Let's say Pujara has had enough and retires after this test.

[BacktoCricaddict]

Cheteshwar Pujara has played a major role in India's success in test cricket over the past decade.  There is no denying that fact.  But it is also becoming apparent that he is on the wrong side of his peak.  Let's just say he wakes up on Wednesday Thursday or Friday and goes "to heck with this struggle.  I've done it for a long time and it's time for something else." 

 

Who are the contenders for the #3 slot?

(1) Gill, with Shaw opening.

(2) Shaw, with current opening combo

(3) Agarwal, with current opening combo

(4) Rahul, with current opening combo

 

(5) Sundar, with Gill/Sharma/Shaw/Rahul/Agarwal competing for the 2 opening slots:  This is a really intriguing option for me.  Maybe because I am biased from watching Sundar's clutch knocks whenever he got a chance and the ease with which he handled some excellent bowling, along with his ability to shut it down or crank it up based on situation.  Plus, in my decades of watching cricket, I don't remember India having a LHB at #3 for any extended time.  Would be a nice change.  

 

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by BacktoCricaddict

[Lord]

Will swap his position with Gill first

[Vk1]

number 3 is the most crucial position. I would prefer someone similar to Pujara who is not T20 savvy. Very hard to find but no shahs/rahuls pls. 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Vk1

[asterix]

Need somebody who has good technique but not goes in a “shell”. I won’t mind Gill taking that position with Agarwal returning to open. Later Shaw can replace Rohit once he retires from Test Cricket.

 

If no other options, Let Kohli move up at 3 and get Vihari in down the order.

 

Hoping Pujara calls it a day ASAP.

Edited June 21, 2021 by asterix

[Adamant]

7 minutes ago, asterix said:

If no other options, Let Kohli move up at 3 and get Vihari in down the order.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Sundar at no 3 for me.. Solid Defence + Tall guy & a left hander.  As Gill & Rohit are both right handers won't be bad idea to slot in Sundar at 3.

But can't expect such out of the box thinking from Lolli. 

He will give whole 5 games to Pujara. 

[Gollum]

 

Tall LHB (Openers, VK, Jinx all are RHBs so easy to prepare against)

 

Signs of clutchness till now

 

Tight defence, unlike T20s and ODIs needn't force matters to play at a decent tempo

 

Spin bowling option, adds so much value by not being like other 1D blokes in our top order, in SENA we can go with one specialist spinner and Washi to bowl 5-10 overs per innings to ease workload of others. At home a bigger role. Who knows under his TN teammate's mentorship he may pick up a few things and improve. If you watched how he dismissed Smith at Gabba on day one, had Ashwin written all over it, kid seems to have a sharp brain.  

 

Age just 21, can easily invest a couple of cycles in him IMO. He won't be a finished product from day one, but with more matches under his belt I am sure he will cement his spot. 

 

Shaw must get opening slot, Gill in MO. Will happen eventually. 

Vihari is too limited a batsman, doesn't have a wide range of shots, age not on his side compared to Shaw, Gill, Sundar. But won't mind him as a stop-gap opener to partner Shaw 2 years from now if the likes of Padikkal and Easwaran can't break through. Seeing more of a Chris Rogers or Katich role for Vihari in opening position.....a dogged overachieving batsman partnering a swashbuckler in Shaw. 

Mayank not sure, million bucks in India but must prove himself in testing conditions. Maybe some India-A matches for him.

KLR needs to prove his red ball credentials in FC, and I say this as a big fan of his. No shortcut in the longer format. 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Gollum

[raki05]

3 minutes ago, Gollum said:

 

Tall LHB (Openers, VK, Jinx all are RHBs so easy to prepare against)

 

Signs of clutchness till now

 

Tight defence, unlike T20s and ODIs needn't force matters to play at a decent tempo

 

Spin bowling option, adds so much value by not being like other 1D blokes in our top order, in SENA we can go with one specialist spinner and Washi to bowl 5-10 overs per innings to ease workload of others. At home a bigger role. Who knows under his TN teammate's mentorship he may pick up a few things and improve. If you watched how he dismissed Smith at Gabba on day one, had Ashwin written all over it, kid seems to have a sharp brain.  

 

Age just 21, can easily invest a couple of cycles in him IMO. He won't be a finished product from day one, but with more matches under his belt I am sure he will cement his spot. 

 

Shaw must get opening slot, Gill in MO. Will happen eventually. 

Vihari is too limited a batsman, doesn't have a wide range of shots, age not on his side compared to Shaw, Gill, Sundar. But won't mind him as a stop-gap opener to partner Shaw 2 years from now if the likes of Padikkal and Easwaran can't break through. Seeing more of a Chris Rogers or Katich role for Vihari in opening position. 

Mayank not sure, million bucks in India but must prove himself in testing conditions. Maybe some India-A matches for him.

KLR needs to prove his red ball credentials in FC, and I say this as a big fan of his. No shortcut in the longer format. 

Ya among youngster i think he deserve first chance either as an opener or at first down. He looked really promising during his first overseas series in Aus and then against eng in that crunch match. This guy is not meant for loi at least now, but TM by keeping him in LOI team especially t20 turn him to a slogger like they did with Rahul in his early days.

[maniac]

Watching Pujara block with his body for 100 balls and score 10 odd runs is excruciatingly painful to watch. I don’t care how “useful” these knocks are. 
 

Before someone comes up with a “go watch IPL and T20” smart ass retort, not everything has to be the other extreme opinion, there is a decent middle ground.

[Lord]

6 minutes ago, Gollum said:

 

Tall LHB (Openers, VK, Jinx all are RHBs so easy to prepare against)

 

Signs of clutchness till now

 

Tight defence, unlike T20s and ODIs needn't force matters to play at a decent tempo

 

Spin bowling option, adds so much value by not being like other 1D blokes in our top order, in SENA we can go with one specialist spinner and Washi to bowl 5-10 overs per innings to ease workload of others. At home a bigger role. Who knows under his TN teammate's mentorship he may pick up a few things and improve. If you watched how he dismissed Smith at Gabba on day one, had Ashwin written all over it, kid seems to have a sharp brain.  

 

Age just 21, can easily invest a couple of cycles in him IMO. He won't be a finished product from day one, but with more matches under his belt I am sure he will cement his spot. 

 

Shaw must get opening slot, Gill in MO. Will happen eventually. 

Vihari is too limited a batsman, doesn't have a wide range of shots, age not on his side compared to Shaw, Gill, Sundar. But won't mind him as a stop-gap opener to partner Shaw 2 years from now if the likes of Padikkal and Easwaran can't break through. Seeing more of a Chris Rogers or Katich role for Vihari in opening position. 

Mayank not sure, million bucks in India but must prove himself in testing conditions. Maybe some India-A matches for him.

KLR needs to prove his red ball credentials in FC, and I say this as a big fan of his. No shortcut in the longer format. 

 

Shaw will be better in MO. Doubt his technique is good enough for overseas opening.Ofcourse he's young and can improve

 

Vihari is 27,not too old and is good player of spin.Should get a consistent run of games to judge.Could easily have replaced Rahane in India.

 

Sundar needs to be in scheme of things even for upcoming Eng tour.He's that good

[Lord]

4 minutes ago, raki05 said:

Ya among youngster i think he deserve first chance either as an opener or at first down. He looked really promising during his first overseas series in Aus and then against eng in that crunch match. This guy is not meant for loi at least now, but TM by keeping him in LOI team especially t20 turn him to a slogger like they did with Rahul in his early days.

 

He can easily play LOI in top order.Anyway we need a bowling option in top 6

[maniac]

Shaw in SC can be as destructive as Sehwag. He is not going to get Adelaide and Gabba type pitches every time.

 

However a liability in the field. Might cost more runs than he scores but on a good day will create such impact with the bat that he can win you tricky games singlehandedly.

[BacktoCricaddict]

8 minutes ago, maniac said:

Shaw in SC can be as destructive as Sehwag. He is not going to get Adelaide and Gabba type pitches every time.

 

However a liability in the field. Might cost more runs than he scores but on a good day will create such impact with the bat that he can win you tricky games singlehandedly.

Yeah, but fielding - to a large extent - is an acquired skill.  If one practices and gives 100% effort, that is 75% of the battle won right there.  He will never be electric, but with some dedication, he can be a dependable guy.  

[Lord]

11 minutes ago, maniac said:

Shaw in SC can be as destructive as Sehwag. He is not going to get Adelaide and Gabba type pitches every time.

 

However a liability in the field. Might cost more runs than he scores but on a good day will create such impact with the bat that he can win you tricky games singlehandedly.

 

in India even Mayank is super.We have to look for ones who can do better overseas

 

It actually swings least in Aus amongst SENA countries.Others will only be tougher

[Lord]

3 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Yeah, but fielding - to a large extent - is an acquired skill.  If one practices and gives 100% effort, that is 75% of the battle won right there.  He will never be electric, but with some dedication, he can be a dependable guy.  

 

Can be a slip fielder.Won't have to run

[maniac]

2 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

Can be a slip fielder.Won't have to run

He was pretty good in U-19 in the slips. However he did look like he was u-19 then.

 

Now he looks like a 40 year old with relflexes of a 60 year old. Not making fun of his looks per se but doesn’t look like an athlete by any stretch of imagination.

[G_B_]

1 hour ago, maniac said:

Watching Pujara block with his body for 100 balls and score 10 odd runs is excruciatingly painful to watch. I don’t care how “useful” these knocks are. 
 

Before someone comes up with a “go watch IPL and T20” smart ass retort, not everything has to be the other extreme opinion, there is a decent middle ground.

Go watch ipl you smash and bang extremist

 

 

[G_B_]

Joking aside 

 

I think che needs to look to rotate the strike. Usually he attacks the spinners but nz have no spinners. 

 

It means the onus is on the other guy to take some initiative  

[Vilander]

1 hour ago, Lord said:

Shaw will be better in MO. Doubt his technique is good enough for overseas opening.Ofcourse he's young and can improve

Lol are you talking about washington or prithvi? 

[Lord]

15 minutes ago, Vilander said:

Lol are you talking about washington or prithvi? 

 

Prithvi shaw