Selection for England tour : Selectors still waiting for Sehwag’s thumbs up

[jeeves]

big blow to team India ahead of the high profile english sojourn ,if indeed sehwag is not fit:(( whom do you think can fill in his big boots:nervous:

[deepak_sach]

Of course,Murali "OMG I JUST GOT AN IPL 100" Vijay

[jeeves]

even after his poor show in the caribbean!!!????

[deepak_sach]

Then who else is there? Abhinav mukund... I feel Murali vijay will score a century in this innings... Just wait and see

[Feed]

Selection for England tour : Selectors still waiting for Sehwag’s thumbs up More Selectors still waiting for Sehwag’s thumbs up Posted: Fri Jul 01 2011, On the face of it, the selectors should have some happy problems to live with when they pick the 16-member squad in Chennai on Saturday for the four-Test series against England. The second-string side has done pretty well in the West Indies, winning the ODI series and taking a 1-0 lead in the Tests. And with most of the seniors fit and ready to return in time for the England tour, Kris Srikkanth & Co should have an easy job ahead of them. That isn't the case, as the national selectors are caught in dilemma concerning Virender Sehwag. The Indian opener went under the surgeon's knife to fix his injured shoulder midway through the IPL, as he wanted to be fit in time for the England series. Sehwag is currently working hard to make himself available for the tour, but according to a senior BCCI official, the board hasn't received Sehwag's fitness certificate yet. And the player is central to the selectors' plan for the upcoming series. “Much will depend on Sehwag's availability or unavailability. This is a series between the World No. 1 and a country that is playing some terrific cricket of late. A good opening combination would be key to our success. Most of their bowlers are rhythm bowlers and Sehwag can upset just that with his style of play,†a selector told The Indian Express . That Gautam Gambhir, who skipped the ongoing tour of West Indies due to a shoulder injury, is fit is good news. But with no quality back-up opener for Sehwag in sight, the selectors will have a tough meeting ahead. Murali Vijay has wasted his opportunities to cement his place as the first backup, while Tamil Nadu teammate Abhinav Mukund still has a long way to go as far as playing at the highest level is concerned. If Sehwag is fit, the selectors, according to the source, may not even include a backup opener. With Sachin Tendulkar returning for both legs of the tour, the middle order will once again have a settled look. Before the tour of the Caribbean, Suresh Raina's place in the longer format was under the scanner and he was retained only because Yuvraj Singh and Cheteshwar Pujara were ruled out due to illness and injury respectively. After two Tests in the West Indies, Raina has made himself an automatic choice. Yuvraj, who has now recovered fully, might edge past Virat Kohli as the latter has failed to carry forward his ODI form into Test cricket. Like Raina, Praveen Kumar too will muscle his way into the Test squad. The selectors are contemplating on sending five seamers and two spinners for the tour with fit-again Zaheer Khan leading the attack. Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel too are expected to make the cut. As for the spin department, Amit Mishra is expected to partner Harbhajan Singh as the English have traditionally been found wanting against wrist spin.

[CoverDrive]

it is a shootout between Mukund and Vijay for the spot and the WI Test series will decide that. Other option is to make Dravid open and get in another middle order batsman in (Kohli,Pujara,Yuvi)

[gakgupta]

Have rohit open for india. Never know....On talent basis, he is way ahead of vijay and mukund

[Karan114]

Well that's hardly a surprise. If they wanted him to be fit for the England tour, the BCCI should have ensured he undertook the surgery after the World Cup (yeah right!). Instead he played the IPL, aggravated it and will now miss part or all of the Test series. No point going on about how its the most important Test series when he was busy worsening his situation in the IPL.

[kabira]

test matches start in last week of July, they should select him anyways even not fit, just to make England think...LOL on serious note, he still has good 3 weeks or so to get fit for 1st test.

[Mystique_Myth]

i guess.. he will be in the squad tomorrow.. but won't play the first few tests

[bihutoli]

Let's hope he's fit in time for the next IPL.

[Sidhoni]

it is a shootout between Mukund and Vijay for the spot and the WI Test series will decide that. Other option is to make Dravid open and get in another middle order batsman in (Kohli,Pujara,Yuvi)

No way, :headshake:

[deepak_sach]

Let's hope he's fit in time for the next IPL.

Yes Delhi Daredevils needs him more bady than India WTF!

[Sidhoni]

Let's hope he's fit in time for the next IPL.

:facepalm: :facepalm:

[Rajma Chawal]

it is a shootout between Mukund and Vijay for the spot and the WI Test series will decide that. Other option is to make Dravid open and get in another middle order batsman in (Kohli,Pujara,Yuvi)

You're not serious, are you?

[saneindian]

Unless Vijay and Mukund both hit 50s here, Parthiv Patel is our likely opener along with GG for the first two tests in England. He will comeinto the team fr the final test against WI as well. There are reports of Sehwag being fit around the 2nd test, so if things go right he could play the practice match between the 2nd and 3rd test in England and then come back fr the 3rd test. But this should happen only if Viru is fully fit. No point forcing him to play despite not being 100%. In case he is ruled out of the tour, would the selectors g0 back to DK/Jaffer who have the experience of playing in England?

[gaurav92]

Gambhir should open with Dravid and Laxman should come in at no.3. Line up should be like : Gambhir Dravid Laxman Goddy Yuvraj Raina/Rohit Dhoni Bhajji Ishant Zaheer Sreesanth/Mishra/Munaf

[Sidhoni]

Gambhir should open with Dravid and Laxman should come in at no.3. Line up should be like : Gambhir Dravid Laxman Goddy Yuvraj Raina/Rohit Dhoni Bhajji Ishant Zaheer Sreesanth/Mishra/Munaf

Dravid is a brilliant middle-order batsman but is not so comfortable opening.

[Sidhoni]

Gambhir Mukund/Patel Dravid Goddy Laxman Raina Dhoni Bhajji Zaheer Munaf/Sreesanth(If going with 2-2, then Mishra/Ojha) Ishant

[asterix]

Atleast Murali Vijay, if not both MV and Mukund should be in the test squad for England..These youngsters should get enough chances before we look for other options..