Apparently...India doesn't need an allrounder at #7

[kabira]

^dude he must be working on it. Its not like you need to work on it 24x7. He was there at national academy. Some injuries take time to heel.

[kabira]

Selectors should have tried Abhishek Nayar at 7. They gave opportunity to Jadeja, Pathan. This guy should have got atleast 3-4 games. But it seems our management does not want medium pacer who can bat they want spinenr who can bat. But by all means if our top 7 are fit, we would have Raina at No. 7

[ZodiaC]

Selectors should have tried Abhishek Nayar at 7. They gave opportunity to Jadeja, Pathan. This guy should have got atleast 3-4 games. But it seems our management does not want medium pacer who can bat they want spinenr who can bat. But by all means if our top 7 are fit, we would have Raina at No. 7

Why Nayar? Even Shukla has a better record in List A. These trundler all rounders are most likely to fail, IMO.

[kabira]

Shukla who??? Nayar is perfect because he can play big shots and can give you 5 to 6 overs..

[Sachin=GOD]

^ I think he meant Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

[Lord]

the problem with having 7 bats is unless theres a collapse,7th batsman goes unutilized.with the top 6 we have there isnt gonna be many collapses.,also we need part timers to bowl 12-13 overs regularly.Sehwag n Sachin dont bowl anymore,so thats too much to ask of Raina n UV

[ZodiaC]

Shukla who??? Nayar is perfect because he can play big shots and can give you 5 to 6 overs..

Laxmi Ratan Shukla. s/r 128 vs Nayar's 129 in t20s @ better average. Economy rate is also>Nayar.

[ZodiaC]

Total waste of space. And so called allrounders are hardly any good enough to play a good knock under pressure anyways. Anyways we have Bhajji for that purpose.

[Sachin=GOD]

This. Total waste of space. And so called allrounders are hardly any good enough to play a good knock under pressure anyways. Anyways we have Bhajji for that purpose.

I'll again raise my old point - who to drop in those 7 so as to accommodate a bowler/allrounder?

[ZodiaC]

I'll again raise my old point - who to drop in those 7 so as to accommodate a bowler/allrounder?

Sorry for the misquote Actually I'm against the inclusion of an allrounder. Irfan could've been handy, but again you're right, we can't afford to drop out our top performers.

[maniac]

Yuvi and Sehwag's bowling is underrated.I wonder why Sachin doesn't bowl more these days.

[gs]

I'd say play or a batsman or a bowler depending on the nature of the pitch. Most of the pitches in the subcontinent will be flat roads and a 300+ score is always a possibility. The only concern would be to play a bits and pieces guy like Jadeja or YKP - from what I have seen they can neither hold their places as bowlers or batsmen or a combo of both.

[ZodiaC]

Yuvi and Sehwag's bowling is underrated.I wonder why Sachin doesn't bowl more these days.

Bowled terrible in tests. Tendiya was really good, used to be one of our best bowlers against pakis in ODIs once :haha: Sehwag has some injury prob I think?

[Sooda]

Id say there is a 20 run or so difference between partimers bowling 10-15 overs and a Jadeja doing so. Potentiall could be offset by stacking the team with batsmen. Really what we need is Jaddus bowling and YKPs batting rolled into one.

[Chandan]

We won't need anyone at number 7 in the world cup. No Jadeja, No Pathan (Big and Small) With Kohli in great form we would have Raina at 7. thats what I see right now in the world cup. Sehwag Sachin Gambhir Kohli Yuvi Dhoni Raina Bhajji/Ashwin Zaheer Ishant Nehra/SS/Praveen Kumar/Amit Mishra

Looks like Harsha Bhogle agrees with you in his column here: Kohli brings versatility to India He can bat high or low. If the selectors could pick the World Cup 15 today, there are question marks only against the second spinner, fourth seamer and eighth batsman Harsha Bhogle December 3, 2010 Barring what those who draft contracts call "an act of God", Virat Kohli has sealed his place in India's World Cup squad. He has shown a calm head and a solid temperament, qualities for long considered a challenge for him, and by embracing them has revealed his ambition. Hitherto a temper and an ego, both dreadful cancers, were thought of as his best friends. Hopefully they have been shown the door. With the possible exception of Suresh Raina, no young Indian player has done more in the last two years. A Test place will soon beckon and, like with Cheteshwar Pujara, I believe he is ready. The challenge from the fast short-pitched ball is still to be encountered but that is part of the finishing process. For now, though, the Kohli story is about batting in limited-overs cricket and he has shown his versatility; batting at No. 3 in 50-overs cricket and as a finisher for the Royal Challengers. As much as he is impressive at No. 3, it was his ability to play the fiery innings at the death in the Champions League that caught the eye. It means he can bat wherever the side needs him and it is this versatility that could put him in the playing XI in the World Cup even after all the stars return. It would be tempting, given his performances this year, to give him his due and present him with the No. 3 slot, but Gautam Gambhir has a claim on that position as well, and as we saw in Jaipur, he paces an innings remarkably well. So Kohli can play the role of the finisher, with him and Raina at Nos. 6 and 7. Alternately of course, if either Tendulkar or Sehwag has to miss a game, Gambhir moves up and Kohli can slip into No. 3. There is a fluidity to the batting order that gives it strength, and with the allrounder at no. 7 still elusive, seven batsmen looks like the way to go. It will be a batting line-up to rival, or indeed even to outshine, any other team in Indian conditions. Well as Kohli has played - and remember he also makes India a better fielding side - there is another equally significant event that has tended to slip under the radar. India have played four bowlers in both games so far and Yuvraj Singh has picked up three wickets at under five an over from his 19 overs. Each time, the captain has preferred him to Yusuf Pathan, making it clear who he regards as the allrounder in the side. If India can get six overs out of Yuvraj in every game - and anything more can be a bonus - he provides the balance that India have been looking for over the last 12 months. And in doing so he not only negates the need for a Ravindra Jadeja, or indeed even a Yusuf Pathan, who is the more effective batsman of the two, but also ensures that Kohli comes into the side. It is a balance that will work better in subcontinental conditions than, say, in South Africa, where you want a top-order batsman to bowl seam-up. But with the World Cup being the focus, it makes the selectors' job much easier. In fact, with two and a half months to go, India's World Cup squad looks settled in spite of the player rotation that you see. And over the next three games, and the form that players show in South Africa, the remaining four spots can be filled. There is the little, often irrelevant, issue of naming 30 players, but really, India could name the final 15 today with the selectors taking a call on the fourth seamer, second spinner and eighth batsman. I believe there is still the comfort factor of having a Pathan in the side in Indian conditions and that means R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha fight it out for the second spinner's slot. Given that Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar have done enough, it's going to be a job choosing between Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth and the quietly effective Munaf Patel for the last seamer's place. And if India do indeed commit to the seven-batsmen route, as seems likely, they will need a back-up; ideally someone who can play the role of a finisher from No. 7, and I suspect it could come down to Saurabh Tiwary or even Rohit Sharma. There is still a long time to go for that World Cup, and much water can flow under the bridge, but Kohli and Yuvraj have started filling troublesome spots. So according to him, the side can be: 1.Sachin 2.Sehwag 3.Gambhir 4.Yuvraj. 5.Dhoni. 6.Raina. 7.Kohli 8.reserve bat: Saurav Tiwari/Rohit Sharma 9.reserve allrounder: Yusuf Pathan/Jadeja 10.Harbhajan 11.Zaheer 12.Nehra 13.Praveen Kumar 14.Reserve seamer : Sree/Ishant/Munaf 15.reserve spinner: Ashwin/Ojha Think the team is not bad.. Selectors have to take a call on the reserves now.

[hari504504]

Yuvi and Sehwag's bowling is underrated.I wonder why Sachin doesn't bowl more these days.

and risk an injury??..no thanks Tendu has a long history of problems related to his back..

[Sooda]

Good article, thanks for sharing Chandan. Kohli and Raina coming in at 6 and 7- thats a pretty solid batting lineup. Esp when you think both those guys have done a job for us at no 3 and really the top order is where they belong Of the reserves at this point perhaps go for Jadeja (he is more of a bowling allrounder whcih I think well need more than one who is just ok with bat and ball) Munaf as a superior ODI bowler (or more economical one anyway) to Ishant and Sree, Ashwin for his control and the fact he can bat a bit and Rohit as he is a bit more experienced than Tiwary

[wanted_desi]

There is no way Kohli should be dropped from the team. The weakest batsman that look in current form in the line up is Yuvraj. But, he can be used as an allrounder, since he has been bowling quietly well from last couple of years. You can't drop any other batsman. I know it sucks to use Yuvraj/Raina/Sehwag as the fifth bowler, but there is no other option than to suck up with that.

[cowboysfan]

its a very flawed article by harsha.he paints an idealized dream scenario and completely ignores the fact that our 4 frontline bowlers can get hit more than the part timer!!.we cant make any decisions based on the performance against a pathetic kiwi team.WE might need to chse 360 instead of 320 by picking 4 bowlers.

[pensionplan]

There is no way Kohli should be dropped from the team. The weakest batsman that look in current form in the line up is Yuvraj. But' date=' he can be used as an allrounder, since he has been bowling quietly well from last couple of years. You can't drop any other batsman. I know it sucks to use Yuvraj/Raina/Sehwag as the fifth bowler, but there is no other option than to suck up with that.[/quote']Agree. Putting reputations aside if VS and SRT open then GG will come in at 3 which means Kohli at 4 and of course Raina is a must. Then if MSD decides he wants himself at 6 and have someone like a Yusuf Pathan at 7 to go along with 4 bowlers then Yuvraj misses out. Simple as that.