In which order should the senior batsmen be phased out in the Test Side

[Prabhdeep Singh]

My Order:

 

In terms of form and potential returns.

 

C Pujara (35) 

A Rahane (35)

V Kohli (34)

R Sharma (36)

[Stan AF]

Batsmen whose averages have dropped by more than 5 points (since the last 2 WTC cycles) should be shown the door right away.

 

Poosara

Kohli and rahane

 

Fit this list right away

[coffee_rules]

Sharma

Rajane

Kohli

Poojara

 

in that order. Sharma looks totally unfit for international cricket 

[zen]

Rohit - should not have been even made the captain … Probably the oldest of the lot … Even in slightly tough batting conditions, he knows he can’t survive at the crease for long so tries to go for his shots randomly to get to 30 or so first before getting out 

 

Rahane - lucky for himself where he does well in 1 inning per series to hold on to his place … Uses similar tactics as Rohit, I.e. get 30 or so runs quickly before getting out to be in the grey area 

 

Count - Ind’s only test focused batsman.  For India to pull off a series miraculously, it needs his heroics. If he does not do well, no matter who else does well, India is likely to fall short (Even in WTC, many fans knew if Pujara did not click, India would falter irrespective of who else is playing)

 

Kohli - the youngest and the fittest of the lot so will get that benefit. 

Edited June 14, 2023 by zen

[Laaloo]

All of them at once 

[Nikola]

Rohit

Rahane

Pujara 

Kohli - (Could play 2-3 years if he works hard)

 

First 3 have to go now. No need to play them even in single test.

[AKane]

Never mind phased out - think who else will be phased in.

 

Kannaur Lokesh is getting ready....

 

The article starts with  "In a piece of good news for the Indian Cricket Team, KL Rahul is back training at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore."

 

https://www.insidesport.in/kl-rahul-targets-2023-asia-cup-starts-rehabilitation-at-nca/

 

Good news indeed! Made my day.

Edited June 14, 2023 by AKane

[Lone Wolf]

Gujara 

Kohli 

Rohit

Karate kid

[tweaker]

Batsman who are consistent ,have good form ie Jaiswal,Ruturaj,Sarfaraz Patidar should be selected in the squad.

Usually such players are selected who can be easily dropped and are not threat to senior players.

 

Ideally Sarfaraz and Jaiswal should have made debut by now

[Norman]

1 hour ago, Laaloo said:

All of them at once 

 

This.  

 

Why should there be a queue? If fans are so scared of sudden changes , no wonder the selectors get shivers even at the thought of dropping these dinosaurs.

[Norman]

Khujara, Chokli, Harane, Fatso should all be dropped for the WI tour. You should give the new lot the entire WTC cycle to gel together. Doesn't matter even if they lose at home, do not bring the old guard back.

 

Jaiswal, Gaikwad, Gill, Iyer and Easwaran alongside Pant and Jadeja should be the batting crux. Sundar once fit should be slotted in the top 4 if needed.

[Chakdephatte]

Rahane- 2019

Pujara- 2021

Kohli- Now

 

Would have been ideal and given enough time for a smooth transformation. That chance is gone. Ideal not to play any of them in soft series like WI. Kohli/Rahane might be needed in SA but god knows what they do.

 

Rohit is our best batsman. 

 

[Stan AF]

Stats show Virat Kohli may have been India's worst batter and major reason for team's low scores in WTC 2021-23

ByAritra Mukherjee

Jun 14, 2023 03:38 PM IST

 

 

In Tests involving Kohli in this WTC cylcle, his No. 4 counterpart scored 1337 runs at an average of 49.51. While Kohli managed only 932 runs an average of 32.

Warning: If you are a blind fan, the following may trigger you. But still, read on to test it, maybe? Numbers, especially in a sport like cricket, are funny. They can be interpreted in a lot of ways. And each time, they narrate a story. Whether a discomforting one or the one that brings an instant smile depends on how the numbers are presented and of course, how they are interpreted.

India's Virat Kohli(AP)

 

Take Virat Kohli's numbers in World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle as an example. He ended up as India's highest run-scorer with 932 runs. Despite all the criticism, he still, somehow scored more runs than all Indian batters in the recently-concluded WTC cycle. True, but how much did it help India? Not much, to be honest.

Let's dig deeper. To score 932 runs, Kohli took 17 matches. The only other Indian batter who played as many matches in this WTC cycle was Cheteshwar Pujara. How much did he score? 928 - the second-most. Kohli and Pujara's averages respectively were 32.13 and 32, which is considerably lower than Rishabh Pant's (868 runs in 12 matches with an average of 43.40), captain Rohit Sharma's (758 runs in 11 matches at an average of 42.11) and even Ravindra Jadeja's (721 runs in 13 matches at an average of 36.04).

 

 

The quality of opposition and spin-friendly tracks at home can be the major factors that may have led to the disappointing numbers of Indian batters in this WTC cycle. The trend pretty much continued till the final against Australia at The Oval, where India managed to score only 296 and 235 on a pitch where Australia pummelled 469 and then declared their second innings at 270/8.

Another crucial aspect here is the performance of India's top-order. India have lost four wickets under 100 runs as many as 15 times in the last couple of years. It's their lower-order, namely Pant, Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and to a certain extent Axar Patel that has carried their innings to a respectable total.

Virat Kohli the reasons behind India's batting failure in WTC 2021-23?

Further introspection about batting position leads to another telling stat. Despite the grim numbers of India's top-order, they have still done better than their opposition counterparts (on average) for every batting position except No.4, where Kohli bats. India's openers (Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill for the better part) averaged 35 in this WTC cycle while the opposition openers averaged 30.4 against India.

 

At No.3, where Pujara bats mostly, the average for India is 31.68. For the opposition, it's 30.79. Mind you, the current No.1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne also bats at No.3 for Australia which means in matches between India and Australia, Pujara has fared better than Labuschagne.

The No.5 position has been mostly shared among Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, the average for India there is 37.18. The opposition's No.5 has an average of only 30.5 against India. India's No.6 and 7 averaged 30.5 and 31.1 in this WTC cycle while their counterparts averaged only 27.56 and 16.7 respectively.

Then what's the problem? How come we are blaming the Indian batters for underperforming? Here's the catch. All the difference has been made by the batter at No.4, generally reserved for the team's biggest star. That is where Virat Kohli has faltered. As highlighted in the chart shared by Soham Sarkhel, India's No.4 has averaged 31.96 while the opposition's No.4 has averaged 45.58. The massive difference of -13.62 has nullified all the little gains by the Indian batters batting in other positions.

 

 

Virat Kohli way behind Steve Smith and Joe Root

In Tests involving Kohli, his No. 4 counterpart scored 1337 runs at an average of 49.51. While Kohli has managed only 932 runs an average of 32. If we exclude Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from the equation, the opposition No.4 averaged 61.63 overall in this WTC cycle.

 

 

Kohli's Test form has been a major concern for India in the last four years. He averaged only 19.33 in 2020. Since then, has shown gradual improvements every year, scoring 536 runs in 11 Tests in 2021 at an average of 28, and 265 runs in 6 Tests in 2022 at an average of 27 in 2022. But it was still way below his lofty standards. No Test batter who has scored 8000-plus runs has ever had two back-to-back years averaging less than 30 after crossing 50 Tests apart from South Africa's Hashim Amla in his final two years in international cricket.

 

Kohli has started 2023 on a good note. He has scored 360 runs in 5 Tests so far. His only Test century since 2020 also came this year, albeit on perhaps the flattest track to bat on in Ahmedabad against Australia. He showed signs of greatness in the second innings of the WTC final but got out playing a rash shot.

 

What about Joe Root, Babar Azam, and Steve Smith?

Babar Azam, who also bats at No.4 for Pakistan, has the highest average (69.10) in this WTC cycle. He has scored four centuries in 20 innings. Second in the list is Steve Smith with an average of 55.40. Joe Root, on the other hand, ended WTC with an average of 54.20. Sri Lanka veteran Angelo Mathews notched up two centuries in 16 innings and averaged 48 while batting at No.4 in this second edition of WTC.

Kohli is still far from his best and also some distance away from his counterparts Joe Root and Steve Smith but India would be hoping that changes from the West Indies tour.

 

 

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/stat-shows-virat-kohli-may-have-been-indias-worst-batter-and-a-major-reason-for-teams-low-scores-in-wtc-202123-101686732603477.html

 

[bowl_out]

Sharma and Pujara right away

 

Kohli and Rahane after the next cycle

 

[wanted_desi]

Honestly all of them at same time. CLean the house and start over! 

[singhvivek141]

Let's go by replacements 

G

For Rohit..we have potentially Jaiswal.

For Pujara..Abhimanyu Easwaran or Hanuma Vihari ?

For Kohli...Ideally Gill shoukd replace him...and Gill should be replaced at the top by Ruturaj. In MO we have Shreyas but not sure about his game against bounce.

For Rahane...Sarafarz, Rinku or Tilak Varma.

 

 

Ideally a good Team

Easwaran/Gill (R)

Jaiswal (L)

Ruturaj/Vihari (R)

Gill/Shreyas (R)

Rinku/Tilak (L) or Sarfaraz (R)

[Prabhdeep Singh]

Test Records including both WTC Cycles 2019-21 & 2021-23:

 

[vvvslaxman]

Pujara = Deadwood

Rahane = Deadwood

Kohli = Deadwood

Rohit = Deadwood

 

My order is

 

Deadwood.

[Lord]

Pujara

Rohit

Kohli 

Rahane

[SRT100]

5 hours ago, AKane said:

Never mind phased out - think who else will be phased in.

 

Kannaur Lokesh is getting ready....

 

The article starts with  "In a piece of good news for the Indian Cricket Team, KL Rahul is back training at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore."

 

https://www.insidesport.in/kl-rahul-targets-2023-asia-cup-starts-rehabilitation-at-nca/

 

Good news indeed! Made my day.

Its so sad. This isnt even funny. Its how pathetic Indian Cricket is. More chances of KL coming in and joining the uncles, then the uncles being dropped.