Jaffer or Gambhir ?

[observer1]

You lot have the memory of a chap with advanced dementia who was cracked on the head by an oversized baseball bat. Can't remember beyond what happened at breakfast. .

And, here I was, thinking that dementia affected short-term memory, and LTM would be intact! Anyway, I am a Sehwag fan too - Sehwag anytime, ahead of the pretenders - possibly Sehwag and Gambhir for this series if I were a selector

[Predator_05]

Faulty analogy. When Jaffer was picked he hadnt played anytime in the recent past. The bet was Jaffer could be no worse than Gambhir & he wasnt. Replacing Sehwag with a Gambir on such flimsy evidence' date=' is pathetic reasoning[/quote'] LOL, i am loving this. So Jaffer was picked because he hadn't played in the recent past ? Well, niether has Gambhir - can't you see that ? His last test was at Ahmedabad against SL - that was in the fall of '05. Recent past ? The bet now is that Jaffer could be no worse than Sehwag - who has been averaging a paltry 30 runs per dig throughout last season. The "pathetic reasoning" is the SAME in both cases !

Dont twist my words. I said the case will be stronger for Gambhir atleast if he were picked on past reputation. Atleast u could justify his selection than citing his past peformances (like how Veeru was picked for the world cup). In this instance' date=' selection of Gambhir over Sehwag has no justifiable reason whatsoever[/quote'] WTF ? You can't justify anyone's selection (convincingly) on the basis of past reputation. I leave that line of reasoning to the hero-worshippers

[Predator_05]

And yes' date=' Pred, I read your article, but this chap is a consummate loser- a minnow basher as Bumps puts it.?[/quote'] No more a consummate loser or a minnow basher as Jaffer was before his comeback to the side in '06. All he had to his credit was a fifty or two in WI, and a fifty at Lords. That was it, no worse than Gambhir. So if we could give another chance to Jaffer, why deny another chance to Gambhir ? That is my point ! Just out of curiosity - what was your opinion of Jaffer before he made his comeback at Nagpur ? Don't dodge this question, please. How you can judge a player with such certainty after he has had just 1 stint is beyond me.

[novpj]

Gee, Tendulkar should have been dropped in 2004. After all, he only averaged 17 in 2003. Oh, the emotional selectors!

Good point Dhondy - given SRT played so badly in the 2003 world cup there were a lot of question marks surrounding his form. I know you are making the argument about Sehwag for tests only sicne his ODI numbers just suck but IMO it reflects how out of form he is.

[Bumper]

LOL' date=' i am loving this. So Jaffer was picked because he hadn't played in the recent past ? Well, niether has Gambhir - can't you see that ? His last test was at Ahmedabad against SL - that was in the [b']fall of '05. Recent past ? The bet now is that Jaffer could be no worse than Sehwag - who has been averaging a paltry 30 runs per dig throughout last season. The "pathetic reasoning" is the SAME in both cases !

Why are u dodging the question ? Was Jaffer picked ahead of Tendulkar (who was struggling) back then ? Picking Jaffer to replace Gambhir vs Gambhir to replace Sehwag is hardly the right comparison. PS: Gambhir last played tests in Dec 2005. He's hardly been forgotten. He made several appearances in the ODI format & was mostly in & out of the squad since then, because of his own fault.

[Predator_05]

Why are u dodging the question ? Was Jaffer picked ahead of Tendulkar (who was struggling) back then ?

No, Tendulkar wasn't struggling back then. Jaffer was picked as a replacement for the out of sorts Deep Dasgupta. Fast forward to 2007, replace Dasgupta with an out-of-sorts Virender Sehwag. Same situation. You have one opener who is struggling, and another in-form opener is knocking on the door. You do the logical thing by replacing the dud with the guy in form. Why is this is so damn difficult to understand ?

Picking Jaffer to replace Gambhir vs Gambhir to replace Sehwag is hardly the right comparison. PS: Gambhir last played tests in Dec 2005. He's hardly been forgotten. He made several appearances in the ODI format & was mostly in & out of the squad since then, because of his own fault.

I don't care how many ODIs he played. We are talking test cricket here. OK fine, for a moment - let's forget Gambhir. Do you at least acknowledge the fact that Sehwag was struggling and needed to be dropped for at least one tour to recover his sense of hunger ?

[Bumper]

No, Tendulkar wasn't struggling back then. Jaffer was picked as a replacement for the out of sorts Deep Dasgupta. Fast forward to 2007, replace Dasgupta with an out-of-sorts Virender Sehwag. Same situation. You have one opener who is struggling, and another in-form opener is knocking on the door. You do the logical thing by replacing the dud with the guy in form. Why is this is so damn difficult to understand ?

You are the one who is finding it difficult to understand. Jaffer was making a comeback to the test squad, then, just like Gambhir is now. When u replace a reputed player with a rookie, u are taking a BIG RISK, yes, even with the recent form of the big player not withstanding. U better justify that risk, with a strong candidate. Had Jaffer been used to replace Tendu in 2006, your analogy would have been more pertinent.

Do you at least acknowledge the fact that Sehwag was struggling and needed to be dropped for at least one tour to recover his sense of hunger ?

Im not in to hero worships. I hardly back players unconditionally. I agree that Veeru needed a kick on his bakcside to boot him out of his comfort zone. And we did that by dropping him for the tests vs BD. Thats enuff to make a statement. Look at how much hunger & anger Tendulkar seems to be playing with (after being criticised by pundits that he was playing for the wrong reason & was dropped from the ODIs vs BD). He hasnt inspired this much confidence in fans, ahead of a tour, in close to 5 years. Its ridiculous to drop Veeru for an overseas tour when we dont have a competent replacement. Closest thing to commiting a harakiri.

[Predator_05]

You are the one who is finding it difficult to understand. Jaffer was making a comeback to the test squad, then, just like Gambhir is now. When u replace a reputed player with a rookie, u are taking a BIG RISK, yes, even with the recent form of the big player not withstanding. U better justify that risk, with a strong candidate. Had Jaffer been used to replace Tendu in 2006, your analogy would have been more pertinent.

That kind of risk is just part of the game. Not replacing a liability at the top of the order (like Dasgupta was back then, or like Sehwag was throughout last season) is an even bigger risk. I've already told you that reputation counts for nothing when a player looks like he can't score in a wh0rehouse. Form takes precedence ahead of everything else. You want to see a below-par Sehwag continue at the expense of someone who has been scoring for fun in the last year ? There is no stronger candidate out there to replace Sehwag than Gambhir - like him or not. UNLESS you can name someone who has matched the numbers he put up last year. He deserves to be in the squad ahead of Sehwag on merit, and ideally - he would be opening for the Test XI as well. Whether he does well or not...we'll see, but to bring up arguments like "look at his average before, blah blah blah" aren't at all convincing. For example, remember my call on Ganguly before the SA tour ? Many couldn't believe that i wanted some peaked loser with such a mediocre record in SA playing there for India. Records from more than a year ago aren't always an accurate reflection of a players' ability. Trust me on this one.

[Dhondy]

No more a consummate loser or a minnow basher as Jaffer was before his comeback to the side in '06. All he had to his credit was a fifty or two in WI, and a fifty at Lords. That was it, no worse than Gambhir. So if we could give another chance to Jaffer, why deny another chance to Gambhir ? That is my point ! Just out of curiosity - what was your opinion of Jaffer before he made his comeback at Nagpur ? Don't dodge this question, please. How you can judge a player with such certainty after he has had just 1 stint is beyond me.

I was actually a big fan of Jaffer while he was struggling to get back into the team. What I like about the bloke is that he when he gets a start, he really scores big....double hundred territory. To some extent, he has maintained that in Tests, but gets out cheaply too often. I like the strokes he plays. He looks class, with a high left elbow. Gambhir, OTOH, looks cheap, like a fake imitation of a batsman. He also throws away too many starts. There's something very ephemeral about him.

[King Tendulkar]

I would go for Gambhir but they will stick with Jaffer. What about Dravid opening and thus freeing up a spot for yuvi to come in

[King]

Jaffer hands down. He's not a bad batter but is a bad starter. If he can survive the first 5-10 overs he can make huge impact to the fortune of the Indian team on this tour. His recent performances won't inspire much but I trust he needs a chance or two more before he is shunned.