Why does Yuvraj get so many chances in test match cricket

[Mr. Wicket]

Badri has a very solid technique. Better than Rahane when I saw him last a year ago - noticed he had a tendency to open the face too much when driving straight, so his drives would often go closer to mid off than the bowler and be a risk for an edge if the ball was moving away. That said Rahane's a brilliant talent who needs a shot. But there are plenty others. Manish Pandey has had a fantastic season in Ranjis with the bat, and despite my earlier misgivings about him - he's put the runs on the board (that too with speed) against all opponents and deserves a shot. Virat Kohli has done nothing wrong either and made plenty of runs. Mukund is piling the scores up. Badri's also been doing this for a while. Let any of them play, and give them a chance to see if they can do better than a mid-30s average in 30+ tests!

[thevortex]

Interesting observation, Mr. Wicket about Badri's driving technique! I think I see what you are saying. I have seen Badri from his earlier days and the place he is now is far far from what anybody here thought he would reach. I am talking in terms of attacking batsmanship. He was once a batsman who would never drive or hit anything in the air. From there to now where he does not hesitate to hit sixes is a sea change. And a good change at that. His grip is still pretty bottom-handed. So I guess he is compensating by opening the face of the bat so as to not spoon the ball in the air while driving. ________ HardBarry

[Mr. Wicket]

No, that was Rahane whose technique I was dissecting. Badri is a lot more solid and 'copybook' in his technique. That said I wonder about the opposite problem for him - not that he does not have the technique, but sometimes it appears he lacks the shots to really take on and score off top bowling. He had a very bad rut when he played a few high profile games in late 2008 (Irani and a BP XI game against Australia) where he found himself hanging around at the crease for a while, but not really scoring runs. Innings like 10 off 50, or 30-odd off over 100 balls suggested he had the game to stay at the wicket, but couldn't really score - basically the sort of thing Sanjay Manjrekar did a couple of decades back with his copybook technique that didn't come with too many real attacking shots.

[thevortex]

Exactly. Badri has moved on from that rut. His game is really muscle bound now. I think we saw that in some of the IPL games as well. ________ BBW Webcam

[Mr. Wicket]

I'm not convinced he's really moved on from that rut - he's developed his game enough to be able to dominate lesser bowlers, but when he was in the Irani trophy/BP XI games v. Australia, he really struggled v. the likes of Zaheer, Ishant and Johnson and couldn't make the runs. I'd take the IPL games with a grain of salt, the nature of the format means that a batsman will rarely be really tested (as bowlers will never be able to fully attack). But either way, based off the runs he's kept making in domestics, it's only fair for him to get a chance or two (especially when Porky has had over 30 in the past decade) and I'd love to be proven wrong and see him make some runs in the middle order.

[thevortex]

I'm not convinced he's really moved on from that rut - he's developed his game enough to be able to dominate lesser bowlers, but when he was in the Irani trophy/BP XI games v. Australia, he really struggled v. the likes of Zaheer, Ishant and Johnson and couldn't make the runs. I'd take the IPL games with a grain of salt, the nature of the format means that a batsman will rarely be really tested (as bowlers will never be able to fully attack). But either way, based off the runs he's kept making in domestics, it's only fair for him to get a chance or two (especially when Porky has had over 30 in the past decade) and I'd love to be proven wrong and see him make some runs in the middle order.

Oh, yes, I dont mean to say that the IPL was any sort of conclusive reference. Just that he can play the big shots against somewhat acclaimed opposition as opposed to his previous inability to do so. As far as Test matches go, Dhoni is running out of options to keep him out of the squad. I say Dhoni and not the selectors as they have picked Badri many times just to see him carrying the drinks. ________ Rubbi live

[kooljatt]

Yes there will be replacements. Because Yuvraj will bat at number 4 then. Allowing him to bat with middle order batsman than the lower order or tailenders.

yep, very good point . move him up the order and see big 100's from him.No. 6 position is not for him. at 3 or 5 will be perfect. infact, he never batted below 5 in Ranji. and his performance has improved drastically well when he started batting in 1st 5 in odi's in last couple of years.

[zen]

^ for him to move up, he will first have to cement his place in the side by not only doing well in his current #6 position but also showing that he has it in him to bat in the top 5 overseas

[The Dark Horse]

Yes there will be replacements. Because Yuvraj will bat at number 4 then. Allowing him to bat with middle order batsman than the lower order or tailenders.

If Yuvraj still remains shaky.....then?

[Texan]

Texan - Badri's technique is not impressive. Ajinkya Rahane's and Manoj Tiwary's is? I am sorry - any which way I see this' date=' it does not make sense. Even somebody as fluent as Murali Vijay does not have the technique of Badri. He is extremely competent.[/quote'] From the limited footage I've seen of Badri (and unfortunately BCCI makes sure that people don't get to see sufficient footage of domestic cricket), I have noticed that he has a tendency to waft outside the off stump. This may work against bowlers who don't get much bounce on placid Indian pitches, but won't work outside. But again, the footage I have seen is at least 3 years old and he may have worked on this aspect of his batting.

[Texan]

In my opinion, Rahane should be the number 1 contender if a middle-order slot opens up in the test team ahead of Badri and the rest.

[thevortex]

From the limited footage I've seen of Badri (and unfortunately BCCI makes sure that people don't get to see sufficient footage of domestic cricket)' date=' I have noticed that he has a tendency to [i']waft outside the off stump. This may work against bowlers who don't get much bounce on placid Indian pitches, but won't work outside. But again, the footage I have seen is at least 3 years old and he may have worked on this aspect of his batting.

Texan - now this is one thing I wont accuse the BCCI of. They are actually doing a grand job with Neo Cricket. We get to see an amazing amount of domestic cricket nowadays. ________ Bong pictures

[Texan]

Texan - now this is one thing I wont accuse the BCCI of. They are actually doing a grand job with Neo Cricket. We get to see an amazing amount of domestic cricket nowadays.

Good for you guys, but it can't be seen online anywhere Surely, it can't be expensive for the BCCI to just stream all matches online either on their website or give free live feed to youtube or so or at least put up highlights of matches somewhere. But they won't... cos they only think about how to generate money.

[thevortex]

Good for you guys, but it can't be seen online anywhere Surely, it can't be expensive for the BCCI to just stream all matches online either on their website or give free live feed to youtube or so or at least put up highlights of matches somewhere. But they won't... cos they only think about how to generate money.

Forget all these advanced gripes, Texan. Can the BCCI ensure hygienic, forget good quality, facilities at the cricket stadiums? Can the BCCI ensure that at least their own channel can afford to show replays of important moments before jumping into ad breaks and coming back online only when the bowler is about to deliver the next ball? These are not priorities. What did we learn from the Test scheduling and locations when we played Sri Lanka? Tests can be scheduled in any out of the way place. T20 and ODIs must be staged at prime locations. That is what they care about. ________ LilyH cam

[Lord]

Yuvraj's time is running out.tommorow's innings n SA series will decide the course.but i wont like a RHB replacing him we need a leftie in our MO.for that reason i m willing to give more chances to UV n try Dhawan in place of him Vijay looked solid today but couldnt carry on. i still feel he should be made to wait until RD hangs up his boots n n he'll get his no.3 position.