Ganguly in line for recall

[DesiChap]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/rsavind/content/current/story/270219.html India's stuttering form in the one-day arena may have an unlikely beneficiary: Sourav Ganguly is in line for a recall to the Test side, nine months after he was jettisoned followed the resounding 341-run defeat at Karachi. Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and VRV Singh :wall: :wall: are likely to be named in the squad for the Tests when the selectors meet on Thursday and, with Rahul Dravid not certain to play in the opening Test, Ganguly could join VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order for what is likely to be a tremendous test of India's batting resources. Wealth of experience is being considered an asset after Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia failed to make the transition on the bouncier pitches in South Africa. Ganguly has one Duleep Trophy century to his name this season, and the team's think-tank and the national selectors also reason that his will to succeed after all the travails of the past 18 months will inspire him to rediscover the sort of form that he last showed on the arduous tour of Australia three years ago. The other contender for a middle-order berth is S Badrinath , the Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman and captain. Badri scored 636 runs from 7 matches in the last Ranji season, averaging a shade under 80, including a highest of 206 not out, and was only 6 short of Amol Muzumdar, the top scorer, who had played one match more. Badri is believed to have the ideal temperament, being a batsman who can graft and spend long hours at the crease while still having a full repertoire of strokes, as he showed in this season's first Ranji match, scoring 136 in more than 7 hours against Delhi . Raina and Mongia will almost certainly head back, and Gambhir, who has piled on the runs in domestic cricket, will tussle with Wasim Jaffer for the second opener's position. VRV Singh is very much the wild card, with India seeking a tall and pacy quick-bowling option on surfaces where the heavy ball pitched just short of a length can do so much damage. Irfan Pathan could be the other player to be handed a ticket home after the one-day series. Since embarking on the West Indies tour in May, Pathan's displays have been fitful at best and, with Zaheer Khan offering a revitalised pace-bowling option, Pathan may be asked to run the domestic treadmill in preparation for one-day series against West Indies and Sri Lanka prior to the World Cup. Munaf Patel is unlikely to play before the warm-up match in Potchefstroom and, given Harbhajan Singh's inconsistency away from home, India could line up for the first Test with a bowling line-up that reads Munaf, Sreesanth, Zaheer and Anil Kumble. Ganguly's medium pace fetched him five wickets in a recent Ranji Trophy game at Mohali, and might well provide the fifth bowling option. When Ganguly and Laxman were originally eased out, amid India's successes in the one-day arena, the expectation was that the likes of Raina would make the transition to the highest stage. But with the team struggling in recent months, the runs have dried up and a spell in domestic cricket is thought to be the best way in which to stitch back together the fabric of his game. As Australia, and especially individuals like Justin Langer and Glenn McGrath, have shown recently, there's always a place for experience. And if Ganguly and Laxman can summon up some of the quality that made them marquee players, all might not yet be lost. A decade ago one TV pundit famously wrote off Alex Ferguson's Manchester United side by saying: "You can't win anything with kids". That golden generation proved him wrong, but in India's case, that prophecy appears to have come sadly true. Depending on the old guard is a short-term, band-aid solution, but for a team that has become a stranger to success in recent months, experience can only be a virtue.

[Sooda]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall Its not THAT surprising VVS. Gangs all back. The youngsters just havnet lived upto it..dissapointing Anyways i do think gangs should not have been dropped from test cricket after the Pak tour and im sure he can do a job. But do remember than kaif scored some good runs in WI. So the 16ish will be Sehwag, Jaffer,VVS,SRT,RD,Gangs,MSD,Kumble,Zaheer,Munaf,Sree...VRV,DKarthik?,Gambhir,Bhajji is Kaif there in the test squad? VRV might well be ok you never know

[DesiChap]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall Wonder y VRV is being considered. The 15 member team should be: Sehwag Jaffar Dravid VVS Tendulkar Ganguly Dhoni Badrinath Munaf Zaheer Sreesanth Kumble Bhajji Gagandeep Gambhir

[yoda]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall VRV? Wonder why no mention of Rao. The guy absolutely must be tried in tests.

[gator]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall VRV is the only bowler who can bowl at 140+ in the team... y would u not want him.... he is not the same bowler as wen he made his debut... we got plenty of 130 trundlers led by munaf.... VRV will be a face-saver....

[jf1gp_1]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall No surprises but why VRV why not nehra or Balaji ? and whats the point of announcing the team on thursday when they already sort of announced the team.

[gator]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall balaji and nehra are struggling to get wickets in the domestic scene, which indicates they are not back fully yet.... they are not tht great to come back solely on their past repuation, which is only mediocre..

[jf1gp_1]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall Sehwag Gambhir/Jaffer Rahul Sachin laxman Ganguly Dhoni Kumble Zaheer Sreesanth Munaf How does it look ??

[DesiChap]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall Jaffar will play the 1st test. He did well in Wendies and deserves to play all 3 tests this series baring injury. Tha rest of team is what is prabaly going to b. Badri might get a look in if Dravid is not fit for the 1st test.

Sehwag Gambhir/Jaffer Rahul Sachin laxman Ganguly Dhoni Kumble Zaheer Sreesanth Munaf How does it look ??

[kabira]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall No need to temper with opening in Tests...Let them play all 3.. we need one solid middle order batter...I think we will find that in Badri or Rao...they are long term solutions..

[Rohan495]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall looks good but Laxman should bat at number 3. the best comes out of him at number 3.

[King]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall

Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and VRV Singh wall wall are likely to be named in the squad for the Tests when the selectors meet on Thursday and, with Rahul Dravid not certain to play in the opening Test, Ganguly could join VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order for what is likely to be a tremendous test of India's batting resources.

Ganguly deserves a place but am not hopeful he will do well on South African pitches. If Ganguly was playing international cricket for a while he could have been handy but without much runs behind him he will struggle in South Africa. I wish to be proved wrong though. It's a welcome selection too. I don't like the fact Rahul may miss out on the first test

[Gambit]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall The worst among the best Indian recent bats against pace gets a chance to face the most hostile pace attack in the world on pitches that will resemble the Mamba. Some people get recalls for home series. Not him. All eyes on Dada as he will take on Ntini,Nel,Steyn. It will be gripping stuff!

[The Outsider]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall Ganguly in SA: [code:dcd7b00426] Mat I NO Runs HS1 HS2 HS3 Ave 100 50 0 unfiltered 88 140 12 5221 173 147 144 40.78 12 25 8 filtered 5 10 1 292 73 60 42 32.44 0 2 1 [/code:1:dcd7b00426] And the last of these tests was 5 years back when he was a much better batsman. And we are looking upto him to save the day in SA? Why not plump for Rao and Badrinath? They have been scoring by the buckets in domestic and FC cricket. Remember how Amre and Sehwag debuted with hundreds in SA. We know we are not going to get anything more than 30s from Ganguly and we just might strike it big with these guys.

[Gambit]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall Ganguly's best knock in RSA was a 42 in the 2nd test in 2001. He was hitting boundaries all over the place as wickets were falling all around him. Good knock nipped in the bud.

[DesiChap]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall Might as well get it over with on what is already a disastrous tour. If he clicks well and good otherwise dump him for good.

Ganguly in SA: [code:1:ec63a76a41] Mat I NO Runs HS1 HS2 HS3 Ave 100 50 0 unfiltered 88 140 12 5221 173 147 144 40.78 12 25 8 filtered 5 10 1 292 73 60 42 32.44 0 2 1 [/code:1:ec63a76a41] And the last of these tests was 5 years back when he was a much better batsman. And we are looking upto him to save the day in SA? Why not plump for Rao and Badrinath? They have been scoring by the buckets in domestic and FC cricket. Remember how Amre and Sehwag debuted with hundreds in SA. We know we are not going to get anything more than 30s from Ganguly and we just might strike it big with these guys.

[Zap_Brannigan]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall "Might as well get it over with on what is already a disastrous tour. If he clicks well and good otherwise dump him for good" Didnt we say the same thing when he was picked for the pak series? I dont get how selectors think.....one one hand we have someone who has never been that good in test cricket,avg 40 while playing most of the games in the "easy to bat" era,not a gd fielder,flop in domestic cricket in England and India in the last 1 year and on the other hand we have players who have made 8 times the runs this guy has made this season in domestic cricket...and yet they wanna pick the out of form has been

[Rahul]

Re: Ganguly in line for recall ^^ well said. of course, groupies will have other reasons, but fact is, he hasnt done well since his dumping to merit a recall. take it easy, R