Is India the favourite to win World T20 title?

[Lord]

After effects of IPL. Last year he took time off a test series. But this year he cannot because he is the captain. India doesn't have Tests for 6 months though which is poor scheduling. More T20s than Tests.

ya but still a reserve keeper could have been picked .Karthik was in gr8 touch n would have been handy

[Sachinism]

Has the team left for UK? I think they were supposed to leave after that press conference

[riya]

IPL and T20 Wc back to back.Surely very tiring .But Dhoni can defend it.

[ViruRulez]

Has the team left for UK? I think they were supposed to leave after that press conference

yes they have left for London and reached there too .. SL, Aus, SA and other teams also reached there

[Sachinism]

yes they have left for London and reached there too .. SL' date=' Aus, SA and other teams also reached there[/quote'] You sure they've reached here? I have a fair idea at what hotel they'll be staying at *prepares stalking mission*

[Freedom]

I think India are used to this kind of tiring schedule right from Tendulkar days. I'm confident on Dhoni :)

[ViruRulez]

You sure they've reached here? I have a fair idea at what hotel they'll be staying at *prepares stalking mission*

I am sure they left.. it was shown in news since the morning .. so maybe they reached or are just about to reach.. not sure whether they reached but I am sure they left several hours ago

[cowboysfan]

i dont get this being tired crap-they cant play for 3 hours for twice a week?.It is an unacceptable excuse.we have a lot of test players in this team-how are they going to play for 3 sessions for 5 straight days if they cant play for 6 hours a week?

[graphic23]

i dont get this being tired crap-they cant play for 3 hours for twice a week?.It is an unacceptable excuse.we have a lot of test players in this team-how are they going to play for 3 sessions for 5 straight days if they cant play for 6 hours a week?

Hmm. As far as the wicketkeeper goes, you're squatting up and down nearly 900+ times per test match (assuming that you keep for 2 days min.). I'd assume your body needs recovery from that, and it doesn't get that recovery within a week or two. Then he's played a highly stressful tournament for 40 days where he was the captain and the wicketkeeper (barring the games where Parthiv Played). That's an enormous amount of mental and physical strain that they have to endure. For bowlers, I don't even think I have to say anything - especially guys like Ishant and Zaheer, who've played in almost every single test match since the SA series last March, a LOT of ODIs, almost all of the T20s, and a lot of these on flat pitches. For Ishant especially, it is worrying because of all the turbulence within the Kolkata squad. Zaheer has been doing a shitload of work lately - and I am hoping that the forced rest that he gained over the past 4 weeks would help a lot. Batsmen like Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni - they've played almost every game since the Australian tour, IIRC. There is a considerable amount of stress that their minds and bodies go through that cannot be ignored, and these stresses cannot be cured or undone within 1 week of rest either. Pretty crass comment by calling it an 'unacceptable excuse' IMO.

[h4te]

i dont get this being tired crap-they cant play for 3 hours for twice a week?.It is an unacceptable excuse.we have a lot of test players in this team-how are they going to play for 3 sessions for 5 straight days if they cant play for 6 hours a week?

it's not only the physical aspect but also the mental aspect. playing games under pressure every other day, 20/20 or not, will drain you.

[graphic23]

it's not only the physical aspect but also the mental aspect. playing games under pressure every other day' date=' 20/20 or not, will drain you.[/quote'] Yup, which is why Tendulkar, Kirsten, and co. all have mentioned mental fatigue as an essential obstacle to come through - because it will be taxing, given all the expectations, etc.

[vvvslaxman]

I just hope our players are in right frame of mind. Other things will automatically fall in place.

[cowboysfan]

Hmm. As far as the wicketkeeper goes, you're squatting up and down nearly 900+ times per test match (assuming that you keep for 2 days min.). I'd assume your body needs recovery from that, and it doesn't get that recovery within a week or two. Then he's played a highly stressful tournament for 40 days where he was the captain and the wicketkeeper (barring the games where Parthiv Played). That's an enormous amount of mental and physical strain that they have to endure. For bowlers, I don't even think I have to say anything - especially guys like Ishant and Zaheer, who've played in almost every single test match since the SA series last March, a LOT of ODIs, almost all of the T20s, and a lot of these on flat pitches. For Ishant especially, it is worrying because of all the turbulence within the Kolkata squad. Zaheer has been doing a shitload of work lately - and I am hoping that the forced rest that he gained over the past 4 weeks would help a lot. Batsmen like Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni - they've played almost every game since the Australian tour, IIRC. There is a considerable amount of stress that their minds and bodies go through that cannot be ignored, and these stresses cannot be cured or undone within 1 week of rest either. Pretty crass comment by calling it an 'unacceptable excuse' IMO.

well i am going to call it that if they "use it" as an excuse.england and australia have been playing pretty much non-stop cricket for a while.so do the WI and SA.this year has been incredibly busy for most international teams and no body should really use fatigue (either mental and physical).why should we excuse our team if they perform subpar in the world cup?.will the english team and australia complain about the world cup being a drain on them for the Ashes?.if somebody is "mentally drained"then they should not be playing in the world cup IMO.now that would be crass .

[graphic23]

well i am going to call it that if they "use it" as an excuse.england and australia have been playing pretty much non-stop cricket for a while.so do the WI and SA.this year has been incredibly busy for most international teams and no body should really use fatigue (either mental and physical).why should we excuse our team if they perform subpar in the world cup?.will the english team and australia complain about the world cup being a drain on them for the Ashes?.if somebody is "mentally drained"then they should not be playing in the world cup IMO.now that would be crass .

Does it really matter what other teams think? Australia didn't even send a proper side to UAE, giving players like Ponting, Hussey, etc. a very good rest. Their bowlers, barring Mitchell Johnson (who also didn't play at UAE!), are relatively fresh. http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?class=11;orderby=matches;spanmin1=29+May+2008;spanval1=span;template=results;type=team - in the past 1 year. We've played a helluva lot of cricket, with Sehwag/Gambhir/Dhoni/Yuvraj/Raina participating in almost every LOI format, and Dhoni/Sehwag/Gambhir/Zaheer/Ishant have played in BOTH the formats - and have not missed too many. It is called mental fatigue.

[vvvslaxman]

All the betting sources put India at the top. This is not good. We don't want to be favorites

[someone]

According to history, whenever we had high hopes on india, we had to really come back sad

[bunny]

IMHO Australia is the clear favorite...I had computed a +/- based on the bowling ERs, batting Average and S/Rs and this is what I found: Ind on average will score 165 (if Dhoni comes before Yusuf they will score 157). Aus on average will score 167 (weak link:Clarke) India on average will give: 155 (weak link: 5th bowler. If IP is selected 4th bowler as well). Australia on average will give: 147 (weak link: 5th bowler. If Hopes is selected 4th bowler as well). If everybody gets their strategies right, Australia is +8 over India. (but Australia help a bigger advantage in 2007 with Hayden and Gilchrist opening, still they lost to us in semis thanks to some poor bowling and strategies. So, anything can happen). Didnt compute this for other teams, but I think Australia should definitely be on top. India should be #2 or #3 (SA might be #2).

[vvvslaxman]

I won't discount England. They are on a high rightnow.

[flamy]

I won't discount England. They are on a high rightnow.

wtf grame swann - that offie hits 90 of 47??

[vvvslaxman]

yea i never knew Swann could bat as well as he did. He did the same in Test match against West Indies.