I am scared about the Indian batting going into the World Cup: Sourav Ganguly

[SecondSlip]

Former India captain and IndiaTV cricket expert Sourav Ganguly was today shocked to see the omission of star batsman KL Rahul from the Indian playing XI in the group-stage clash against arch-rivals Pakistan. Dada believes that if India are looking to build a World Cup winning team then Rahul deserves a place in the team ahead of Dinesh Karthik.

While speaking on IndiaTV's show 'Cricket Ki Baat' on the day of the Indo-Pak clash, Ganguly was miffed that a player of Rahul's calibre was being made to sit out games when he should be playing as much cricket as he can as he is so young and talented at the moment

“I respect all the players in the current team as I myself have played the game for a long time but I still feel that India should have gone for Rahul instead of Karthik. In England, everyone saw that Karthik couldn't score runs. And if you are looking to build a team for the World Cup, Rahul and Rishabh Pant's name should come before Karthik's. The latter deserves to be in the team only if he is the wicket-keeper as well, otherwise, Rahul is a far better player than him. His career is on the wane," asserted Ganguly. 

He further stressed that Rahul's absence against Hong Kong in India's opening match yesterday was also shocking. In Dada's opinion, the Kannada batsman not just deserves to be in the team but also needs a clearly defined role and batting position to draw confidence from.

“I was surprised to see the exclusion of KL Rahul against Hong Kong. Maybe he was rested but he has only played 30-odd ODIs and he should be made to play more often as he is a good player. The most important thing is to define his role and batting position in the team. We can't play him as a floater always," added Dada.

When asked about the chances of the two teams in today's clash, the 113-Test veteran believes that India are the better team on paper even though they are missing their batting maverick, Virat Kohli. 

“The current Pakistan team doesn't have the balance of the teams of yesteryears. I think it will be a good match as Pak plays well in these conditions as it's their home venue at the moment. But on paper, India is the stronger team and I will be surprised if they lose this game," said the 46-year old.

Indian wicketkeeper MS Dhoni who only plays in limited-overs formats will be in action during the Asia Cup while rookie Test centurion Rishabh Pant bides his time in India. Ganguly though considers this as a missed opportunity and would have preferred to see Pant under Dhoni's wing so as to learn the tricks of the trade from the master and be ready when the time comes to take over the gloves from the Ranchi phenomenon.

"Asia Cup is a very important tournament for MS Dhoni. He is a great player and has scored a ton of runs but he won't keep getting games just due to this. There is a time limit for everyone. I'm surprised to see that Pant wasn't given a chance in this tournament," opined Sourav.

In the end, The Prince of Kolkata sounded a cautionary note by saying that India needs to get its middle-order right which is at the moment filled with non-regulars like Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu.

"The one thing that scares me a bit is that the World cup is not far away while the Indian batting sans Kohli looks vulnerable. Dinesh Karthik's career is on the wane, MS is not in his prime anymore, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu are making comebacks. So if you are playing four such batsmen who are not settled in this format and not a certainty in the team then it looks like the selectors are compromising with quality in the team. So the mindset needs to change," concluded Ganguly.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/sports/cricket-exclusive-i-am-scared-about-the-indian-batting-going-into-the-world-cup-sourav-ganguly-464104

[raki05]

Other than blind chamchas , bootlicker selectors and corrupt team management everyone can see what's going on. Now once they ll screw our chances in wc these chewts ll come and say we tried lot of players but unfortunately we coudnt get anyone who grabbed the opportunity and hence we are screwd. I mean how come something so obvious people can overlook this is  like knowingly spoiled any chance of winning the wc .We have such a great young bunch warming the bench and they are performing everywhere but these blind fools doesn't know whom yo back and whom to discard. We all know what players like karthik, rayadu going to do in wc, this same rayadu was in 15 wc squad and karthik was in ct13 squad .

Edited September 21, 2018 by raki05

[diga]

Ganguly is blunt ... He says it as he sees it.  I wish Gavaskars/Tendulkars could speakup like Dada

[kohli]

Take both opener wicket and we can't chase 200 with this batsman

[Suhaan]

One word to the selectors M@d@r©#$$&

[tweaker]

Dhawan is playing in all format's,why he is playing every match.

 

Dhawan should have rested and Rahul should have played in his place

[Jimmy Cliff]

Join the club, Sourav.

[prasen82]

I think  we are being too harsh on Karthik considering his age. Karthik is doing well in limited overs and he did not get a chance in England. He played only two tests where everyone failed and second test is just nit even applicable.

 

Rahul hit a century on patta where DK did not even get a chance.

 

Rahul I agree seems a better talent . But is he better middle order bat at 4 or 5 than DK. I am nit too sure.

 

Lay the blame on dhoni. The only problem with Karthik is Jekyll and Hyde and the same applies to Rahul , pant and Pandya. You never know which version will show up.

 

Rahul should be above rayudu . But DK needs to be the keeper and dhoni being the keeper  is making him look bad. Why is nobody  talking about that.

 

Similarly for Rahul to be accommodated he has to open or be number 3. Is that feasible?

 

[Ankit_sharma03]

SO am i - this is a fattu batting lineup

[rkt.india]

Rahul has just played 12 ODIs that too at different positions, not 30 odd.

[rkt.india]

30 minutes ago, Suhaan said:

One word to the selectors M@d@r©#$$&

what can selectors do when captain and coach are not playing him in the XI?

[Mosher]

Great that Ganguly and Agarkar are speaking out against the dumb **** that's happening in the Indian team right now. Hope more ex-players speak up now and stop this nonsense that's happening in the Indian team.

[express bowling]

Whether Kohli is the captain or Rohit ... Rahul does not get a proper run in ODIs.

 

Is Shastri the guy opposing Rahul in ODIs then  ?

[express bowling]

1 minute ago, Mosher said:

Great that Ganguly and Agarkar are speaking out against the dumb **** that's happening in the Indian team right now. Hope more ex-players speak up now and stop this nonsense that's happening in the Indian team.

 

Don't remember this kind of a nonsense ever happening in Indian cricket earlier.

 

Don't remember so many mediocre batsmen playing together for India ever.

 

Something is seriously wrong somewhere,  about which we know nothing of.

 

No way can Rayudu and Karthick be chosen ahead of Rahul in the playing 11 ...  and Pant be totally ignored.

 

Yeah ... we need more courageous ex-cricketers speaking out like Ganguly and Agarkar.

[beetle]

6 minutes ago, express bowling said:

Whether Kohli is the captain or Rohit ... Rahul does not get a proper run in ODIs.

 

Is Shastri the guy opposing Rahul in ODIs then  ?

The kumble factor?

[express bowling]

2 minutes ago, beetle said:

The kumble factor?

 

I don't know.

 

But I have read a couple of interviews of Shastri, where he has talked about different batsmen at 4 in ODIs but never Rahul.

[UrmiSinhaRay]

I think  we are being too harsh on Karthik considering his age. Karthik is doing well in limited overs and he did not get a chance in England. He played only two tests where everyone failed and second test is just nit even applicable.
 
Rahul hit a century on patta where DK did not even get a chance.
 
Rahul I agree seems a better talent . But is he better middle order bat at 4 or 5 than DK. I am nit too sure.
 
Lay the blame on dhoni. The only problem with Karthik is Jekyll and Hyde and the same applies to Rahul , pant and Pandya. You never know which version will show up.
 
Rahul should be above rayudu . But DK needs to be the keeper and dhoni being the keeper  is making him look bad. Why is nobody  talking about that.
 
Similarly for Rahul to be accommodated he has to open or be number 3. Is that feasible?
 

Rahul and Pant got their dues in Tests so they're getting screwed in the LoIs

Sent from my SM-A710F using Tapatalk

[wanted_desi]

Everyone is scared other than management and players. 

[Lannister]

1 hour ago, diga said:

Ganguly is blunt ... He says it as he sees it.  I wish Gavaskars/Tendulkars could speakup like Dada

lol... Gavaskar? He is another shameless guy. He is busy trying to get Rahane in the team. 

[The Dark Horse]

1 hour ago, prasen82 said:

I think  we are being too harsh on Karthik considering his age. Karthik is doing well in limited overs and he did not get a chance in England. He played only two tests where everyone failed and second test is just nit even applicable.

 

Rahul hit a century on patta where DK did not even get a chance.

 

Rahul I agree seems a better talent . But is he better middle order bat at 4 or 5 than DK. I am nit too sure.

 

Lay the blame on dhoni. The only problem with Karthik is Jekyll and Hyde and the same applies to Rahul , pant and Pandya. You never know which version will show up.

 

Rahul should be above rayudu . But DK needs to be the keeper and dhoni being the keeper  is making him look bad. Why is nobody  talking about that.

 

Similarly for Rahul to be accommodated he has to open or be number 3. Is that feasible?

 

Ganguly can be only harsh on the bakra - DK..He won't say a word against Dhoni.. because he knows he will get his @ss burnt if he does so.  

Edited September 21, 2018 by The Dark Horse