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

[Karan114]

I dont know why you guys are stereotyping Raina that he is only ODI player. Of course he plays shots in ODI' date=' but that doesn't mean he can't adopt to longer format.[/quote'] Well despite his problem against the short ball there is no doubt he is a very talented player, but an FC average of 44 and just six centuries in 51 FC games is reason enough to question his ability in the longer form of the game, at least at this stage.

[ViruRulez]

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!

I still dont consider Viru to be a good test player.. he does not have the temperament for tests.. he is a gamble player who might win or even lose us a match :winky: Frankly speaking I would prefer 7 Dravids and Sachins in our test rather than 7 Virus and Dhonis

[Guest Hiten.]

I still dont consider Viru to be a good test player.. he does not have the temperament for tests.. he is a gamble player who might win or even lose us a match :winky: Frankly speaking I would prefer 7 Dravids and Sachins in our test rather than 7 Virus and Dhonis

Then you wouldn't have wins when you're chasing 387 on the Indian pitches, won't be scoring 400 runs/day and guaranteed you'll be either drawing or losing your matches. Viru is much more than technique as he compensates (lack of) it with guts and hand-eye coordination. Viru literally bring the positivity in our squad and instills belief that we can make a match out of a no match.

[spectre]

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!

Well said :hatsoff: Good selection! happy to see Raina in test squad, Well deserved ! Hopefully he plays and gets a big score Come on Rampage Raina :two_thumbs_up:

[ViruRulez]

Then you wouldn't have wins when you're chasing 387 on the Indian pitches' date=' won't be scoring 400 runs/day and guaranteed you'll be either drawing or losing your matches. Viru is much more than technique as he compensates (lack of) it with guts and hand-eye coordination. Viru literally bring the positivity in our squad and instills belief that we can make a match out of a no match.[/quote'] I agree and that is why I said he wins us matches single handedly and is also the reason for our losses on occasions too.. if he had batted sensibly in this match we would have perhaps drawn this match easily .. he has got the technique but he is not ready to apply it in tests.. at least in games like this one where we had merely two proper stable test batsman (Sachin and Gauti) he should have stayed and stabilized the team .. he was looking in good nick and should have stayed on for sometime.. in the first innings he was trying to hit fours of every ball when all our main batsmen had already departed and he got out .. in the second innings he did not responsibility to save the match He is very good but he does not have the responsibility and temperament for tests .. yes he can win one out of ten single handedly but I would prefer Sachins and Dravids who can stablilize 5-7 out of 10 .. frankly speaking I dont rate Dhoni to be great either ... Dhoni has the temperament but does not have the skills for tests though he is a must as he is the captain .. if you ever notice he hardly plays defensive shots but tries to move forward towards the ball even to defend in tests .. Sachin, Gauti and Dravid are the most important part of our test team and without them our batting might have crumbled in every few matches

[Guest Hiten.]

He is very good but he does not have the responsibility and temperament for tests .. yes he can win one out of ten single handedly but I would prefer Sachins and Dravids who can stablilize 5-7 out of 10 .. frankly speaking I dont rate Dhoni to be great either ... Dhoni has the temperament but does not have the skills for tests though he is a must as he is the captain .. if you ever notice he hardly plays defensive shots but tries to move forward towards the ball even to defend in tests .. Sachin, Gauti and Dravid are the most important part of our test team and without them our batting might have crumbled in every few matches

Just so we're on the same wavelength, you are talking about Sehwag right ? I mean a man who owns a record of 2 triple, one close to triple (293) and one of the best conversion rate; how can he lack any temperament ? Sehwag was reckless in this match but it is also true that he faded away from responsibility after a long time and I think we ought to cut some slack.

[Gunner_Mania]

Haven't read all the posts, so apologies if this has already been posted. Here is a tweet from our friend Dileep Premachandran

The big question of course is which of the selectors' daughters Kohli's sleeping with. I can find no other reason for his exclusion.#cricket

[Guest Hiten.]

Haven't read all the posts' date=' so apologies if this has already been posted. Here is a tweet from our friend Dileep Premachandran[/quote'] Terrible thing to say the least. That is no way of showing your disappointment. Chewtiya Dileep :finger:

[Gunner_Mania]

I agree and that is why I said he wins us matches single handedly and is also the reason for our losses on occasions too.. if he had batted sensibly in this match we would have perhaps drawn this match easily ..

I am sorry, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. We have all accepted that Sehwag plays a certain way and his way of playing will bring both joy and heart burn. As long as there are more joys then heart burns, I think he will have earned the right to play his way.

[Sooda]

Still think Kaif should have been there, he has the experience and has performed in tests for us and is a surer bet than Raina or Kohli. They are both more talented batters, Kaif however has the adhesiveness, will fight tooth and nail and not throw his wicket away. We're one nil down need someone who can come in and perform under whats going to be a lot of pressure. Kaif has been there and done it. Raina has been working on his short ball weakness with Dravid- or he was anyway a few months ago. Hopefully he can adapt a bit better than before.

[Karan114]

We're one nil down need someone who can come in and perform under whats going to be a lot of pressure. Kaif has been there and done it.

Kaif is a fair shout, Sooda, but he has been out of the national side for over three years now, and was never a Test regular (very unfairly jettisoned after his hundred in the Caribbean and the 91 at Nagpur against England in a dicey situation before that) and so there would have been loads of personal pressure on him to perform, especially knowing that it could be one last chance for him, fail and that would be that for his career. Not saying he wouldn't have been able to handle it, but it would have been a factor.

[yoda]

Kaif did get a raw deal in tests. On the bright side he did have a pretty decent ODI run.

[Sachin_Rulez]

Did any of the selectors take the blame for their mess up in the selection of first test? What where they thinking?? Morons!!

[graphic23]

Terrible thing to say the least. That is no way of showing your disappointment. Chewtiya Dileep :finger:

I dont think so. There is no other reason why Kohli should not be in the squad. The ****ing morons didn't even select him for the practice match. I can't think of a reason why( oh nevermind, I just called them ****ing morons).

[Freedom]

I still dont consider Viru to be a good test player.. he does not have the temperament for tests.. he is a gamble player who might win or even lose us a match :winky: Frankly speaking I would prefer 7 Dravids and Sachins in our test rather than 7 Virus and Dhonis

WTF are you taking about? Are you smokin weed son?

[Prudent]

According to The Telegraph’s sources, Raina, thus far an ODI and T20 specialist, edged out Virat Kohli. The selectors are of the opinion that his “attitude” is better and “more suited” for Test cricket. “Kohli is gifted, but doesn’t seem to work that hard... Raina, on the other hand, does... Srikkanth and his colleagues (Yashpal Sharma, Hirwani, Surendra Bhave, Venkat) are extremely happy with his attitude,” one of the sources pointed out. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100210/jsp/sports/story_12088524.jsp Raina is better than Kohli IMO.

[teacup]

According to The Telegraph’s sources' date=' Raina, thus far an ODI and T20 specialist, edged out Virat Kohli. The selectors are of the opinion that [b']his “attitude” is better and “more suited” for Test cricket. “Kohli is gifted, but doesn’t seem to work that hard... Raina, on the other hand, does... Srikkanth and his colleagues (Yashpal Sharma, Hirwani, Surendra Bhave, Venkat) are extremely happy with his attitude,” one of the sources pointed out. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100210/jsp/sports/story_12088524.jsp Raina is better than Kohli IMO.

Raina's attitude had come in for praise from Greg Chappell during his days as India's coach. Greg Chappell rarely praised anyone in the Indian team during his tenure, so that is noteworthy. These are the factors that work in favour of or against Kohli and Raina. Positives in Raina: 1. He is a left-hander and we could use a left-hander in the middle order to counter Steyn's big inswingers and the turn and bounce Harris gets out of the rough. 2. Raina has been around for many years now in the international circuit and is less likely to buckle under pressure. 3. He is our best fielder and hits the stumps quite regularly. 4. He is a fighter and can play according to the situation. Negatives in Raina: 1. His technique against short-pitch bowling is flawed. His bat starts from a much lower plane than it should when he plays the pull. 2. He will have the same problem that Gambhir had against Morkel. He will have a tough time negotiating Morkel's bounce and movement when he comes round the wicket to bowl. On the flip-side, it is less-likely that Raina will face Morkel bowling with the new ball. Positives in Kohli: 1. His technique. Compact and correct, making him look elegant when he plays his shots. His batting resembles Vijay's, only slightly less-elegant than him on the leg-side. No obvious weakness against short-pitch bowling. 2. He has the ability to dominate the bowling after he settles down. Negatives in Kohli: 1. He failed against Australia, in the bilateral ODIs, and Pakistan, in the Champion's trophy, the only two teams with a good bowling attack that he got to face in ODIs. 2. His temperament in pressure situations is suspect. In one of the ODIs against Australia he tried to hit over the top of the long-off fielder when there was no need for that kind of a shot.

[virufan]

nothing wrong with this squad. this is the best available.

What has Raina done to warrant him this Test cap? He was not even there in the Board President's XI team. It was Nayar and Pujara who did well in that game against the Proteas. It is really comical that Chikka and team is doing adhoc selections. Examples include taking Mithun and Sudip (2 were unnecessary) and then unceremoniously dump them. Including Saha earlier was not a mistake as he is the best keeper in India though his batting is not comparable to PP and DK. He was only taken as a WK and backup for Dhoni.

[youngindia]

exactly there has to be some thinking behind what they do n what decisions they make.Raina's selection makes zero sense.

it makes perfect sense when you consider that he has gone through 4 years of inetrnational cricket and lot of stages. His game will hold up better. if you talk about weaknesses of raina, it also follows that the more immature player has lot more holes to be picked.

[youngindia]

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' date=' whereas Kohli may be more of a problem.[/quote'] there is no basis to believe that the less seasoned player will fare better against a strong attack than the significantly more seasoned player.