Indian batting has become toothless: Boycott

[TaNk]

London, Oct 3 (IANS) Geoffrey Boycott has favoured the touring England side to India to win the series, saying the famed Indian batting is now toothless with all their five great players past their peak. Boycott said the Indian team is now in the state of flux and can be easily beaten if the England bowlers go hard at them. 'A tour of India is traditionally considered one of the toughest assignments in the global calendar. Yet I believe it would be a mistake for England to go out there next month with the aim of scrapping their way to a draw. This Indian team are in flux. They can be beaten if you go hard at them. And this is as good a time as any to try,' Boycott wrote in his column in The Telegraph. 'India's new chairman of selectors, Kris Srikkanth, faces a huge quandary. The great Indian batsmen are long in the tooth and approaching the end of their careers. Some of them are desperate to prolong their international lifespans, not just because they love the game but probably because of the endorsement deals available. But none of them are the force they once were.' Boycott wrote that India's 1-2 Test loss to Sri Lanka shows that the strong batting has lost its sheen. 'Think of that period in the early part of this decade when Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly reached their peak together. Shane Warne went to India three times and averaged over 40. They just batted him out of the game,' Boycott wrote. 'Which is very different to what we saw this summer, when the Sri Lankan spinners, Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, got on top of the Indian batsmen. That series, which Sri Lanka won 2-1, will have had a major effect on their confidence.' Boycott prophesised England bowlers with their pace will rattle the Indian veterans. 'The pace of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison will be England's biggest weapon, because the senior batsmen should all be vulnerable early on to quality fast bowling.'

[DomainK]

Memory ditches you in old age Boycs......how many days ago that we beat England on their home grounds? Pack a bagful of jelly beans with your boys when they come.

[Ram]

I keep hearing this 'Indian batting isnt as strong as it used to be' often nowadays. I suppose, there is an element of truth in that, as Dravid isnt the force he once used to be. But still, even now, our line-up with Sehwag at the top, Dhoni in the rear and guys like Sachin and VVS in the middle, is still quite strong.

[putrevus]

boycott is spot on indians are unable to accept that fact

[Sachinism]

Our young lads will give them a good hiding

[DomainK]

boycott is spot on indians are unable to accept that fact

No. Everyone including Boycott is relying only on the Srilanka series to show any failure. Shyt happens.

[King Tendulkar]

We had one bad series against the best spin bowling attack this world has ever seen! We will show our class with the bat in this series

[TaNk]

I think Boycott didn't watch the Aussi vs India A match last night

[Predator_05]

Toothless enough to rack up 664 at the Oval last summer, Boycs ?

[Dark Warrior]

sehwag was right abt boycott!!

[TaNk]

sehwag was right abt boycott!!

lol what did sehwag said?

[vsd2006]

boycs needs a mental checkup. His pommies would have lost 3-0 in SL, especially when his hero freddie might not be able to see mendis pushing a few between his legs.

[Dark Warrior]

lol what did sehwag said?

Once Geoffrey Boycott said Sehwag is "talented but brainless" batsman. That comment gets sehwag's adrenaline flowing. Sehwag says he doesn't particularly care. "Boycott can say what he wants. Boycott once batted the whole day and hit just one four. Ball dekh ke maro nahi aur run nahi banao to batsman kya?

[TaNk]

Once Geoffrey Boycott said Sehwag is "talented but brainless" batsman. That comment gets sehwag's adrenaline flowing. Sehwag says he doesn't particularly care. "Boycott can say what he wants. Boycott once batted the whole day and hit just one four. Ball dekh ke maro nahi aur run nahi banao to batsman kya?

LOL !

[yoda]

Boycott is wrong. Indian batting has always been toothless. One good performance and then a bunch of chokes, series of 4th innings collapses. Just that now the players have also gotten older.

[hindu-Stan]

We had one bad series against the best spin bowling attack this world has ever seen! We will show our class with the bat in this series

It was the worst dude. Nobody got clue how M&M bowling. But the things were different in ODI. No comparision in ODI and TEST but i expect something more from them in TEST they failed to deliver.

[graphic23]

Meh. It is his personal opinion about the present strength of the Indian batsmen but it is in wrong spirit and his tongue isn't in control when he says that our batsmen are prolonging their careers for the endorsement deals. Who the **** is he to say that? What an idiotic statement.

[bharat297]

Granted our batting isnt as potent as it used to be but ... look at our bowling ... Zaheer, Ishant, RP, Kumble, Harbhajan, Praveen, Munaf ... we have a lot more depth in our bowling now

[zubinpepsi]

Boycott is wrong. Indian batting has always been toothless. One good performance and then a bunch of chokes, series of 4th innings collapses. Just that now the players have also gotten older.

so true... but but lets respect our heroes. shall we??? they are not getting old.. the fans are getting old and senile..our flab 5 can play as long as they want and they deserve to play and amass $$$$$$... lets watch n rejoice those rare victories we had ... meh!!!

[amits]

the team against england will still have players like sehwag, gambhir, tendulkar, laxman alongwith some players out of raina, kaif, badrinath. not a bad batting line up at all & still miles better than the batting lineup england will have