Do not drop Laxman

[kabira]

please Mr. Rahul Dravid for the Tests if you are going with 5 bowlers. Karthik will open and let him be wicket keeper. Drop Dhoni and Let Laxman bat at 5. Its July in England and most tracks will be batting friendly and may take turn on 4th and 5th day. Its imperative that we go with 2 spinners. Its also important that we do not compromise on batting. It will be just about right if we go with Laxman, who should be fired up after missing out on ODI XI. Drop Dhoni, take tough decision.

[apocalypse]

Yes I agree with Kabira. Laxman is well suited for Test and Dhoni is not at all performing well. The recent shots he played were just without any footwork and in test you need someone to play sensibly not with just sheer power

[Ram]

ohoooo ! Here we go ! watch out Mr.Dhoni !

[kabira]

Dhoni did well in Bangladesh..so he is not being dropped because of non performance...he is still key..I am talking about 1st Test. Its just tough choice as Karthik is doing well as opener.

[Predator_05]

I don't want to see this happening, but i am 99% sure that they will start with Karthik as an opener. Laxman will definitely play in the first test, but his place in the side won't be secure - especially if Yuvraj does well in the ODIs. We all saw that happen before (IND-ENG '06). Dravid probably remembers Laxman being a waste of space during the '02 England tour; he often had to throw his wicket away because the remainder of the batting lineup was scoring heavily. With India scheduled to play at Lords, Trent Bridge and the Oval - all flat tracks - they might opt for 5 bowlers, and as always, Laxman will be the guy who makes way. This is totally unfair on him, and as far as i am concerned - Laxman should be one of the first names on the team sheet when India play overseas. But unfortunately, this is how the Indian team works - they go for "instinct" over logic. Personally, i'd like to see the following XI Jaffer Gambhir Dravid Tendulkar Laxman Ganguly Karthik+ Kumble Chawla Zaheer Sreesanth But in all likelihood, Karthik will open instead of Gambhir and Dhoni will bat at #7

[sashi]

I don't want to see this happening, but i am 99% sure that they will start with Karthik as an opener. Laxman will definitely play in the first test, but his place in the side won't be secure - especially if Yuvraj does well in the ODIs. We all saw that happen before (IND-ENG '06). Dravid probably remembers Laxman being a waste of space during the '02 England tour; he often had to throw his wicket away because the remainder of the batting lineup was scoring heavily. With India scheduled to play at Lords, Trent Bridge and the Oval - all flat tracks - they might opt for 5 bowlers, and as always, Laxman will be the guy who makes way. This is totally unfair on him, and as far as i am concerned - Laxman should be one of the first names on the team sheet when India play overseas. But unfortunately, this is how the Indian team works - they go for "instinct" over logic. Personally, i'd like to see the following XI Jaffer Gambhir Dravid Tendulkar Laxman Ganguly Karthik+ Kumble Chawla Zaheer Sreesanth But in all likelihood, Karthik will open instead of Gambhir and Dhoni will bat at #7

Don't see any other way apart from the above lineup.Maybe 3 seam attack depending on the pitch and the conditions. But if they do consider 5 bowlers then as u said Laxman will have to make way....Unless Dravid decides to open. I, for one am a vociferous supporter of playing with two specialist openers...especially when you are touring overseas. And when you have arguably the best No 3 batsman in the world, i cant see any sense in him opening.

[Ram]

I don't want to see this happening, but i am 99% sure that they will start with Karthik as an opener.

Why dont you want Karthik to open ? Is it because you think he is technically not suited for the job ? Or you feel there are better contenders for the opening slot ?

[Predator_05]

Why dont you want Karthik to open ? Is it because you think he is technically not suited for the job ? Or you feel there are better contenders for the opening slot ?

Kya yaar, i used a whole thread talking about that...:haha: Basically, i don't think he is good enough to survive a new-ball spell by Harmison and Hoggard.

[Ram]

Kya yaar, i used a whole thread talking about that...:haha: Basically, i don't think he is good enough to survive a new-ball spell by Harmison and Hoggard.

Sorry Pred , but most of that thread seemed to concentrated toward laxman. You had just mentioned that you wouldnt like it if you see Karthik open. that is why i had asked you this question. And coming back to the topic , I dont know how you could rate Gambhir's technique higher than Karthik. Karthik seems more compact, in sharp contrast to the airy-fairy Gambhir. Judging by whay "I" have seen till now , i would rate Karthik's technique higher than Gambhir, and maybe on par with Jaffer too.

[Predator_05]

Sorry Pred , but most of that thread seemed to concentrated toward laxman. You had just mentioned that you wouldnt like it if you see Karthik open. that is why i had asked you this question. And coming back to the topic , I dont know how you could rate Gambhir's technique higher than Karthik. Karthik seems more compact, in sharp contrast to the airy-fairy Gambhir. Judging by whay "I" have seen till now , i would rate Karthik's technique higher than Gambhir, and maybe on par with Jaffer too.

Nah, i was referring to an older thread - maybe you missed it. ...and yes, Gambhir isn't much better but at least he is a specialist opener who can play shots all around the wicket. He is a fast scorer by nature, and you need an opener like that when you are facing high quality fast bowling. His style would complement Jaffer's.

[sashi]

From what ive seen of Karthik, i have to say he looked fine with his technique.Decent enough for me. i agree with marirs on the view bot Gambhir's technique. But whether Karthik's good enough to open...that is up for grabs.Id still prefer a proper opening batsman.But when you are going for Gambhirwith his technique...well you can even go for Karthik.

[kumble_rocks]

Laxman has always been the bridesmaid. But with Ganguly playing well , he will have to sit out.

[Dhondy]

Laxman will play. No way are India going into that first Test with five bowlers. It just doesn't happen overseas against decent opponents.

[gator]

Laxman is definitely good for bouncing conditions, but not tht great against swing and seam..... i dont think, he will be indispensible in english conditions..... Sachin and Dravid are the best for swinging and seaming conditions... Lax may have to slug it out with Ganguly for the 3rd middle order spot and he is definitely the better bat by far... but Ganguly in this kinda form also brings bowling to the table.... Personally, if i go with 5 bowlers, i wouldnt care much about Ganguly's bowling... i will include LAx and Gangs will be the 12th man.... Zak/Sree/RPS will be the pace attack for the first test, unless Ishant does something spectacular in the warmup games...

[Predator_05]

I definitely wouldn't drop Ganguly. It's madness to drop him for an England tour - this is HIS territory. Besides, anyone who watched him play vs SA last winter wouldn't contemplate dropping him under any circumstances.

[Bumper]

I hate to admit that my fav boy Dhoni, hasnt justified his spot in overseas conditions yet. If push comes to shove he may have to make way for others.

[Ram]

Poor Laxman ! I almost forgot how he looks like ! Except ufcours his "look" when he gets bowled neck and crop by a fast bowler ! :haha:

[sashi]

Poor Laxman ! I almost forgot how he looks like ! Except ufcours his "look" when he gets bowled neck and crop by a fast bowler ! :haha:

That look of his is an instant classic.So bewildered...As if the whole world conspired on him.:haha:

[gator]

Poor Laxman ! I almost forgot how he looks like ! Except ufcours his "look" when he gets bowled neck and crop by a fast bowler ! :haha:

u mean, "THE FACE".... :hysterical::hysterical:

[King]

I know people will not like this comment but IMO Laxman is the second most reliable batter in the Indian side when the going gets tough in the test matches at this point in time. It will be interesting to see if Tendulkar can weave his magic in the test matches too. If you have a good opening stand (even 40-50 runs without a wicket) Rahul, Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly and Dhoni will be able to put good total on board. The only issue though is Laxman hasn't had a hit for a while and needs fair bit of batting practice before he can start scoring big runs in test matches.