Victory spurs debate on future of the Big Three

[Gambit]

After the big win, the big question: What does the Twenty20 triumph mean for the future of the Big Three of Indian cricket Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly? Over a fortnight in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s unheralded team turned the cricket world upside down, aficionados have been discussing the merits of India’s young brigade despite the absence of India’s premier players from this tournament, and whether the time is now ripe for a revamp. The debate got a fillip when Dhoni stated in his post-match acceptance speech that “some of these guys (his team members) must find a place in the main team, definitely.’’ The remark may have meant to acknowledge the support of his colleagues, but it could spark off a new line of thought in the cricket establishment. Interestingly, two members of the selection committee DNA spoke to had contrasting views. “Twenty20 is vastly different from 50-over matches and Tests,’’ said one. “It would not be right to discard experience.” The other selector, however, had a different take. “The T20 success has given us enough encouragement to experiment with youngsters. Eventually they have to leave,” he said. Neither selector, obviously, was willing to be identified. Popular sentiment, garnered from SMS, internet and telephony polls suggests that the masses believe Indian cricket should look ahead, though former cricketers, including those who have been selectors, think that the old guard still stands firm and cannot be consigned to history yet. ``Let’s not get ahead of time,’’ cautions former India captain Ravi Shastri. Navjot Singh Sidhu, former opener, says, ``the T20 success should not threaten the careers of the old pros. These are experienced players and they have contributed a lot to the country. One cannot compare Tendulkar with any player, he is a great player and remains to be so.” Syed Kirmani, former selection committee chairman, was for the continuation of the three seniors. “The three should be utilised for the other version of the game. This is the time when the role of the selectors becomes very important. There have been occasions when the selectors have not picked the right players, which should not happen,” he said. Ajit Wadekar, a former India captain, coach and selector says Sachin, Rahul and Sourav are of a different class. “T20 success should not be yardstick for a Test berth.” Karsan Ghavri, former India bowler, concurs. “The real test for the players is the Test cricket and experience counts a lot in the five-day game. India needs Sachin, Sourav and Rahul.” Chandu Borde, manager on the tour of, however, was non-committal on the issue. “It is the job of the selectors.’’ It is and — in the current context — appears a rather tricky one too. (With inputs from Joe Williams) http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1123602&pageid=2 =============================================================================== For all their runs, the three won us nothing - seems to be the sentiment among some people. Sad

[Ram]

The writing is one the wall , its time for the seniors to realize it. However , to just blanket ban all these seniors out of the team will be catastrophical. The youngsters performed well in 20/20 yes, but we still dont know how they would respond to the rigors of the longer forms of the game, where the pressure is more intense and enduring and the conditions are more demanding. Its one thing to come and blast away when you are 40/3 but have to bat only 20 overs , but how will a Rohit sharma respond if we are playing a test match and are 50/3 in the first hour ? We need these seniors in the team for ATLEAST another 12-15 months , with the youngsters gradually being phased in. And as far as i can see, even the trinity seem to have realized this and are quite willing to make way.

[sm332]

i think in ODIs we need to start changing quickly... in tests I think Dravid still has 2-3 yrs, Gangu and Tendu maybe one more.

[Gaurav]

i think in ODIs we need to start changing quickly... in tests I think Dravid still has 2-3 yrs' date=' Gangu and Tendu maybe one more.[/quote'] Dravid has 2-3 years in him Tendu 3-4 and Ganguly 1 more year :hysterical:

[Lurker]

I would get in 3 new brigade atleast - 2 batsman 1 bowler. Yuvraj & Rohit Sharma/Manoj Tiwari should get a chance, bowling wise Bhajji comes in now with Pathan in the team 16. My Test team for next 6 months would be: Gambhir KKD Dravid SRT Yuvraj Sharma/Tiwari Dhoni RP Singh Sreesanth Zaheer Khan Kumble/Bhajji. For LOI Gambhir Sehwag Dhoni Yuvraj Sharma Tiwari Pathan Zaheer RP Singh Sreesanth Bhajji Buddha brigade gets kicked out of LOI and Aggy and Ganguly get kicked for good.

[Gaurav]

No whale?

[Lurker]

No whale?

Powar. Well to be honest I always thought of him as a stop-gap. Did a good job overall but if Pathan is coming back to form I would go with him that Powar.

[King Tendulkar]

Everyone wants to pick Gambhir now. I was the lone voice for at least a year calling for his inclusion. Pressure is on the big guns. However, dont forget! TEST CRICKET IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM 20/20 SLOG!

[King Tendulkar]

That test side is one I would pick. Though am loathed to leave Jaffer out but would. Exactly test side I would go for!

[The Outsider]

No need to tinker with the test side, but ideally Ganguly should be dropped immediately and Tendulkar/Dravid phased out of the ODI side over the next year.

[coffee_rules]

I don't want to see Dravid and Ganguly in 2008 playing ODIs. Boss can be phased out between 2008 and 2009. All need to be phased out in 2 yeatrs from test cricket.

[Lurker]

That test side is one I would pick. Though am loathed to leave Jaffer out but would. Exactly test side I would go for!

Which Test side? And yes I do remember you vouching for Gambhir, Good call. But why did you keep vouching for Sehwag and keep KKD away? :thumbs_down:

[Gambit]

What I really dislike is fans begrudging the big 3, taking cheap shots at them, and toning down their achievements, just to praise Dhoni and the gang's terrific victory.

[The Outsider]

What I really dislike is fans begrudging the big 3, taking cheap shots at them, and toning down their achievements, just to praise Dhoni and the gang's terrific victory.

Yeah, that has been extremely disappointing.

[Guest dada_rocks]

What I really dislike is fans begrudging the big 3' date=' taking cheap shots at them, and toning down their achievements, just to praise Dhoni and the gang's terrific victory.[/quote'] Well that'ds the only way we know how to praise in India.. somoene has to be trampled over to big up someone, sad ..

[Lurker]

Well that'ds the only way we know how to praise in India.. somoene has to be trampled over to big up someone' date=' sad ..[/quote'] Actually in case of cricket celebrities it is often the case of "praan jaaye but retire nahin hona". Gavaskar played for 16 years, Kapil about about the same, SRT has already played for 18 plus years. And I am more than sure we can all agree that considering the amount of cricket played these days 18 years of SRT is almost equal to 20-25 during Gavaskar/Kapil's time. Dravid and Ganguly have played 12 years apiece. So I have no issues in thinking SRT has played more cricket than he probably should have, Dravid has 2 years left in him and Ganguly, well even he knows he will last only as long as he performs, for him its a series to series basis. The big 3 have essentially brought it on themselves. xxx

[DesiChap]

Once reality hits with the 1 day series and tests all this talk will die down

[sachin_fan]

It is obvious that the big 3 are soon to be heading out. You cannot force a selector to throw them out. If their form is bad, then that warrants a need for dropping. You cannot drop performers for performers. The only solution in such a situation is rotation. I am sure this is precisely what the selectors and the team management have in mind. Rotate the big 3, use them sparingly. They are lethal when used sparingly. The problem with us is we start reading too much into both victories and defeats. I still remember a suresh raina, who was supposed to be our next hope. Couple of bad performances and he is out. Couple of good ones, and we praise him sky high. We cannot throw out the seniors and re-vamp the ODI team. A proper mix of seniors and juniors, with grooming of their skills would be preferable. One thing seems clear, we are going to see lesser of the 3 in the months to come

[King Tendulkar]

Which Test side? And yes I do remember you vouching for Gambhir, Good call. But why did you keep vouching for Sehwag and keep KKD away? :thumbs_down:

the test side you picked. also when did i vouch for shewag. always liked KKD. I have regularly questioned shewags attitude and fitness

[bharat297]

Why are we talking about changing the test side? OK I believe Sehwag and Gambhir should be in the "squad" as they are back-up openers. However, why would be change the team that did so well in England. Wouldnt we want to keep the winning combination and try to gain momentum heading into the Australian summer. So my test side would be ... Jaffer,Karthik,Dravid,Tendulkar,Laxman ( c ), Ganguly, Dhoni, Kumble, RP, Zaheer, Sreesanth additional members in the squad would be : Sehwag, Yuvraj, Pathan, Powar and possibly Gambhir The twenty-20 says nothing about our test side.