Breaking News: Team Announced For Tri-Series

[ranj]

Excellent. Good to see the selectors get most things right for a change, rather than pick names out of a hat and then spend the rest of the selection meeting jerking each other off. Like Gambit, wouldnt have minded Sachin sitting out too. At this point in time, I'm really not that concerned about being a great one-day side. I'm more concerned about making sure the young talents' had the right amount of international exposure in light of 4 of the greatest Indian batsmen retiring in the space of about a year. And also making sure the big 4 play as many test matches as they can.

[bear23]

Good job on the team selection. Only hope is Dhoni and Yuvraj starting to perform.

[bear23]

When did I say in place of... When Ganguly and dravid are dropped for making place for youngsters ...why not Tendulkar....Form wise...ganguly is doing great and dravid is comming back. So if age is the criteria ...why not tendulkar?

They have not only been dropped to make way for youngsters. get this thing clear . they have been dropped as they are a liability in the one day team. In other words youngsters can do better . In case of tendulkar , it is not still the case . Again read above, age is not the criteria, you are trying to make it seem like one. The criteria is Ganguly and Dravid being liabilities in the one day team.

[bunny]

They have not only been dropped to make way for youngsters. get this thing clear . they have been dropped as they are a liability in the one day team. In other words youngsters can do better . In case of tendulkar , it is not still the case . Again read above, age is not the criteria, you are trying to make it seem like one. The criteria is Ganguly and Dravid being liabilities in the one day team.

surely then you cannot have Gambhir in the ODI team as he averages just 26 in ODIs (excl Zim) and in the last year averaged 16. Wait, I know why he is there. He is a great fielder who saves 20 runs per game and hence is a better player than SG/RD. And what about Raina? He averages 22 against top class teams. And why is Badri missing out? Why is he not considered ahead of Raina and Karthik? I think age is definitely a criteria (nothing wrong in that). But, at least make it clear to the media and most importantly to SG and RD. And be consistent with your selections (dropping DK and PC one day, then having them back ahead of Badri and MK. Suddenly bringing back Raina). The selectors have been very inconsistent in the last 2-3 years.

[msb1991]

For the last time (to all), Ganguly was not in good form; he had just 216 runs in his last 8 innings. That is not acceptable for someone who concedes about 5-10 runs per innings in the field compared to a normal fielder. However, I agree that Gambhir and Karthik were not the right replacements.

[living]

Its a very good team, though if these guys are to retire then they deserve a farewell match just like the one pollock got.

[theguyinallblue]

'Dhoni didn't want Ganguly' :giggle: Irate fans of Sourav Ganguly [Images] burnt an effigy of BCCI president Sharad Pawar [Images] as protests erupted in the metropolis over the former skipper being sacked from the national squad for the forthcoming triangular series in Australia. Incensed at Ganguly being kept out of the team, around 40 cricket buffs gathered near his residence in Behala and raised slogans against the selectors and Pawar. They set fire to an effigy of Pawar and beat it with shoes and chappals. "Bring dada back", demanded the fans, holding posters and banners. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) described Ganguly's sacking as "grave injustice" and said it would lodge a strong protest to BCCI. "What has been done is totally wrong, grave injustice is being done to him", says CAB joint secretary Samar Pal. "It seems Dhoni [Images] did not want him in the side. Dhoni is more comfortable with juniors so he is in favour of axing seniors. But we will not sit idle. We will lodge a strong protest", Pal said. http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/jan/20gang.htm

[Anakin]

Decent selection, though I would have preferred two more things : 1. Rest Tendulkar from the series. The duration and number of matches for an essentially meaningless trophy is over kill. 2. The real shocker - WTF is Chawla in the side and not Murali Kartik. Baffling.

Spot on

[DesiChap]

Excellent team with the future in mind. The only problem I have is the Chawla selection. That being said Bhajji will play most ODI's We are not playing 2 spinners in ODI's in Australia.

[Sachinism]

disappointed that ganguly has been dropped he has been consistantly scoring runs so what if he plays slow, he gets the runs while the rest get out

[arkay]

Ganguly, Dravid dropped in Australia Tri-series India in Australia 2007-08 Sourav Ganguly is the notable omission from India's 16-member squad for the tri-nation CB Series, which starts on February 3, and the solitary Twenty20 international at the MCG on February 1. There was no recall either for Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman for the tournament, which also features Australia and Sri Lanka, with the selectors putting the emphasis on youth. Suresh Raina, who last played an ODI in January 2007, and Praveen Kumar, the allrounder who played an ODI last season, benefited from good performances in Uttar Pradesh's Ranji Trophy season, one they ended as runners-up. A third UP player, Piyush Chawla, who was impressive on last year's tour of England, gets the nod for the second spinner's spot ahead of Murali Kartik. Chawla was preferred because the selectors were of the opinion that a wrist-spinner would be handy on Australian pitches. The most contentious decision, though, involved Ganguly. It is believed that the captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, wanted to stick with a majority of the squad that won the World Twenty20 last September. Explaining why Ganguly was overlooked, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said, "The emphasis was on fielding abilities and they [the team management] wanted a young fielding side for the series. That's why you see a lot of youngsters in the side." After a run of three half-centuries in four matches against England last year, Ganguly has managed 231 runs at 25.66 in nine innings. India's fast-bowling attack will be led by RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth, who missed the Test series against Australia with a shoulder injury. Joining them will be Praveen, who took eight Delhi wickets in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy final last week. While Sreesanth was recalled after a brief stint at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, there was no place for Munaf Patel. Though both Munaf and Sreesanth were cleared by the NCA, it is learnt that the selectors wanted Munaf to get more match practice before considering him. India's attack will also miss their spearhead Zaheer Khan, who is yet to recover from his heel injury. Gautam Gambhir, who has cracked three centuries in the Ranji Trophy [two of them match-winning efforts, in the semi-final and final], and Dinesh Karthik have been included. Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan and Munaf have been placed on standby and will join the squad in case of any injuries. Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla

[DesiChap]

Welcome to yesterday

[bunny]

For the last time (to all), Ganguly was not in good form; he had just 216 runs in his last 8 innings. That is not acceptable for someone who concedes about 5-10 runs per innings in the field compared to a normal fielder. However, I agree that Gambhir and Karthik were not the right replacements.

Agree Ganguly wasn't at his best in the last 8 innings. (same with Dravid). But, SG was in sublime form in tests and he did really well in the ODIs before those 8 innings. Surely, you cannot drop someone on the basis of just 8 innings. Even a youngster deserves more chances than that. I think the selection policy should be made clear and RD, SG should be given a farewell series (and SRT should be asked whether he wants to play in WC 2011. If no, then he should be given a farewell series as well, and if yes, then he should be rested almost every alternate series). And I think at this point we shouldn't ignore VVS. We do not have a good #3 player right now. Moreover he is a very good slip fielder where he can stand for almost 30 out of 50 overs. Give him a target regarding average and S/R. (Not everyone can average in the late 30s and early 40s and still maintain a SR of > 75). If he is nowhere close to that, then drop him.

[coffee_rules]

They shdda had two of big4. Dravid/laxman's batting is a must for away odis. If tendlya falls early who will see the batting till the end? It will bite us big time.

[msb1991]

Agree Ganguly wasn't at his best in the last 8 innings. (same with Dravid). But' date=' SG was in sublime form in tests and he did really well in the ODIs before those 8 innings. Surely, you cannot drop someone on the basis of just 8 innings. Even a youngster deserves more chances than that. I think the selection policy should be made clear and RD, SG should be given a farewell series (and SRT should be asked whether he wants to play in WC 2011. If no, then he should be given a farewell series as well, and if yes, then he should be rested almost every alternate series).[/quote'] Agreed that he probably should have got more of a chance, but people saying that he was in good form are talking rubbish.

[yoda]

glad to see ganguly out of the ODI team. his SR has been pathetic.

[Indus_Army]

1) Timing of the accouncement: As already mentioned by a few posters, BCCI must get it's bloody act together. The team announcement must have been made at the end of the test. Ok...I do understand that the first game of the shorter version happens on Feb 1st and therefore presents a logistical problem, aggravated by the fact that GG, PC, SR & PK were involved in the Ranji final. Instead BCCI could have sent all the hopefuls (including Badrinath, Tiwary, Karthik etc) to the Australian Cricket Academy (just like how the Poms did it last winter) at the end of the Ranji final. That would have been a Win-Win situation for all those in contention. The players who made it to the team would have been better acclimatized to the Oz conditions, while the ones who had to return would have gotten some fruitful experience on Aussie pitches. More importantly, the team could have been announced right after the Adelaide test, leaving the dropped trio to prepare properly for the important fourth test. Needless to say, VVS, RD & SG will now be disappointed with the verdict and it's bound to affect their mental preparations for the Adelaide game. 2) Horses for courses theory flies out of the window: Sehwag was picked for the test team based on his '03/04 performance. Similarly, Ganguly was recalled to the Indian team sometime ago, though his domestic performance was not flash. Using a similar yardstick, I really think we could have done with Laxman in the team. Given his performances during 03/04 and in the form that he's in at the moment, VVS would have provided the additional experience in the batting order. At 33, I think he can figure in the ODI plans for about an year. 3) Short memory: Raina was absolutely clueless on the South African pitches (during the 06/07 tour). I'm not very convinced with his selection for the Aussie tour...at home against South africa would have been a better option (7 ODIs during March/April :stupid:). 4) Choice of spinners: The Aussies are more suspect against left arm spinners and Murali had a fair deal of success against the Aussies recently. I would have gone for Murali over Chawla. I do agree with the dropping of Dravid & Ganguly. We definitely need these two for the test team. Instead of running around the big Aussie grounds, I'm glad they have a chance for R&R. oh yes..I would like to see these guys turn up for the Deodhar trophy. Good match practice for them and additional motivation for the domestic players. Oh well...so much for the ODIs. Now that we won't have these meaningless ODIs from next year onwards, I hope the Ind-Aus test match series down under be increased to five tests from 2011/12 onwards. :rock:

[Cricketics]

i still don't know why the heck they didn't pick rahul dravid.. i mean guy would have come handy.. we are not playing this odi tri series at home, we are playing overseaz that too in australia.. we should have used the talent and class of wall in this tri series.. sucks big time.. damn it

[sandeep]

WTF is "KKDK" still doing in this team? If anything Gangu/Dravid/VVS deserved that extra batsman's spot - even if they didn't make the playing XI in the first couple of games....... Other than that, i have no problems with the team selection

[Mr. Wicket]

KKDK's a superb fielder. By which I mean he jumps and dives enthusiastically around in the infield, but holds onto about 1 in 2 catches in average and tends to swandive over a fair few balls with enough drama to give the impression that he's really, really trying hard and nobody else would have gotten near them.