This is Sheer Agony

[Dhondy]

How would you like to see this fast bowling attack against England- Sreesanth, Munaf and VRV Singh? Well, with Zaheer Khan pulling up in a meaningless ODI with a hip injury, we are one step closer to that unthinkable situation. Sreesanth deserves his stripes in that team. He has everything that a fast bowler needs- heart, anger, strength, self belief. But I despair at the thought of the other two playing in whites again. Munaf Patel- what a let down! When he made his debut in the home series against England, he was promising, very promising. But his fragile body simply couldn't take the strain of five days of Test cricket. The sight of Munaf shuffling along, stomach leading the rest of the body, and then ambling in to deliver friendly stuff from his peashooter has become a dreaded sight for Indian cricket followers. To think that this man terrorized domestic batsmen at speeds of around 90 mph, a quality he lived up to in his first two Tests. He lacks heart, oh how he lacks it! Twice, he has pulled out of Tests with trivial niggles. Such a disappointment. And VRV? Dear me, the less said about him, the better. His bulk seems to have enamoured many long lost Indian supporters, but his up and down action, blushing cheeks and 130 mph military medium stuff tell the story of a boy caught in a man's world. And this will be India's biggest achilles heel in England. When Sreesanth is seen off by the English, they can feast on the deadly duo of Patel and Singh to their heart's content. People will mention RP Singh. Another pasenger, I'm afraid. What really worried me was the sight of Ishant Sharma huffing and puffing to get the likes of Aftab Ahmad out after all the hype generated in the Indian press about him. Honestly, if this is the standard of Indian fast bowling available to us, bring back Pathan. At least the lad has heart. If we persevere with him, he might just turn the corner. You don't take a Test hattrick against a strong batting team in their backyard by default. Where, oh, where is the next Kapil or Srinath coming from?

[CC1981]

Where, oh, where is the next Kapil or Srinath coming from?

Srinath..err Sreesanth is already here !:giggle:

[Predator_05]

I think it's time to recall Srinath, Prasad and Kapil Dev. Bowling attack for the England series; Sreesanth, Srinath, Prasad at first change, Kapil Dev fourth seamer and Kumble the spinner. Roger Binny the 12th man. Seriously, India are f*cked.

[CC1981]

What, no Manoj da mucchhar ? :hysterical:

[Cricketics]

kumble will take care of those english batsmans.. jumbo the king.. jumbo jumbo.. .

[Ram]

Dhondy.. Agree with you on Sreesanth being wholehearted and a fighter. But If i were you , i would leave aside the theatrics and maybe try to have an objective view of these bowlers. Sreesanth is by far the most attacking bowler of all , but his record can at best be termed patchy. Except for his outstanding performance isn SA , i cant remember him really going through a batting line-up. He is good no doubt , but he is erratic. Munaf is a much under-celebrated performer , more so in ODIs than in tests i have to admit. Almost all the time he has "delivered" . He bowling is steady and provides the much needed stability to the bowling attack. I still remember of how highly Atherton spoke of him during his debut series. VRV is truly the unsolved part of the puzzle. His record is not impressive, but he IS a wicket taker and is our quickest bowler. We have to take our quickest bowler to England. And dont forget , it is essentially this attack that won us the test series in the Windies.

[theguyinallblue]

"Hum Jo itna Muskura rahe hain...Kya Gam Hai jo cheepa rahe hain...".. zakky still has some time to recover from... and i think cold and pleasant weather will not take heavy toll on the delicate structure of Munaf.. Munaf has always been in form..and rarely off colour... though his fitness is a problem... i read that he is fir now.,.. we need to utilize Munaf judiciously... i can not see India winning any Test match without Zakky and Munaf.. we Need Sreesanth + Zakky + Munaf along with kumble to do the damage. England's batting is good...and we need to have these 4... if zakky is out..then we can take along bhajji...or Piyush... Piyush will be playing in ODIs..there in ireland...lets see how he fares. Ranadeb Bose...can be a good prospect in english conditions... his swing can be handy....

[CC1981]

For Jumbo to run through Engerland, we need someone to be the 'bogeyman' for Peitersen. Else it will be 'gave over, Jumbo' and you know what that means- game over jumbo = game over india.

[Dhondy]

Sriram, I like your optimism about Munaf and VRV. BTW, Sreesanth, with an average of 25, has a patchy record, while VRV, with an average of 70 is a wicket taker, eh? Perhaps we deserve the team that we have, with these kind of skewed assessments.

[Ram]

No.. I didnt base my assesments on stats... I have based it on what i have seen on the pitch. VRV takes wickets more often than not.. even though it might be only 2-3. Because he hasnt taken any 5-fors , nobody really notices him. And as far is Sreesanth , take off the SA tour and lets see how record looks then. As i told before , it was literally this same bowling attack that won us the test series in WI. Then everybody was singing praises of these guys...

[Dhondy]

Why should I take out the SA tour? Take out Sachin's 37 centuries, and what are you left with? Take out Mohinder's record against WI away from home, eh? Or Warne's record against England? And keep VRV's "wicket-taking" record against BD, and take out the rest, eh? Muhahahahaha!!

[Ram]

Ok.. I agree.. that argument about taking out SA isnt valid. I was just tryin to say -- the lad has been erratic..

[Predator_05]

Erratic ? WTF ? Get some perspective. India won the series in WI thanks to Harbhajan and Kumble's efforts in that final test at Kingston, NOT because of crappy bowlers like VRV and Munaf. Sreesanth was the best of that bunch BY FAR - he nailed Brian Lara in that first innings and dismissed Chris Gayle for pair. VRV Singh was a useless sack of sh*t. Minus Sreesanth, the fast bowlers' contribution was negligible. Anyone who watched that final test will tell you this. Sreesanth also took 4 wickets on his debut test vs England. Yeah, i'll take that erratic bowler. In England, India will once again depend on Sreesanth to make those crucial breakthroughs and Kumble to take the wickets. Against a batting lineup as strong as England's, IND won't get very far.

[Ram]

i CANNOT believe you have left out Munaf in the list of bowlers who made an impact in the Windies tour. He took 13 wickets on that tour and his breakthroughs were as crucial as anybody's..

[Dhondy]

What amazes me is how so many Indian fans continue to swear by VRV. With a few deliveries timed at 145 mph in domestic cricket, he has managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the selectors and gullible fans, who see in him an embodyment of India's fast bowling hopes. Theatrics? I'd reserve that term for blushing furiously on the stuttering run-up to the stumps, before knocking it off every second delivery.

[Predator_05]

Not in that final test. ...and i still CANNOT believe that you are calling India's best fast bowler "erratic".

[Dhondy]

I mentioned that Munaf began well, Sriram. It's what happened since that shows him up as a gutless wimp. I judge a player not just by one skill, but by how he makes an effort to improve himself in other departments such as fitness, fielding and batting. Munaf scores a fat zilch in all areas. He comes across as a most unintelligent cricketer. These kind of players don't last too long. I'd take Pathan over him for this series.

[Ram]

So the entire test series' should be restricted to the final test and nothing else ? And Sreesanth is India's best fast bowler ? Zaheer isnt too bad a contender either...

[Ram]

I mentioned that Munaf began well, Sriram. It's what happened since that shows him up as a gutless wimp. I judge a player not just by one skill, but by how he makes an effort to improve himself in other departments such as fitness, fielding and batting. Munaf scores a fat zilch in all areas. He comes across as a most unintelligent cricketer. These kind of players don't last too long. I'd take Pathan over him for this series.

Dhondy , as much as agree with almost all that you have said , i would add that most of our judgements or based on what we see on T.V. The reality is unfortunately, more to that than that.

[Dhondy]

Sreesanth ahead of Zaheer, by a distance. Nobody even close in 3rd. Did you see the SA series at all, Sriram? Did you see how Sreesanth kept going when his body was flagging? What's more, just when you thought the lad was exhausted, he'd pick up a vital wicket with the 4th or 5th over of his spell. Zaheer came good in the final innings of the final Test, with India facing defeat. Credit to him, he supported Sree well, and bowled well in BD too. But Sreesanth is our spearhead, make no mistake.