Duleep Trophy 2010-2011

[yoda]

And what is with all these weird names? Duleep Trophy? Why do we have to name it after some person? Why can't it be called the BCCI cup or the Indian national championships or something?

You don't even know who it is named after do you?

[fineleg]

And what is with all these weird names? Duleep Trophy?

:facepalm:

[yoda]

And no I don't think Duleep trophy is going to help with WC prep.

[Mariyam]

You don't even know who it is named after do you?

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say Duleep. :P :haha:

[Chandan]

AMIT VERMA: SOUTH ZONE PLAYER Quietly taking huge strides Madhu Jawali A consistent Verma tallied the highest number of runs for Karnataka this Ranji Trophy season For someone who idolises Yuvraj Singh the stylist, Amit Verma is a batsman more of substance. In a set of talented, flamboyant young Karnataka batsmen, the southpaw doesn’t always come high up in the pecking order. You will rave Robin Uthappa’s power hitting or talk glowingly about Manish Pandey’s free-flowing batting but Verma doesn’t always attract as much attention, notwithstanding the fact that he is the highest (653 at over 54) run-getter for Karnataka this Ranji season. The previous year, when Karnataka made it to the final, he had managed runs in excess of 600. Not that he has any complaints. "I am happy being what I am," remarks Verma. "Obviously Robin has done very well and has played for the country. Similarly Manish was the first Indian to score a century in the IPL and he had a great last season too... It’s a good feeling that you are somewhere near them. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether the spotlight is there on you or not. Me being less noticed doesn’t mean I have to score less," he explains. Though his liking for Yuvraj is apparent, the 25-year-old is more in a Shivanarine Chanderpaul mould. Understated but yet can’t be underestimated. Twice in the same match – the quarterfinal against Madhya Pradesh in Indore – the left-hander put up a dogged show to bat Karnataka out of trouble with scores of 85 and 68 not out when the hosts fancied a possible upset while the visitors feared the same. "The two knocks in the quarterfinals this season against Madhya Pradesh are most memorable of my career so far," says Verma who has earned a berth in the South Zone squad for this year’s Duleep Trophy, ahead of Uthappa. "In fact, last year the first 100 I got against Bengal was also very satisfying because we were 30 odd for two and we were chasing 300-plus," he adds. The big 100s is what Verma wants to churn out more often. Thrice this season, the left-hander failed kick on when perched on 80s. "Obviously it (the season) could have been better," he notes. "I got seven 50s this season, and if I had converted them into big hundreds, it would have been good both from a personal point of view and the team’s point of view as well. In fact I had three 80s which I could have easily converted into big scores. I think I missed out there," he points out. Refreshing attitude It’s a refreshing attitude at a time when the value of a big innings appears to have lost on most of Karnataka batsmen. A double hundred by Rohit Sharma against Bengal at the start of the season put him back in national reckoning while Yusuf Pathan’s blistering 195 against Haryana revived his international career. "Lot of these guys I think have mind sets for 50s and 100s," reasons Karnataka coach K Sanath Kumar. "I am not saying they are selfish, their approach instead should be batting session by session. If you set about playing 300 balls instead of looking for 50s or 100s, you will score a big knock. That’s what I have been telling these guys," he elaborates. Verma the other day picked up some important inputs in the art of building an innings by Brian Lara, the master of playing long innings. "Yes I had a very valuable discussion with him like what you need to do after you get set. His advice was that don’t look at milestones, but just look at the bigger picture. That the longer you stay at the crease, the better it is for the team and you," he states. The consistency has been Verma’s biggest ally this season."Compared to last year, I am happier with my performances in the sense that I was more consistent with my batting. Last year was good but I wasn’t as consistent as this year. I mean I would score in one match and then I would flop in the next two matches... It kept on happening. But this year I was like getting runs in almost every innings," he opines. Sanath feels Verma has grown in stature and wants the youngster to play a bigger role in the team. "He has a tremendous talent, no doubt," he says. "If only he puts his mind on his bowling (Verma is a part-time leg-spinner), he can be the all-rounder we are looking at. I also had my doubts about his batting under pressure, but he showed he can handle every situation with some crunch innings this season. He has got that belief in himself now. He is also the lone left-handed specialist batsman in the side and that’s always a great advantage," he lists. It’s indeed advantage Verma and it remains to be seen if he is going to make match of it. .................................................................... It is worrying how a number of young batsmen are now idolising Yuvraj Singh. It simply says that they don't have a burning desire to do well in tests because their idol too didn't do well there!

[jibranpatel15]

East Zone did very well to lose this game by collapsing so easily :hehe: When is the next game ????

[Sachin=GOD]

If I had to hazard a guess' date=' I would say Duleep. :P :haha:[/quote'] Its named after DuleepSinghJi - he played Tests for England and was the Maharaja of Jamnagar and was the nephew of RanjitSinghJi - after whom the Ranji Trophy is named.

[Sooda]

I wouldnt call a Zonal attack substandard- Central were not even at full strength and had RPS, Pankaj, Umesh and Kartik- thats 2 players with test caps and two others who have been in squads recently. Not international std of course, but not THAT far off. Good test for any batsman. Similarly if Raina turns up for CZ he could face a South attack of SreeSanth, Vinay Kumar, Mithun and Ojha. Possibly Ashwin of course. Thats not bad.

[Mariyam]

^^^^ But the main question remains unanswered. How will playing a test match gear our out of form batsmen for an ODI game? Playing this relatively meaningless tournament at the risk of injuries just before the tournament of their lives at home. I'm not convinced.

[Sachin=GOD]

UP used to be an utterly crap domestic side. The single biggest reason for their rise in domestic cricket has been Kaif. He is a batsman with limited ability, but puts forth his grittiest best on the field. He played a big part as a batsman in UP's rise. However his biggest contribution has been as a captain. In a state riddled with nepotism and favoritism in all areas, he has managed to eradicate the menace to a huge degree. He has personally sat through local trials and matches to push for the inclusion of the best available candidates. P Kumar, RP Singh, Tyagi, Raina, B Kumar - ask any of them about the support and influence Kaif has had on their careers in a degenerate system. A team which was an also ran for it's entire existence has made the Ranji final 4 times in the last 6-7 attempts. It's amazing how people with no clue about domestic cricket hand over titles like His Uselessness. Sure, he might not be the best option or close to it for the national team, how does it automatically qualify him as useless. BTW, his FC average is not much different from certain primadonas of Indian cricket like Yuvraj and Raina, neither his Test average.

How dare you say that he has no clue about domestic cricket!! So what if he may not even have seen this innings from Kaif, he has seen StatsGuru and thats enough for him to say the Mohd Kaif is worthy of the title "his uselessness". Such people are StatsGuru experts and they don't even need to see the match in order to comment on it or on any player :haha:

[Sachin=GOD]

^^^^ But the main question remains unanswered. How will playing a test match gear our out of form batsmen for an ODI game? Playing this relatively meaningless tournament at the risk of injuries just before the tournament of their lives at home. I'm not convinced.

Beggars can't be choosers!! For people like Nehra, Yuvi etc, who have been out of form, this is the last opportunity before the World Cup to get back into some sort of form. So whether its an International tournament or the meaningless Duleep Trophy, this is all they've got and they have to play.

[Ranjha]

Players shouldnt get injured. At any cost, they should play these meaningless tests with sub-standard bowling. I really wouldnt want that.

[Ranjha]

Shouldnt*

[pensionplan]

How dare you say that he has no clue about domestic cricket!! So what if he may not even have seen this innings from Kaif, he has seen StatsGuru and thats enough for him to say the Mohd Kaif is worthy of the title "his uselessness". Such people are StatsGuru experts and they don't even need to see the match in order to comment on it or on any player :haha:

Do not worry, I have viewed more than one inning of Kaif as a matter of fact a lot to see how bad a batsman he is overall. And by the way you need to be more mad at CZ selectors who have shortchanged other young aspirants for a spot to get Kaif in who by the way is not even in the top 50 Ranji scorers this season. And it a joke especially when one sees that His Uselessness is not even on the radar for getting selected to the Indian team in any format of the game. In that case the only way for one to get selected for Zonal teams is via performances in Ranji trophy which Kaif clearly lacked. That to me is unacceptable and unfair to the other players who have earned it.

[Sachin=GOD]

Do not worry, I have viewed more than one inning of Kaif as a matter of fact a lot to see how bad a batsman he is overall. And by the way you need to be more mad at CZ selectors who have shortchanged other young aspirants for a spot to get Kaif in who by the way is not even in the top 50 Ranji scorers this season. And it a joke especially when one sees that His Uselessness is not even on the radar for getting selected to the Indian team in any format of the game. In that case the only way for one to get selected for Zonal teams is via performances in Ranji trophy which Kaif clearly lacked. That to me is unacceptable and unfair to the other players who have earned it.

I usually don't respond to your posts but I'm making an exception here :winky: He might be a good batsman or not. He might be "his uselessness" or "his usefulness", but in the end what matters is that he got a chance to play for CZ and he made a very good century - so what problem do you have with that. A player got a chance (however unworthy of that spot he might have been) and scored a 100 so why are you complaining?

[Sooda]

Ya...Its time in the middle, in a competitve match. Much better then milling around in the nets.

[pensionplan]

I usually don't respond to your posts but I'm making an exception here :winky: He might be a good batsman or not. He might be "his uselessness" or "his usefulness", but in the end what matters is that he got a chance to play for CZ and he made a very good century - so what problem do you have with that. A player got a chance (however unworthy of that spot he might have been) and scored a 100 so why are you complaining?

It is easy to speak after the fact. How do you know the deserving Kaif's replacement would not have gotten a double century? Just because he got a century here does not exonerate one of their folly, CZ selectors in this case when they should have selected players who earned it through performing in the Ranji trophy. And one could have understood it if Kaif is in the reckoning for playing for India or needed few games to get ready after an injury lay off before representing India. No such scenario here. All the more reason for the CZ selectors to stick to the script and go by the score book in Ranji trophy.

[Aniruddha]

Players shouldnt get injured. At any cost, they should play these meaningless tests with sub-standard bowling. I really wouldnt want that.

exactly........warm-up games are there to find some form

[kabira]

its better they play Ranji ODI tournament rather than Duleep

[Chandan]

It is easy to speak after the fact. How do you know the deserving Kaif's replacement would not have gotten a double century? Just because he got a century here does not exonerate one of their folly, CZ selectors in this case when they should have selected players who earned it through performing in the Ranji trophy. And one could have understood it if Kaif is in the reckoning for playing for India or needed few games to get ready after an injury lay off before representing India. No such scenario here. All the more reason for the CZ selectors to stick to the script and go by the score book in Ranji trophy.

Why can't you name the batsman then who you'd like to play in place of Kaif for Central Zone, who you think can go on to represent India too?