Squad for 2nd test vs SA : Suresh Raina gets maiden Test call-up

[Guest Gunner]

thats crazy talk' date='he is unlikely to play and even he plays and fails he would only fail in one match ,he can still come back to the test arena and his place in limited overs squad has no bearing on this selection.[/quote'] I am more concerned about his technical frailities against genuine quick bowling which the saffers are likely to exploit. Perhaps he will come good. If he is able to counter the quick bowling and score only 20 or 30 I wouldn't worry too much. But if they brutalize him, he is likely to lose his confidence. That might really spell the end of him.

[Riley's Girl]

I'm with Lord on this one. Raina may be higher on the pecking order, but Kohli is the better choice IMO. Let me put it this way: As a South African I'd much rather play against Raina than Kohli. I just believe it will be easier for our bowlers to get rid of Raina, whereas Kohli may be more of a problem.

[kabira]

pray to God that we win the toss and VVS is fit. Else we will lose Eden test match also.

[The Outsider]

Here is my ranking and assessment of the prominent candidates : 1. Kohli - Terrific technique and temperament. Very compact and measured in his game. Has matured superbly over a very short span of time in ODIs and that would really help him in his test match game. Amongst the backup candidates the most suitable for a test match spot according to me. He will be a finished and complete product within a year and has all it takes to be a long term batsman at the number 4 slot. Should have been in the test team ahead of Badrinath. 2. Rohit Sharma - Is a poor starter, but once he gets in makes it count. Not very consistent because of his propensity to play too many strokes early in his innings. Certainly looks the part as one to be a permanent fixture in the test team over the next decade. Doesn't have a very good game against spin and needs to develop that in domestic cricket, but there are hardly any good spinners in international cricket at the moment to trouble him consistently. 3. Nayar - The typical Mumbai khadoos - the dark horse. Not many would think of him as the ideal test player on first looks, but he has got the strokes and the heart for a battle. Has a very well developed on side game for a left hander giving him versatility. His bowling is an added bonus when the team is playing in India with just two fast bowlers. Scoring big in the high visibility matches has made him jump up high in the reckoning and once he gets to play a full season for Mumbai next year, the verdict will be clearer on him. For starters there will be the Irani trophy match. 4. Pandey - Looked to be a cowlasher in my only viewing of him in IPL last year, and I haven't seen him bat since. But scoring 800+ runs in a Ranji season at a strike rate of 80 is not to be taken lightly. 5. Rahane - Very impressive and correct stroke player, a typical Mumabi batsman. His game against spin is really impressive and looks to play on the backfoot against fast bowlers which is a good sign. However, has failed to make big scores in important high visibility matches like Badrinath which puts him still a fair distance away from selection. Next season will be an opportunity for him to rectify this. 6. Raina - Not suited for test cricket at the moment. Has done well in ODIs, but needs to prove that he can build an innings in test matches by playing some long and meaningful innings in First Class cricket. His overall FC record is ordinary and so have been his recent performances. 7. Pujara - I don't have too much confidence in him. Yes, he has the ability to play long innings but his technique of plonking the front foot does not inspire too much confidence about his success at the international level. Perhaps he should look for a county stint or move away from the Rajkot patta he bats on day in and day out to develop his game further.

[gult]

Eden is lucky for VVS. Hope he recovers fully by the 2nd test. I don't want to see Morkel and steyn bowling 145+kmph bouncers to Raina.

[Guest Gunner]

Here is my ranking and assessment of the prominent candidates :

Nothing about Vijay or Badri. Southie bias :protest:

[The Outsider]

Nothing about Vijay or Badri. Southie bias :protest:

They're already in the squad/team :wall:

[Guest Gunner]

They're already in the squad/team :wall:

But but...you are yanti southie. Romesh Powar >>>>> entire south zone :P

[achilles]

Raina's selection is the only contentious decision. Sreesanth' date=' once fit, was expected to regain his place in the squad and Karthik should not have been dropped so it was no-brainer that he got his place back in the squad as well. Also, the selectors realized their mistake of selecting one less batsman last time.[/quote'] Raina's selection is a cold-blooded shocker. Thats all it is. When you pick someone who couldn't play the short ball for 120 balls of a T20 match, in a test match, it is calling for trouble. It will be interesting to see if failure is tolerated for Raina, coz it most definitely is not for Badri, Saha, Karthik and company.

that puzzles me. i thot Karthik was dropped for his keeping rather than batting.even the selectors have realised that Saha int the man.but having dropped Karthik ' date='why the hurry to bring him back?why not try some else like Gautam.?the thought process of selectors is puzzling[/quote'] Rather than Gautam, I'll really like to see Ambati Rayadu in. That guy is like magic, with a bat in hand. Unfortunately, ICL and then coming back into the BCCI fold seems to have taken rubbed some people the wrong way, coz he wasn't even picked for the South Zone game, which was something I felt was downright ridiculous. And yes, dropping KKD on the pretext of keeping but getting him back to boost your batting benchstrength is quite absurd. But he took his hiatus and dropping to heart and scored really well in both innings of the Duleep trophy match recently. So he deserves to be in.

Sree ki waaaaat lagegi

Naaaa. Ab toh Saffers ki lagegi :yay:

Eden is lucky for VVS. Hope he recovers fully by the 2nd test. I don't want to see Morkel and steyn bowling 145+kmph bouncers to Raina.

That, my friend, is inevitable. If not in Tests, then in ODIs for sure :hatsoff:

[achilles]

Here is my ranking and assessment of the prominent candidates : 1. Kohli - Terrific technique and temperament. Very compact and measured in his game. Has matured superbly over a very short span of time in ODIs and that would really help him in his test match game. Amongst the backup candidates the most suitable for a test match spot according to me. He will be a finished and complete product within a year and has all it takes to be a long term batsman at the number 4 slot. Should have been in the test team ahead of Badrinath. 2. Rohit Sharma - Is a poor starter, but once he gets in makes it count. Not very consistent because of his propensity to play too many strokes early in his innings. Certainly looks the part as one to be a permanent fixture in the test team over the next decade. Doesn't have a very good game against spin and needs to develop that in domestic cricket, but there are hardly any good spinners in international cricket at the moment to trouble him consistently. 3. Nayar - The typical Mumbai khadoos - the dark horse. Not many would think of him as the ideal test player on first looks, but he has got the strokes and the heart for a battle. Has a very well developed on side game for a left hander giving him versatility. His bowling is an added bonus when the team is playing in India with just two fast bowlers. Scoring big in the high visibility matches has made him jump up high in the reckoning and once he gets to play a full season for Mumbai next year, the verdict will be clearer on him. For starters there will be the Irani trophy match. 4. Pandey - Looked to be a cowlasher in my only viewing of him in IPL last year, and I haven't seen him bat since. But scoring 800+ runs in a Ranji season at a strike rate of 80 is not to be taken lightly. 5. Rahane - Very impressive and correct stroke player, a typical Mumabi batsman. His game against spin is really impressive and looks to play on the backfoot against fast bowlers which is a good sign. However, has failed to make big scores in important high visibility matches like Badrinath which puts him still a fair distance away from selection. Next season will be an opportunity for him to rectify this. 6. Raina - Not suited for test cricket at the moment. Has done well in ODIs, but needs to prove that he can build an innings in test matches by playing some long and meaningful innings in First Class cricket. His overall FC record is ordinary and so have been his recent performances. 7. Pujara - I don't have too much confidence in him. Yes, he has the ability to play long innings but his technique of plonking the front foot does not inspire too much confidence about his success at the international level. Perhaps he should look for a county stint or move away from the Rajkot patta he bats on day in and day out to develop his game further.

I like your analysis. Very precise.

[Lord]

Raina's selection is a cold-blooded shocker. Thats all it is. When you pick someone who couldn't play the short ball for 120 balls of a T20 match, in a test match, it is calling for trouble. It will be interesting to see if failure is tolerated for Raina, coz it most definitely is not for Badri, Saha, Karthik and company. Rather than Gautam, I'll really like to see Ambati Rayadu in. That guy is like magic, with a bat in hand. Unfortunately, ICL and then coming back into the BCCI fold seems to have taken rubbed some people the wrong way, coz he wasn't even picked for the South Zone game, which was something I felt was downright ridiculous. And yes, dropping KKD on the pretext of keeping but getting him back to boost your batting benchstrength is quite absurd. But he took his hiatus and dropping to heart and scored really well in both innings of the Duleep trophy match recently. So he deserves to be in. Naaaa. Ab toh Saffers ki lagegi :yay:

i was talking about keepers.Rayudu isnt a keeper

[diegovegaz]

the selectors don't seem to learn from their mistakes sudeep tyagi, deserving to be in the playing 11, has been dropped again without playing a game

[Lord]

good analysis,Outsider.i like it that u rate Nayar highly. i too rate him highly

[yoda]

Would love to see Raina face these SAF bowlers. I think he is capable of doing a great job, his well documented issues with short-pitched bowling notwithstanding.

[ViruRulez]

Good to see Raina debut but where is Dravid.

[Dravid]

^^here :p raina for tests dosent sound good at all... then again who knows, good chance for him

[Guest Hiten.]

WTF are cheeka, peeka, reeka smoking while picking the squad ? It almost feels like they are confident of VVS making the playing XI and just picked a specialist batsman for the sake of it. Raina in tests is just not on, especially when your opponent is RSA and when Steyn is looking like a freak during his spells. RSA will pepper him with short balls to which one of the balls, he is bound to go for a hook and get out. I am not saying Raina is not a test material et al but this is not a right time to test the untested because you're ****ing 0-1 down in the series with only one match to go. I don't see how this selection is any different than playing Saha as specialist batsman :wall:. I really would've went with Virat because he has a solid composure and (IMO) a better technique than Raina to survive against the Saffers.

[King Tendulkar]

Kohli is defintley the better bet at this stage for a test spot. He is technically more secure and tempremant wise is more ready. Overall Raina is more talented then Kohli and will propbably be in long run better bat but at this stage Kohli is better bet for tests.

[Karan114]

Overall Raina is more talented then Kohli and will propbably be in long run better bat

I don't think so, he will need to find a way to counter his massive problem against short pitched bowling for that.

[urbestfriend]

I dont know why you guys are stereotyping Raina that he is only ODI player. Of course he plays shots in ODI, but that doesn't mean he can't adopt to longer format. he is one of the most talented bloke around and I am sure he'll do well in tests given a long haul in the team. Remember when Viru came, people criticized him saying he is not test material!