SENA country still they had lot of no shows too.

There is a reason why Indian test record in SENA countries is poor and it is not just due to lack of fast bowlers.I am okay with losing as long as they fight and improve.

 

Guys like Rahul and Rahane have lot to do to be counted as even good batsmen.

So your answer is yes. 

 

Cool.

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55 minutes ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

We shud calm down coz it was bound to happen 

 

1. didnt we knew rahane is inconsistent

2. didnt we knew dhawan is garbage overseas

3. vijay has been showing signs of going down, ok many of us had hopes with him but again he also was never consistent

4. Neither Rahul has been consistent

 

Also its the 1st, even our greats have struggled in 1st test most times + england batsman are themselves struggling

 

Now many of us are wanting pujara- kill ur hopes right now .....

Nair - he is also very loose at times .........so expect shockers from him to 

 

M not shocked at all , but what worrying me is not the slight bit of application which is shown by kohli in both innings n somewhat pandya in 1st innings n karthik in 2nd 

 

Im saying the same.....

 

They may not be world beaters but the application is awful. 

 

They need to put in more efforts. 

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