Who's the Number Six For India in England?

[deepak_sach]

I believe Raina because he has temperament and hunger,,

[NareshK]

It should be Raina based on current form. It could have been Kohli had he done well in the Windies test matches. He looks more technically compact of the two.

[Rahul Dravid]

raina. no questions.

[Pagalpanti]

Yuvraj Lol surprised with people suggesting Raina now. 2 tests before, he was supposed to be the "most pathetic to have played test cricket for India".

[jf1gp_1]

Irfan Pathan after all he has regained his rhythm

[Fontaine]

Raina probably deservers it but I have to go with Yuvraj. He's shown he can be a valueable part time spinners and with only four front line bowlers, Sehwag's shoulder injuries which will prevent him from bowling, we absolutely need Yuvi's part time spin bowling which has really improved.

[NareshK]

Yuvraj doesnt have a lot of patience to tough it out when the conditions are tough. He has trouble playing when the ball swings and reaches out and plays away from the body. Most of his dismissals in tests abroad are getting caught in the slips after fishing outside off stump.

[Show_stopper]

I don't see how the selectors can keep out Raina now after his performances on 2 very lively pitches...the only youngster who has performed on this tour. And What is more he never looked like getting out once in all the 3 innings so far (1st innings he ran out of partners so had to throw caution to the winds, the other 2 innings he got howlers from the umpires). he has batted with supreme confidence. None of the youngsters apart from him have looked comfortable.

[saneindian]

Could be a toss up between Yuvi and Raina. Both may get to play the practice match before the 1st test and whoever does well will get picked. Raina however has a great chance to keep Yuvi out of the 11 by scoring heavily in the remaining 3 innings of this tour. Needs to convert one of these starts he has got so far to a 100.

[Karan114]

Raina probably deservers it but I have to go with Yuvraj. He's shown he can be a valueable part time spinners and with only four front line bowlers' date=' Sehwag's shoulder injuries which will prevent him from bowling, we absolutely need Yuvi's part time spin bowling which has really improved.[/quote'] Yuvraj averages 17 outside the subcontinent in Test cricket...but he should be played ahead of the in-form Raina just because he can be a useful part time bowler?

[NareshK]

^^I agree. Yuvraj Singh has played 34 tests and he has an average of 35. Not good enough IMO. I think the selectors have already looked past him as far as tests are concerned. A great ODI player but not fit for tests.

[gaurav92]

Yuvi/Raina/Rohit. But being a "Pie Chucker", Yuvi should be preferred :D

[Fontaine]

Yuvraj doesnt have a lot of patience to tough it out when the conditions are tough. He has trouble playing when the ball swings and reaches out and plays away from the body. Most of his dismissals in tests abroad are getting caught in the slips after fishing outside off stump.

How many number 6 players are there that can play in tough conditions when the ball is swinging? We're not going to get a perfect number 6. Raina struggles against the short ball, others like Pujara etc don't have a lot of experience and Yuvraj's technique isn't water tight. You have to look at what each player can do (rather than what they can't). Raina/Kohli/Yuvraj can all score runs freely and quickly. All three are very good fielders. The only real difference is that Yuvi is best bowling option we could have at number 6 and that's too much of an advantage to ignore.

[Fontaine]

Yuvraj averages 17 outside the subcontinent in Test cricket...but he should be played ahead of the in-form Raina just because he can be a useful part time bowler?

Last time we toured England guys like Ganguly/SRT took very important wickets as the part time bowler. Right now we have NO part time bowling options and against a team like England that's full of batsmen in form. Yuvraj is in the form of his life with the ball and bat. He has to merit consideration and be in the squad so the final decision can be made after the first practice match.

[bihutoli]

I think it makes sense having somebody like Raina who has had experience of playing in similar conditions in the Windies over somebody like Yuvraj fresh out of injury and no match practise.

[Karan114]

Last time we toured England guys like Ganguly/SRT took very important wickets as the part time bowler. Right now we have NO part time bowling options and against a team like England that's full of batsmen in form. Yuvraj is in the form of his life with the ball and bat. He has to merit consideration and be in the squad so the final decision can be made after the first practice match.

I'm not disagreeing that a part time option is useful, especially with a four man attack. But a batsman has to justify his place on batting first. Ganguly and Tendulkar were class Test batsmen so there was no issue there. With Yuvraj there are huge issues with his Test batting, particularly outside Asia. It makes no sense to play him over Raina, who has played two very good Test innings in tough situations against decent pace bowling just weeks before the England tour. Yuvraj will likely be in the squad but Raina should start the Test series ahead of him.

[Rajma Chawal]

Toss up between Raina and Yuvi.

[phaedrus]

raina/yuvi. Pujara is injured right?

[Rajma Chawal]

raina/yuvi. Pujara is injured right?

I believe so. If fit, I'd have him right behind those two.

[Stuge]

Raina first than UV.