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India could have rested Cheteshwar Pujara for the West Indies series


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With warm-up matches being almost negligible these days and India's overseas woes continuing, it's best if India start treating home games like practice before an overseas tour.
 

In this case, with the impending Australian tour - another shot for India to improve their overseas record - the two home Tests against West Indies could be used as warm-up games, or, to be accurate, preparatory matches for that series.
 

This is not in any way trying to belittle West Indies as a team, or the importance of this series, but really, time has come for India to improve their poor overseas record. India have achieved most other things in the game, but this is one peak they have not been able to scale.

Indian cricket is now senior in age and in a very advantageous position with regards to its resources and the popularity of the sport. It's almost incumbent on India to rule the cricketing world, which means that like West Indies and Australia did at their prime, India need to beat teams like South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia in their backyards.

 

This has to be the only goal now as far as Test cricket is concerned, and the maturing Indian fans are, I am sure, ready to bear setbacks at home if, in return, they see India winning overseas.
 

From that standpoint, I wish India had done more with the selection of the team for the West Indies series, specifically with regards to their batting.
 

I would have liked to see another senior batsman, like Cheteshwar Pujara, rested to have a look at one more fresh option, along with Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal, to fill the batting holes that cost India the series in England.
 

Pujara will get a pile of runs against West Indies, like he always does at home, and will also tour Australia and get the hard runs there, being the industrious batsman he is. By playing him against West Indies, is Indian cricket gaining anything? The more new batsmen you try, the better your chances of finding two new batting options with the potential to do well overseas.
 

As far as Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul are concerned, they need to play every game, for both (despite Rahul's hundred at The Oval) are clearly out of form. A few quality innings against West Indies may at least raise their self-confidence before the Australia tour, if not address the technical issues that haunted them in England.
 

While I say this, it's also important to note that when you play at home, none of the issues that can plague you overseas are easily visible. A batsman hitting a good-length ball off Kemar Roach through the line will be applauded for a wonderful cover drive, but that same shot will cost him his wicket in Australia.
 

Rahul and Rahane are senior enough now to know fully well what works in India does not work overseas. For them, it's about making the adjustment once they get overseas, but with runs at home, they will be able to do it better. Otherwise they will be worried about keeping their place in the side, and if this is the case, you only end up seeing the worst side of a batsman.

To make the most of the West Indies series with an eye on Australia, the selectors have to be smart when they are watching the action. More than focusing on the runs the batsmen are getting, they need to focus on how they are getting those runs.

Watch the batsmen's techniques closely, especially their defensive technique. Can they instinctively leave balls outside the off stump? Are they defending with a still bat, or pushing away from their body only with their hands? Are they using the space behind the batting crease? Are they decisively forward and back while batting? I know as commentator I will be doing this, even if the selectors don't.

It's the batsmen's defensive technique that let India down badly in England and batting is, thankfully, the only real ailment to cure for Indian cricket to compete better overseas.

India have another great chance, for Australia, like England, are a weakened side (without David Warner and Steven Smith), giving India an opportunity to better their overseas image.

But here's the real good news for Indian batsmen and Indian fans. Unlike in South Africa and England, the ball is likely to come more in straight lines in Australia.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/24880844/india-rested-cheteshwar-pujara-west-indies-series

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6 hours ago, UnknownGenius said:

I read the headline and automatically knew that this would be from the bambi lobby, horrible Sanjay Manjrekar. Needless to say I didn't read rest of the article

 

Why would you rest Pujara? He only plays test matches, rest of the year is anyway rest....

 

Typical bambi this manju dude is....talks rubbish all the time to promote agenda

I stopped reading after I saw this gem in the first paragraph - "it's best if India start treating home games like practice before an overseas tour.". How can you practice on Indian wickets for an overseas tour? 

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And i  appreciate Manjrekar's  longsighted ness  here.We need to find a top 6 who can perform  brilliantly as a unit in SENA. Kohli is certainly one. Rahane too has a great record. But has been a bit off colour at home. So this WI series is a great oppertunity for him to put some runs and gain in confidence. Pujara with a very mediocre record after playing seven  series in SENA is not at all a long term solution.Even if Pujara didn't play in this  Windies series it would have cost almost nothing for India in terms of result because a lot of bowlers  & WK too can bat in these  conditions especially against a lower ranked Windies team. So 3 youngsters needed to have  played.

Infact in my view India needed to play 7 -1-3  combination for this series. All 4 , Shaw,Mayank,Vihari & least of all Rahul needed to have played.Vihari  could have become that stock - strike bowler for the series with Ashswin-Jadeja-Shami/Yadav completing the bowler set

Edited by rtmohanlal
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3 minutes ago, SUMO said:

Resting doesnt apply in test cricket.

Dravid tendulkar laxman never rested even if its bang or zim.

Every test is prestigious and every body wants to play 100 tests.

India never needed to rest  'Sachin  and that group' because they formed a formidable unit for every condition. If any, only  one opening slot required to test new faces during those times. Even Gambhir, the least  efficient of that top 6 (Sachin,Dravid,Sourav,Laxman & Sehwag the other 5) was far better than  any one from the current group baring Kohli. For an opener he avg:ed almost 48 after first 44 tests before he alarmingly fell apart. And he avg:ed so hugely in 'SAF & NZL( the only 2 countries of SENA  in which he played till that time)  combined' before he fell apart.

 

It is not as to 'Every test is prestigious and every body wants to play 100 tests.' It is for the betterment of the team that such experiments are needed,

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10 hours ago, rtmohanlal said:

And i  appreciate Manjrekar's  longsighted ness  here.We need to find a top 6 who can perform  brilliantly as a unit in SENA. Kohli is certainly one. Rahane too has a great record. But has been a bit off colour at home. So this WI series is a great oppertunity for him to put some runs and gain in confidence. Pujara with a very mediocre record after playing seven  series in SENA is not at all a long term solution.Even if Pujara didn't play in this  Windies series it would have cost almost nothing for India in terms of result because a lot of bowlers  & WK too can bat in these  conditions especially against a lower ranked Windies team. So 3 youngsters needed to have  played.

Infact in my view India needed to play 7 -1-3  combination for this series. All 4 , Shaw,Mayank,Vihari & least of all Rahul needed to have played.Vihari  could have become that stock - strike bowler for the series with Ashswin-Jadeja-Shami/Yadav completing the bowler set

Ok .. Mr.Mumbaikar

 

Pujara may not be a vital cog in Australia. In the current form he is better than  Rahane and in the absence of a settled top order, Pujara should get all the practice before the Australian tour. This time we have a very good chance of winning in Australia in the absence of Smith/Warner

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1 minute ago, diga said:

Ok .. Mr.Mumbaikar

 

Pujara may not be a vital cog in Australia. In the current form he is better than  Rahane and in the absence of a settled top order, Pujara should get all the practice before the Australian tour. This time we have a very good chance of winning in Australia in the absence of Smith/Warner

I agree, Pujara is way better than Rahane at the moment. 

Edited by wanted_desi
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6 hours ago, diga said:

Ok .. Mr.Mumbaikar

 

Pujara may not be a vital cog in Australia. In the current form he is better than  Rahane and in the absence of a settled top order, Pujara should get all the practice before the Australian tour. This time we have a very good chance of winning in Australia in the absence of Smith/Warner

For your info: I am not from Mumbai or Maharashtra. and what i  say is only from the point of view of the benefit of  team. No Rahane or Pujara or 'x' matters for me. For me 'current form' is  much less a priority when compared to a players 'strong & weak zones'. And this , I am saying from the experience of watching several players from the past, 

 

For instance , Ganguly. If it was AUS , it was almost certain that he  would be 'good' at best there . The same man in the just succeeding ENG series will turn into a monster out of no where.Sehwag always struggled in NZL & SAF. Come  next AUS  series, he  scores aplenty.

Sachin  was way off in SAF thru out except last tour. In   the  nest AUS   or ENG series, this never bothered him to score hugely.Laxman was like duck into water in AUS. But in ENG  we doubted as to whether it was the same Laxman  who was in marauding form  til before that point.Kapil was like duck into water in AUS & WI. Come the ENG  or NZL series, he couldn't rise to those levels.So basically, it is from this experience that I am telling. I would wait till the coming AUS series to have a verdict on Rahane.

As for Pujara , a batsmen with no avg: of  even 35 in any of SENA & even a lower ranked WI  even after 8 or 9 series in these countries, I wonder as to how any body can support him!!!!! And he is getting no younger either....   

 

If form is all that matters, you can pick any Devang Gandhi from domestic and play in SENA only to get disappointed.

Edited by rtmohanlal
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54 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

Atleast Kahane plays in the IPL. lol Pujara doesn't get sold in the IPL. If he loses Tests chances as well what will he do? Moronic idea.

Brilliant idea..... then we can do one thing ... going forward, in each  international match  randomly select 11 poor people  from across the country.  Each of them will  benefit by a lot there by.  This process will benefit hundreds of poor people where as what you said will benefit only one already hugely rich  Pujara. 

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24 minutes ago, rtmohanlal said:

Brilliant idea..... then we can do one thing ... going forward, in each  international match  randomly select 11 poor people  from across the country.  Each of them will  benefit by a lot there by.  This process will benefit hundreds of poor people where as what you said will benefit only one already hugely rich  Pujara. 

You hatred for Pujara is hilarious.

 

:hysterical:

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