Concerned about Zaheer Khan and our bowling in general...

[pensionplan]

Goodness me! Strong middle order? Who are the batsmen in the strong midlle order? Yuvraj who is averaging 28 or so in in last 18 months or Dhoni who is has been struggling to score in last few series and is averaging around 30? Or is it Raina who can't face pace or short bowling even on Indian tracks these days? Please tell me who are the players who form our strong middle order!

But you see they have the potential to play out of their skins come the world cup despite what the trend and the recent history shows. So while the best case scenario is expected to play out for Team India the rest of the teams are expected to go south and catch common cold. That is if everything goes well for us. If not we have excuses too like the Pee K injury and his 117kmph menace, ZK being semi fit as he usually is for most part these days, VS, SRT, GG injury niggles not healing completely, SS's antics being the biggest distraction, pitches not tailor made for spinners as HS will attest to should he not get his share of wickets even if it meant he would have bowled badly etc etc. They never run out of them if you know what I mean.

[Feed]

Team plays it safe with Zak More... Team plays it safe with Zak Atreyo Mukhopadhyay, Hindustan Times Chennai, February 16, 2011 Towards the end of India’s practice session on Tuesday, he was running in with a ball, but wasn’t completing the act. With team physio Nitin Patel watching, Zaheer Khan was just trying to figure out how far from recovery he was. A groin problem has kept him from bowling for the last few days. And after missing Sunday’s match against Australia, he will sit out from Wednesday’s outing against New Zealand too. With two days for the World Cup to begin, the team isn’t taking chances. “We have decided to rest him for tomorrow’s match but he will play the first game of the World Cup (against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday),†said captain MS Dhoni. It’s easy to understand why Dhoni wants to protect Zaheer. One keeps his most prized possession in safe custody unless it’s being used, and Zaheer is just that for India. So he did some knocking at the nets, watched fellow bowlers loosen up, had a chat with coach Gary Kirsten before heading for some catching practice. He didn’t look in discomfort, but stopped short of bowling after running in. “He always had talent, but over the years Zaheer has become stronger and clever, and has learnt the intricacies of swing bowling. I take a lot of satisfaction in the way he has shaped up over the last 10 years,†said John Wright, who was the India coach when Zaheer made his debut in 2000. So even though spinners are being seen as the prime weapons, Zaheer still stands invaluable. The team has no choice but to be extra cautious before letting him loose.

[Manny_Pacquiao]

god dammit

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Too many injuries, team physio Paul Close gets the boot More... Too many injuries, team physio Paul Close gets the boot Sanjjeev Karan Samyal , Hindustan Times Mumbai, February 16, 2011 Harbhajan Singh grimaces as the team's physiotherapist Paul Close ® attends him during the fifth...... With just two days left for the cricket World Cup to begin, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has dropped team physiotherapist Paul Close, replacing him with the experienced Nitin Patel. The BCCI has taken a dim view of the many injury breakdowns in the ranks in the recent past and de cided to replace Close who has been with the team for only two series. Reliable team sources said the Indian players were not satisfied with Close’s work during the recent South Africa tour. Players on the injury list during the Test matches and One-Dayers in South Africa included Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir. BCCI officials were left red-faced when Kumar failed to stage a full recovery in time for the World Cup. With the World Cup round the corner, the team is still sweating over the injury status of key players such as Zaheer and Tendulkar, who did not participate in the first warm-up match against Australia in Bangalore on Sunday. "It was found that Close was an idle person and his injury management was not good," said a BCCI official who didn't want to be named. BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, however, revealed nothing. "We take so many decisions. It is an internal matter of the BCCI and I would not like to comment," he said. Patel was with the Indian team for three years from 2007 before being transferred to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in place of Close, who was appointed physio for the New Zealand and SA series.

[IKnowU]

:giggle: Maybe BCCI should hire a magic doctor from the streets instead.