Preview of the India Squad for India’s tour of England

[1983-2011]

The squad for India’s tour of England was announced a few days ago and it pretty much stuck to the script. Only major surprise was that Abhinav Mukund was included instead of his state teammate Murali Vijay. The Indian selectors have shown enormous amount of trust in this team to take care of business in what would be a tough tour in difficult conditions. The core of this team has played some outstanding cricket especially in away tours in the last 4-5 years, which reflects in their standing as the top ranked test side in the world. However, there are a few complications: Gautam Gambhir is coming back from an injury forced layoff. So is the extremely talented but unstable Sreesanth. Munaf Patel had to miss the last two tests in the ongoing Caribbean tour after performing admirably during the ODI leg. Zaheer Khan will also be playing competitive cricket after a self-requested period of rest. The biggest worry of them all is Virender Sehwag. He is almost certain to miss the first test at Lord’s and iffy even for the second test at Nottingham. In his absence, it will be Mukund who will be walking out with Gambhir, and this definitely is a weakness that England seamers would be sure to take advantage of. When interviewed by Sunil Gavaskar at the end of the second test at Barbados, Mukund admitted that he found test cricket to be at a much higher level than domestic cricket and he is trying his hardest to learn as much as he can, and adapt to the demands of test cricket as fast as he can. A young lad, only three tests old will be facing James Anderson and the resurgent Chris Tremlett at Lord’s alongside Gambhir who is making his way back in to the side. Tricky. Gambhir has shown in the last couple of years how much he has grown as an international cricketer. His ability to fight the odds and improve his technique to adapt to test cricket after his initial failures has to be a source of inspiration for future generation of cricketers. Mukund, despite his failures in his debut test, fought hard for a well-made 48 in Barbados. As an India fan, I am convinced of their abilities to fight it out and bloody mindedness, and this needs to come through to set the platform for the middle order that has accumulated more than a hundred test centuries. Rahul Dravid played a typical Rahul Dravid Innings at Sabina Park paving the way for an India win. VVS Laxman, though he failed in the first test, came through in the only way he knows, in the second test– sublime batting when everyone else was struggling to cope with the conditions. The number six spot – if you put a gun to my head and ask – should go to Suresh Raina (ahead of Yuvraj) as he has performed quite well in West Indies. The batting form of the captain is a bit worrisome but as I always say to anyone that cares to listen – Dhoni knows what he is doing. The bowling unit of this Indian team, I can safely say, can easily rival any Indian bowling unit that has ever landed on the English shores, in terms of quality, variety and their wicket-taking abilities. When fit and able, and especially in English conditions, they are as good as any currently in the world. As Eric Simons, the bowling coach of India said, “If I were in the England side, I would certainly be respectful of the Indian attack. I’d imagine they would respect our seam attack as much as they respected our spin attacks in the past.†There is Zaheer Khan, easily the best left armer in the business. Ishant Sharma has just picked the first 10-fer of his career. Praveen Kumar, who was a last minute replacement, has collected 8 quality wickets at just 23.5 in the WI tests so far. Add to this Sreesanth and Munaf Patel, and of course, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra. The strengths of this Indian team are their middle order batsmen and the fast bowlers. Their lone weakness could be their opening partnership and that could cease as well once Sehwag is fit. In case you were wondering how Sachin Tendulkar was doing, you probably saw him give tennis instructions to Roger Federer at Wimbledon. The word is that he is hitting the nets at the Nursery End.

http://www.spincricket.com/2011/07/06/preview-of-the-india-squad/

[deepak_sach]

We can win against this english side with our Emerging Players squad.:haha:

[Midfielder]

Openers are a worry for me. I think Patel is ahead of Mukund but chief selector is zonal minded.

[Sooda]

We can win against this english side with our Emerging Players squad.:haha:

Yes Id say Ani Srikkanth would rip Anderson to shreds

[Fontaine]

Openers are a worry but I have faith in Gambhir. The guy is as mentally tough as they come. To put it into perspective, the last time we toured England it was Jaffer/Karthik that were the openers and they got better and better as they got used to the conditions. A combination of Gambhir/Mukund for two tests and then Gambhir/Sehwag could only be better than Jaffer/Karthik. Play with an angled bat and soft hands to see off the new ball. That's all they need to do! Dravid/SRT/Lax will do the rest.

[deepak_sach]

Yes Id say Ani Srikkanth would rip Anderson to shreds

:two_thumbs_up:You read my mind

[deepak_sach]

Mukund>>>>>Karthik Gambhir>>>>>>>>>>>>>Jaffer 1-0 will be 2-0 this time/

[Midfielder]

Openers are a worry but I have faith in Gambhir. The guy is as mentally tough as they come. To put it into perspective, the last time we toured England it was Jaffer/Karthik that were the openers and they got better and better as they got used to the conditions. A combination of Gambhir/Mukund for two tests and then Gambhir/Sehwag could only be better than Jaffer/Karthik. Play with an angled bat and soft hands to see off the new ball. That's all they need to do! Dravid/SRT/Lax will do the rest.

Generally for India to be sucessful openers have to grind it out. Gambhir should be OK but I rather have Patel over Mukund any day.

[daryl1985]

Openers are a worry but I have faith in Gambhir. The guy is as mentally tough as they come. To put it into perspective, the last time we toured England it was Jaffer/Karthik that were the openers and they got better and better as they got used to the conditions. A combination of Gambhir/Mukund for two tests and then Gambhir/Sehwag could only be better than Jaffer/Karthik. Play with an angled bat and soft hands to see off the new ball. That's all they need to do! Dravid/SRT/Lax will do the rest.

Totally agree. Gambhir has been immense for us in the last 2-3 years. He is on his way to becoming a legend IMO.

[Texan]

The best possible squad was probably picked. Only change I would have suggested was to pick either Rahane or Rohit Sharma in place of Yuvraj

[cowboysfan]

MS Dhoni figures reflect India's great shape ahead of England tour http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/jul/11/ms-dhoni-india-england-tour After 15 wins and only three defeats in the 27 Tests that MS Dhoni has captained India, his win-loss ratio is superior to that of Steve Waugh (41-9) and Mike Brearley (18-4). The win percentage – 55.55 – puts in the shade Viv Richards, 54%, and Clive Lloyd, 48.64%. That's not to say that Dhoni belongs in such illustrious company yet. But those numbers put into perspective irate comments on social-networking platforms – "gutless wimp" being one description of him – in the aftermath of India's 1-0 series win in the Caribbean. India won comfortably at Sabina Park, a former theatre of nightmares, would have triumphed in Barbados but for lots of rain and an obdurate 73 from Darren Bravo, and were denied victory in Dominica only by two contrasting centuries from Kirk Edwards, on debut, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. On England's last trip to the Caribbean two years ago, they lost 1-0, with Jerome Taylor steamrollering them in Jamaica. But while some disappointment over the deceptive scoreline – 2-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the balance of power over the three Tests – is natural, the criticisms say more about the new fans' radio phone-in mentality than they do about Dhoni. Four years ago, it was Rahul Dravid who was excoriated for not chasing victory at The Oval, with India 1-0 up in the series against England. The hysteria abated then only after Michael Vaughan came in for his press conference and admitted that he would have done the same thing. In Dominica, India were left to chase 180 in 47 overs on a pitch that had gotten so slow it resembled a comatose tortoise by the end. Chanderpaul and Fidel Edwards defied India for 37 overs in the morning to transform likely defeat into possible draw. Had Dhoni refused the dangled carrot with a full-strength side some of the vitriol would have been justified. But India played this tour without Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar, three of the cornerstones of their steady progress to No1. Their replacements failed to stake any claim in West Indies. Prior to his 45 on the final afternoon, Murali Vijay had managed 27 in five innings. Virat Kohli's tally was 76. Neither can complain about not being in the squad for England. One man who is, thanks largely to Sehwag missing at least the first fortnight of the England tour, is Abhinav Mukund. The 21-year-old from Tamil Nadu has a stellar domestic record – a century every three matches – and gritty innings of 48 and 62 edged him ahead of Vijay in the pecking order. West Indies may not have been able to call on Taylor, and Kemar Roach was never used, but Edwards bowled with genuine pace and hostility for his 19 wickets in the series. At the other end, Darren Sammy and Ravi Rampaul shouldered a heavy workload while coming up with the odd telling spell. Devendra Bishoo took 12 wickets to suggest that he'll be around for a good few years yet. Dhoni could have been looking at a 3-0 scoreline had Zaheer Khan travelled to the Caribbean. In his absence though, Ishant Sharma rediscovered some of the verve that made him one of the game's most exciting prospects three years ago. His 22 wickets cost just 16 apiece and he was once again thudding the ball into the bat splice and angling it in to the right-handers. Praveen Kumar, who took 12 wickets in his debut series, will also come into the equation with his controlled swing bowling should England opt for a green top at some point over the four-Test series. With Sreesanth, extremely impressive at times in the drawn series in South Africa, also back in the fray, India are not short of seam options. Chris Tremlett has already called for bouncy, bowler-friendly surfaces to rattle the Indian cage. It's a scenario that won't intimidate a full-strength Indian top order. Each of India's most feted overseas wins – The Wanderers (2006), Trent Bridge (2007), Perth (2008) and Durban (2010) – have come on surfaces that were supposed to favour the home side. On a juiced-up pitch, the more skilled batting line-up invariably wins. India's top six back themselves to be as good as anyone they come up against. Duncan Fletcher's first tour in charge saw them successful in every form of the game. Afterwards, the coach bristled at suggestions that India had somehow failed by not going for the target in Dominica. "I think we made a statement," he said. "We came here with five top players missing. We've come here with a young side and we have won 1-0. "At the end of the day we would have liked to have won 4-1 in the ODIs [it finished 3-2, with West Indies winning two dead rubbers] and 2-0 in the Tests. And that could have happened in Barbados. With another half hour, if the bad light hadn't come in, I think we could have won it. That's making a statement for a team missing its top players." It could have been Gary Kirsten saying that. The South African who went home after April's World Cup win was adored by the players because of his eagerness to shield them from over-the-top criticism. He handed over the reins to a man many see as his coaching mentor, and the message emanating from the camp is clear. There will be no rocking the boat, no matter what the keyboard warriors think.

[J P K]

Broad and Bresnan fight for Test spot Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad talk tactics during a frustrating third-wicket stand, England v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, Headingley, July 1 2011 Stuart Broad is under pressure after a tough start to the season © PA Photos Stuart Broad faces a vital week for the short-term prospects of his England place after being dropped for the deciding one-day international at Old Trafford on Saturday. His county, Nottinghamshire, have a Championship match against Somerset starting on Monday and Broad will need wickets to avoid being overtaken by Tim Bresnan. It had been considered that Broad was so highly rated as part of the player-management structure within the England set-up that he would survive the axe, especially after finally opening his wicket tally with two scalps on his home ground at Trent Bridge. However, when England wanted to alter the balance of their team and include Samit Patel as a second spin option, it was Broad who made way with Jade Dernbach retaining his place. Broad had been carrying a heel problem since the end of the Sri Lanka Test series and also hurt his ankle in training before the Twenty20 in Bristol, where he made his captaincy debut, but Alastair Cook didn't hide why the decision had been made. "We wanted to play two spinners," he said. "We picked Jade ahead of Broady, and that's why we changed it. It doesn't mean that Broady won't come back in. It's obviously a tough pill for him to swallow, but his record in one-day cricket is outstanding. Just because he hasn't taken the wickets he would have liked doesn't mean he won't be back." It was a view echoed by Andy Flower, the England team director, who added that the extra rest will benefit Broad and suggested that he was still very much in the planning to face India. "A nice by-product of him missing this game is that he will have a four-day break from bowling between the fourth one-day international that he played and the four-day game that he will play for Nottinghamshire," Flower said. "After that he can have another four-day break to rest those niggles and then get into training for the Test match at Lord's. Broad's been a superb performer for us, a great competitor - and I foresee him doing great things for us in the future, both in this upcoming Test series and the one-day series." The decision showed that Cook, in consultation with Flower, wasn't afraid to make tough selection decisions even if it involved dumping a fellow international captain. However, it is England's three-captain policy which continues to throw up intriguing situations, as it is now Andrew Strauss who will have a major say on Broad's place in the Test team. While Broad is bowling at Trent Bridge - a good venue for a seamer to try to regain form and confidence - other contenders for his place will be looking to stake their claims. At the head of the list are Bresnan and Steven Finn, the former who made a successful return from injury during the one-day series with eight wickets at 29 including 3 for 49 at Old Trafford while Finn was in the one-day squad without playing. Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, also couldn't get a game but he's some way off Test selection at present. "We wanted to try out a couple of new fast bowlers," Flower said. "Jade Dernbach has got his chance in this series, but we also had Steven and Chris in the squad. I think they've both got a future. There is a lot of competition for fast-bowling places. We'll see how they develop over the next couple of months. Whether they get a go in the Tests or not, I'm not sure, but I think they've both got futures in the limited-overs game." Yorkshire have a Championship match against Worcestershire which will allow Bresnan some extended spells of bowling after his one-day return, but Finn doesn't have a four-day game available with Middlesex not in Championship action. It was the situation that forced Strauss to ask Somerset if he could appear for them against India later in the week. http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/522588.html Finn was the next in line when a replacement was needed against Sri Lanka, at Lord's, but at that time Bresnan, who was outstanding at Melbourne and Sydney during the Ashes, was still on the sidelines. Finn was inconsistent at his home ground but still finished the match with four wickets. Away from Bresnan and Finn, the other option could be Graham Onions if England wants a wicket-to-wicket bowler. Again, though, the scheduling isn't helpful for Onions - who missed the whole of last season with a severe back injury - as Durham aren't in four-day action before the first Test. http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/522588.html

[Cricket Tragic]

Broad will definitely play.

[Switchblade]

Swann, Anderson key bowlers for England: Dravid http://cricket.expressindia.com/news/fitness-of-fast-bowlers-crucial-for-win-dravid/816428/ London: India batsman Rahul Dravid has picked Graeme Swann and James Anderson as the key bowlers for England in the eagerly-awaited Test series beginning at Lord’s next week. “James Anderson has bowled really well. He’s been the trump card. Obviously Graeme Swann is a top-class spinner. We first saw him in England bowling here last time and the boys rated him. He’s come on leaps and bounds from then and has become one of their lead bowlers. Swann and Anderson are the key,†Dravid told The Cricketer magazine. Dravid, who averages over 65 in Tests in England, said India’s batsmen will look to be positive against Swann. “He’s an attacking bowler and that’s one of the things that is different. He’s not just looking to contain, he’s looking to take wickets. He’s not scared to toss the ball up and gets turn with good sideways spin. It will be a good contest against batsmen who are good players against spin, who will not be scared to take him on,†he said With India the top-ranked Test team in world cricket and England (3) keen to take over their mantle, Dravid recognises the significance of the forthcoming series. “All series are important series. But this one is important because it’s a series between two teams that have had good recent records, which gives it a bit more context. We won in England last time, so from that point of view England will want to do better this time,†he told The Cricketer, the world’s best-selling cricket monthly.

[cowboysfan]

I hope girly boy plays over Bresnan.

[deepak_sach]

I hope girly boy plays over Bresnan.

Let both of them play and swann be injured.

[cowboysfan]

why is everybody worried about swann? he will be a non factor.jimmy and tremlett will be their main wicket takers.

[DeepFineLeg]

I guess absence of Hawkeye will take sting out of Swann attack (read ..LBWs)

[Blue Panther]

why is everybody worried about swann? he will be a non factor.jimmy and tremlett will be their main wicket takers.

this

[Trichromatic]

why is everybody worried about swann? he will be a non factor.jimmy and tremlett will be their main wicket takers.

He might prove to be good at wrapping up the Indian tail. For others, just let him bowl at Sehwag and see what happens. :cantstop: