Ganguly questions Raina's abiliity to play on south african tracks

[Sachin=GOD]

No' date=' he never rectified his flaw. He always sucked with good short pitched stuff till the end of his career. So he is someone who has not worked over his weakness..[/quote'] he did'nt rectify the error but adjusted his game in such a manner that he was able to score lots and lots of runs despite that flaw and that is something he can teach Raina or any other young batsman.

[Andy]

he did'nt rectify the error but adjusted his game in such a manner that he was able to score lots and lots of runs despite that flaw and that is something he can teach Raina or any other young batsman.

Well Put. Made more runs against Steyn, Morkel,Ntini, Pollock, Neil , etc than the most after his comeback.

[Andy]

And I dont think he sucked against Good Short pitch Bowling in the Later half of his career, Mostly. Who says that, Must havent followed cricket during that time or talking about 1-2 instances.

[pensionplan]

No' date=' he never rectified his flaw. He always sucked with good short pitched stuff till the end of his career. So he is someone who has not worked over his weakness..[/quote']Without digressing this into a Ganguly batting analysis thread, over his career against the two best bowling sides he has faced versus Aus and SA here are his stats: 41 tests, Avg 34.55, 2 hundreds Hardly something to brag about given Test cricket is where you are really Tested and figured out a true gauge of a players calibre. SRT and VVS are class apart in Tests versus (Aus + SA) over their career's in comparison in the famed middle order.

[yoda]

he did'nt rectify the error but adjusted his game in such a manner that he was able to score lots and lots of runs despite that flaw and that is something he can teach Raina or any other young batsman.

Yes, it would be good if he can teach something. The issue here is commenting on young players saying they are good for nothing and the country needs to find new players. That is not teaching, that is *****ing.

[Fontaine]

Raina' date=' Yuvi, Sharma & co have known since T20 WC 09 that they have issues with the short ball... they have had two years to rectify their issues, what have they done?[/quote'] Exactly, this is the only issue. Having a weakeness or pointing out someone's weakeness is not the problem. 99.99% of all players have weakenesses but it the greats and successfull ones that improve their weak points so that they don't affect them too much. I don't expect Raina/Sharma to all of a sudden be great hookers/pullers of the short ball but at the same time it's unaccepteable that Raina get's so mentally intimidated that he's expecting a short ball and even getting out to fuller deliveries as a result.

[Andy]

Without digressing this into a Ganguly batting analysis thread' date=' over his career against the two best bowling sides he has faced versus Aus and SA here are his stats: [b']41 tests, Avg 34.55, 2 hundreds Hardly something to brag about given Test cricket is where you are really Tested and figured out a true gauge of a players calibre. SRT and VVS are class apart in Tests versus (Aus + SA) over their career's in comparison in the famed middle order.

Of course, Not just SRT or VVS, you need to mention Rahul too. And how does scoring against great bowling sides have to do with playing short balls? Numerous times he was dismissed edging it to slips or keeper. If you compare SCG to Rahul, VVS, SRT then he would look like a midget of a Test player. Of course he was an average Test player. But Indian Cricket never started with the 3 mentioned above, Nor will end with the 3 mentioned above. In his later part of the careeer he was better against Both the teams you mentioned and am sure the 34.5 average you have put must have got a boost with his performance in his later half. SCG was not a great player of Short delivery, But better than most of the Current Crop. More than that he used to Gut it out, rather succumbing to the short balls.

[Raghav_12]

he did'nt rectify the error but adjusted his game in such a manner that he was able to score lots and lots of runs despite that flaw and that is something he can teach Raina or any other young batsman.

Yes, he did make required changes in his game to survive, not thrive, agaist short bowling. Initially he used to duck awkwardky or will play with closed eyes. Later on he had developed his own unique pull shot, where he would swivel on his heels rather then moving shoulders or wrists. This shot looked ugly but was effective nevertheless. Everybody knew his shortcomings agaisnt short bowling yet he managed to score so many runs, then of course he would have worked on his weakness. And move over this trivial thing that he doesn't have right to advice Raina on short ball. If that is true then Dhoni would never be telling any bowler on how to bowl.

[Andy]

Yes' date=' it would be good if he can teach something. [b']The issue here is commenting on young players saying they are good for nothing and the country needs to find new players. That is not teaching, that is *****ing.

He never said that about Raina, He said that about Rohit which the whole board would agree on and want us to move on From Rohit.

[Sachin=GOD]

Yes, he did make required changes in his game to survive, not thrive, agaist short bowling. Initially he used to duck awkwardky or will play with closed eyes. Later on he had developed his own unique pull shot, where he would swivel on his heels rather then moving shoulders or wrists. This shot looked ugly but was effective nevertheless. Everybody knew his shortcomings agaisnt short bowling yet he managed to score so many runs, then of course he would have worked on his weakness. And move over this trivial thing that he doesn't have right to advice Raina on short ball. If that is true then Dhoni would never be telling any bowler on how to bowl.

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[CSK Fan]

Exactly, this is the only issue. Having a weakeness or pointing out someone's weakeness is not the problem. 99.99% of all players have weakenesses but it the greats and successfull ones that improve their weak points so that they don't affect them too much. I don't expect Raina/Sharma to all of a sudden be great hookers/pullers of the short ball but at the same time it's unaccepteable that Raina get's so mentally intimidated that he's expecting a short ball and even getting out to fuller deliveries as a result.

Its not Ganguly who should go to the players offering help. Its the players who should come to him. As for him giving interviews, thats what ex-players do. Its their living after retiring. for the next 2 decades Gaguly will be on talk-shows, interviews, giving his opinions As for the second point, spot on. This is wher eYousuf succeded yesterday. he was bothered by the short ball but when the ball was in his zone, he was always on the front foot playing his shots without any mental baggage

[saneindian]

Its not Ganguly who should go to the players offering help. Its the players who should come to him. As for him giving interviews' date= thats what ex-players do. Its their living after retiring. for the next 2 decades Gaguly will be on talk-shows, interviews, giving his opinions As for the second point, spot on. This is wher eYousuf succeded yesterday. he was bothered by the short ball but when the ball was in his zone, he was always on the front foot playing his shots without any mental baggage

The difference being when Dada was leading the side and any ex players used to talk badly about any youngsters, he always used to say ex players should know how tough int'l cricket is and should be cautious about what they speak. In that respect, it's not unfair to expect Dada to be a little more generous and mild to the youngsters even in his criticism.

[Andy]

Well Rohit deserved to be at the critical End. He has done nothing in last 3 years other than that CB series Final. The whole board is of the same opinion about him, Wonder when Ganguly says that why all hell breaks lose.

[Texy]

Let us not be hung up on the past. He is neither 20 or 30 but a soon to be Dadaji. Come out of the past so that you can enjoy today's cricket. That is all I can say. Yes that is correct.

I would advise you to edit your post and stop the name calling. If you want to have a debate....have it the civilized way.

[pensionplan]

I would advise you to edit your post and stop the name calling. If you want to have a debate....have it the civilized way.

Apology accepted.

[pensionplan]

And while we are at it, how many here think but for Dalmiya at the helm Kumble would have been the skipper at the time in 2000 when Tendulkar was replaced and there were many that felt that way. To me Kumble is the epitome of what a leader should be. He briefly showed that in 2007 when he led India and especially during the Aussie tour in early 2008 showed how he can rally his troops in crisis after that Sydney fiasco and made it look so simple to handle. And in the IPL after that leading BRC taking over for an off color RD how well he turned that team around with back to back SF plus appearances and a champions league berth. And then after that he smartly got into the cricket administration and really want to make a difference rather than just talk about it. And on top of that Mallya of all people made him the voice of BRC and is his main man who has the final say in all the player personnel decisions. To me he is the best of the lot who has the aura and respect both on and off the field and never ever in his 20 years had a controversy or a tiff off be it with the coaches or the skippers he played for. AK just before retiring and after his retirement in 2008 is showing us a lot that we missed a trick by not making him the leader much earlier. Not that anyone doubted that for a second but fans will always be left with that feeling of what could have been.

[nballa]

i wonder if raina can play short balls i bowl at him.

[yoda]

And while we are at it, how many here think but for Dalmiya at the helm Kumble would have been the skipper at the time in 2000 when Tendulkar was replaced and there were many that felt that way. To me Kumble is the epitome of what a leader should be. He briefly showed that in 2007 when he led India and especially during the Aussie tour in early 2008 showed how he can rally his troops in crisis after that Sydney fiasco and made it look so simple to handle. And in the IPL after that leading BRC taking over for an off color RD how well he turned that team around with back to back SF plus appearances and a champions league berth. And then after that he smartly got into the cricket administration and really want to make a difference rather than just talk about it. And on top of that Mallya of all people made him the voice of BRC and is his main man who has the final say in all the player personnel decisions. To me he is the best of the lot who has the aura and respect both on and off the field and never ever in his 20 years had a controversy or a tiff off be it with the coaches or the skippers he played for. AK just before retiring and after his retirement in 2008 is showing us a lot that we missed a trick by not making him the leader much earlier. Not that anyone doubted that for a second but fans will always be left with that feeling of what could have been.

Well I am not sure AK would have achieved more than what Ganguly did. He was a great bowler no doubt, but his captaincy skills weren't that great. He seemed to get upset at silly things like a fielding miss and didn't really seem to have the flair of a captain. Dhoni is doing a lot better than what AK did with almost the same team and now even minus Kumble himself.

[pensionplan]

Well I am not sure AK would have achieved more than what Ganguly did. He was a great bowler no doubt' date=' but his captaincy skills weren't that great. He seemed to get upset at silly things like a fielding miss and didn't really seem to have the flair of a captain. [/quote']Without a doubt this is all subjective to an extent since there is no means to prove it one way or the other. Personally I think AK is much more savvy and could have gotten more out of the team in 2000-2005 time frame if one considers the fact that VVS, RD have joined SRT to become a viable threat and the bowling unit was pretty good too overall and the team's top 6-7 players were World class.

Dhoni is doing a lot better than what AK did with almost the same team and now even minus Kumble himself

Since AK only captained Tests let us focus on that. It is at AK's behest a certain Sehwag was brought back for that 2007-2008 Aussie tour and the rest is history ever since then as far as VS is concered. SRT and VVS have been playing the best Test cricket they ever played over the last two years(after AK's departure especially) than at any other point of their careers. Add to that GG combining with VS to form the best opening pair in world cricket. When you add all that up you have a group of players that would have excelled regardless of the captain and MSD happened to be the one. This is in no way intended to discredit Dhoni who to me is a very very good skipper but somehow the comparison there with AK somehow does not fit well IMO. AK did a great job to me than his record would reflect considering the fact that he is the one that brought VS back to the fold and laid the platform for MSD to takeover as Test captain once he was ready and AK retired.