Your Playing 11 for the first test in NZ

[express bowling]

2 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

Gill fans are pissed off that he is not going to be playing. Reason is Gill was already part of the test squad. But Shaw is a replacement of Rohit. So as per their argument Gill should have had the shot as an opener not Shaw. 

 

Choose the batsman who is most likely to do well in the upcoming test ... decision being based on their current form and ability.

 

Be it Gill, Shaw, Lotan or Chhotan.

 

No need to confuse ourselves with who replaced whom. 

Edited February 17, 2020 by express bowling

[Cricwala]

For me, this series will be another test of our familiar failings in SENA -

 

1.) Batting against seam/swing

 

Although all teams struggle with this, we in India tend to beat ourself up a lot more over it, as our lower order is often unable to get us to a par score once ball has softened and wicket has lost its sting. SO this is a test of entire batting line up - 1 to 11. I have no real issues with batting squad - first Dhawan and now Rohit being persisted in tests is a manifestation of our star culture, hopefully a future captain-coach-selector combo will break this pattern and our system will develop more respect for single format players. But for this series, with Rohit also out, the batting firepower is best available in country. Pant vs Saha cld be another crucial factor in ability of tail to eke out runs, with Pant edging Saha out for me, but I think Kohli will start with Saha. 

 

2.) Ability to get 20 wickets.

 

Although we have improved tremendously on this front, I fear we still lack that cutting edge at all times in the opponent innings. All-conquering teams in SENA usually have a genuine wicket-taker behind the top 3 pacers - usually a good spinner, or a 4th-5th-bowling genuine all rounder like Kallis. We lack that - Jadeja and Ashwin are steady at best. Shastri had the right impulse after Sydney test where he said Kuldeep will be lead spinner overseas going forward, but his spinelessness in front of Kohli means that the attacking wrist-spinner option is now not even in the squad. So one of Shamir or Bumrah will have to bowl out of their skins this series for us to win. I mean, they have to really terrorise the Kiwi tail and not allow those doughty 50-70 run partnerships down the order which have been our bane.

 

3.) Catching and astute captaincy

 

Even with the bowling resources at our disposal, we might still have enough to pip the Kiwis if we catch well and are able to navigate the bad sessions (wicket goes flat, good partnership develops) with minimum damage. this will mean, having rights players in key positions and ability to frustrate batsmen with tight fields and bowling plans. With Rohit out, i suspect our slips will see more musical chairs with Pujara, Kohli and ? randomly rotating 1,2,3 slips. Bat-pad cld also be decided as per seniority rules (Shaw this time?) rather than ability (one of Mayank, Vihari should have developed excellent close-catching skills by now). We need to have bowling plans for guys like Watling, CDG, Wagner, Southee as much as we have for NZ top order - but then again, when was the last time we saw that level of prep from an Indian team?

 

All in all - its going to be a close series, and only some outstanding individual performances can win it for India.

[MCcricket]

For me

 

Mayank 

Shaw            should have been KL ideally

Pujara

Kohli

Rahane

Vihari

Pant              Saha is 35 or above n Pant has the numbers n is a game changer

Chahal.          As he takes the pitch out of equation n Ashwin , Jadeja r proven failures in SENA

Shami

Bumrah

Saini.             Umesh  is a proven failure in SENA as well as has lost a lot of pace n zip. Saini  can change a game in a spell

 

KL, Prasidh, Hardik should be in the test squad when available as they r quality n avoid mediocre Shard- up and the likes

 

 

[afan]

1. Shaw

2. Mayank

3. Pujara

4. Kohli

5. Rahane 

6. Vihari

7. Pant

8. Jadeja

9. Saini/Umesh

10. Shami

11. Bumra

 

I will definitely want to see Shaw opening along with Mayank, 

[Ankit_sharma03]

1. shaw
2. Mayank
3. pujara
4. kohli
5. Rahane
6. Vihari 
7. Pant
8. Ashwin
9. Saini/ishant
10. Shami
11. bumrah 

[express bowling]

26 minutes ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

1. shaw
2. Mayank
3. pujara
4. kohli
5. Rahane
6. Vihari 
7. Pant
8. Ashwin
9. Saini/ishant
10. Shami
11. bumrah 

 

 

 

Ishant should not be risked if we are playing just 3 quicks. If he breaks down, it will be disaster.

 

It will put extra load on Bumrah who himself is coming back from injury.

[vvvslaxman]

How serious is Ishan't injury?   Boult hand was broken on Dec 28, 2019 . ishant picked up his injury on Jan 21st . Boult is supposed to be more scratchy given the longer lay off.  So i wouldn't worry about lack of match practice. But problem is they said it was grade 3 tear he picked up while appealing. Checking about grade 3 tear on internet, it says recovery time is 3 months. They also said it will be six weeks before recovery. So i am not sure what is going on. Is it actually grade 3 or grade 2?  Wish we had seen him play some real first class match to see if he is fit.

[Cricwala]

14 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

How serious is Ishan't injury?   Boult hand was broken on Dec 28, 2019 . ishant picked up his injury on Jan 21st . Boult is supposed to be more scratchy given the longer lay off.  So i wouldn't worry about lack of match practice. But problem is they said it was grade 3 tear he picked up while appealing. Checking about grade 3 tear on internet, it says recovery time is 3 months. They also said it will be six weeks before recovery. So i am not sure what is going on. Is it actually grade 3 or grade 2?  Wish we had seen him play some real first class match to see if he is fit.

Don't worry..Ishant has been certified fit by that great institution known as the NCA which did such a stellar job in assessing fitness of and conducting rehab of Saha, Bhuvi etc. Just trust the "process" And if all else fails, our great positivist coach will pump so much self-belief into Ishant that he will knock NZ over even if he has to bowl on one leg. A a session with Shastri and Ishant will take 'run up out of the equation' just like our whole team has learnt to "take pitch out of equation"

[express bowling]

14 minutes ago, Cricwala said:

Don't worry..Ishant has been certified fit by that great institution known as the NCA which did such a stellar job in assessing fitness of and conducting rehab of Saha, Bhuvi etc. Just trust the "process" And if all else fails, our great positivist coach will pump so much self-belief into Ishant that he will knock NZ over even if he has to bowl on one leg. A a session with Shastri and Ishant will take 'run up out of the equation' just like our whole team has learnt to "take pitch out of equation"

 

I hope Ishant does not go the Bhuvi or Saha way regarding fitness.

 

Bringing him back, quicker than merited, can really mess up his career.

[Gollum]

From what i remember Jaddu was given a pasting in the 2014 test series, I don't care how much his batting has improved. Vihari can't do a worse job with his offies. 

 

Last chance for Umesh, if he fails discard him permanently outside Indian pitches. 

 

About time freeloader Rahane starts delivering, even his catching is a worry this time.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Gollum