It's denial from top to bottom

[Robelinda]

Well you can't play any worse than India have in England and now in Australia, with a full strength team against the Aussies who were without several 1st choice picks. India has nothing to lose by blooding these well credential led youngsters. They are just delaying the inevitable. Its not like there's a shortage of fine young batsmen, india has several, way more than Australia. we will struggle like all hell once Ponting and Hussey go, our young batsmen are well short of international level, whereas India has some outstanding talent just waiting to get picked, with big domestic numbers behind them.

[bharat297]

Robelinda ... The problem is those domestic numbers are largely inflated due to the flat tracks and diluted domestic competition. Australia and England have much stronger domestic competitions. The fact that we have to send our cricketers to play domestic cricket in England to become better players is an indication that Indian domestic cricket is just not doing its job.

[Needforspeed]

I hope something comes up after the Tri-Series. My hope is that BCCI is not taking any action now as we are still in the middle of a tour. How are the youngsters going to perform unless they are given the opportunities. Meanwhile let us be prepared for 3 bad years, even at home. But better to lose at home with the new guys than to win with the oldies.

[amiret]

Btw who the hell is R. Shukla lol

is that a rhetorical question ? If not Shukla is BCCI Vice President AND IPL Chief. Rajiv Shukla used to be journalist who turned into a lobbyist ,power broker,fund-raiser & politician. He also owns several Media assets TV/radio channels . Including News 24.His wife heads the channel. He is a member of the Congress Party and secretary of the All India Congress Committee. He is a Rajya Sabha MP and MOS Of Parliamentary Affairs.

[jairamesh]

Robelinda ... The problem is those domestic numbers are largely inflated due to the flat tracks and diluted domestic competition. Australia and England have much stronger domestic competitions. The fact that we have to send our cricketers to play domestic cricket in England to become better players is an indication that Indian domestic cricket is just not doing its job.

They are not all inflated. The lack of balls from selectors blooding new players is the issue and to axing the goldie oldies. Have look at the last year's Emerging Players Tournament played in Australia, where India won comfortably, with players piling on runs. India A also won comfortably in the year before (which included the likes Pattinson, Starc, and Peter George) And the case of Mukund, he had hardly done anything wrong, but was dropped in favor of an unfit Sehwag during the England tour, and then for hopelessly out-of-form Gambhir. BCCI pandering to media (to guarantee viewership) to select the oldies has really hurt Indian test cricket over the last 12 months. It was simple: Either two of Rahane, Mukund, Pujara, Rohit, Manoj Tiwary I had to play. I would have gone with three, and drop Gambhir, Dravid, Laxman. And plus the fielding would have gone several notches up (Laxman & Dravid:hehe:). But alas, the BCCI greasepots missed the boat during the West Indies tour when Dravid and Laxman were still in the team. And now repent, the the white-washes have revealed nothing because it never tested the these youngsters and the one youngster it tested, Kohli, outperformed the oldies. BCCI has never been forward thinking it's a relic where ugly politicians leech of it. Even the IPL was not a BCCI innovation, but singlehandly due to Lalit Modi's sheer determination.

[Sachinism]

More than the losses its these ridiculous statements that are hurting You're right, its denial all the way. They'll carry on making monies and therefore to them whatever they're doing is correct

[asterix]

I think this present selection committe has run it's course..I would prefer to have changes there first. It'll be not a bad idea to have a new buch of selectors with new ideas and perspective...

[Old guy]

in short theey are scremaing in my ears u dumb **** stop supporting us. why are u still supporting! :mad: i guess its time i listen to them :wall:

[Karan114]

More than the losses its these ridiculous statements that are hurting You're right, its denial all the way. They'll carry on making monies and therefore to them whatever they're doing is correct

Yep, its like a slap to our faces to hear them justify one of the worst run of performances by a major Test side in the history of cricket (its obviously different when a side is just starting playing Tests like when India used to lose a lot when it first became a Test nation). End of the day, eight consecutive failures for the batting line-up and not a single one of the big names has been affected. They made Raina the sacrificial goat but frankly he was hardly worse than for example Gautam Gambhir. It'll all continue in the same vein, after the tamasha league all will be forgotten and we'll have the same pathetic top 7 playing NZ in August.

[India-KXIP fan]

First of all the emerging players tournament was not an A-tour. There is a difference. Players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (at the time), Suresh Raina, etc. would have composed the India A side. Furthermore, we would have been playing Australia A, etc. not Australian Institute of Sport. There's a difference between having talented youngsters and strong bench-strength. Thats the thing I don't think many people realise. Also, all those players you mentioned Rahane, Pujara, Rohit, Kohli have not yet established themselves in Test cricket. The reason is a different story (due to selection). But if they do, it will be in-spite of Ranji Trophy, not because of it. Racking up centuries and averaging 60+ on absolute flat tracks in a diluted mediocre competition won't produce a large number of high-quality cricketers. I don't know how people in their right mind can argue against this. This isn't rocket science. The question is simple: * Do we want to produce high-quality Test players both home and away? If yes, then we need to use domestic cricket as a breeding ground. Prepare a variety of pitches. That doesn't mean don't have a few dustbowls, but also have a couple of greentops and hard bouncy decks, so that batsmen and bowlers know how to play on any wicket BEFORE they reach international cricket. If the answer to that question is no, then thats fine we can just continue with our dustbowls at home, and hope that Australia, England and South Africa don't improve their performances against spin.

Raina was in out Test squad that's why. The tour had Rahane, Yadav etc. No green tops in domestic, as I said just send them to play county or something.

[Singham]

Robelinda ... The problem is those domestic numbers are largely inflated due to the flat tracks and diluted domestic competition. Australia and England have much stronger domestic competitions. The fact that we have to send our cricketers to play domestic cricket in England to become better players is an indication that Indian domestic cricket is just not doing its job.

No, there are plenty of talent in India begging to be picked. The likes of Virat, Rohit, Rahane and Pujara can definitely do well in any conditions. Every player i have mentioned above play the ball very late and its a great quality to have. As for as the fast bowlers are concerned we have got plenty of potential. Given a chance they will do well. The new breed of young players are aggressive and not shy like Dravid or Laxman. I am very confident of Indian cricket's future.

[Vikas Bhatt]

In case of our over the hill seniors it's not a case of denial but commercial. The IPL bidding is around and right now retirement would mean losing out on a chance of securing a place in IPL for the next couple of seasons. Selfish? Yes? Practical? That too. Unfortunately for our cricket.......

[Needforspeed]

:protest::protest: I request people watching IPL matches featuring CSK,MI, DD, RR and team picking Laxman to carry placards asking Dhoni, Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman to retire from Test Cricket.

[Old guy]

:protest::protest: I request people watching IPL matches featuring CSK,MI, DD, RR and team picking Laxman to carry placards asking Dhoni, Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman to retire from Test Cricket.

:two_thumbs_up: i dont watch ipl..(only few matches in which young players perform ) but this time im gonna watch it to see our oldies struggle even in t 20 :D

[Vikas Bhatt]

I never watched a single T20 game too date. [That includes the so called T20 'World Cup' win against Pak. A World Cup it wasn't really'] So checking IPL is out if the question.

[BeautifulGame]

Robelinda ... The problem is those domestic numbers are largely inflated due to the flat tracks and diluted domestic competition. Australia and England have much stronger domestic competitions. The fact that we have to send our cricketers to play domestic cricket in England to become better players is an indication that Indian domestic cricket is just not doing its job.

Ofcourse England domestic competition is of the highest quality thatts why they scout in SA and still manage to lose pathetically in sub continent.

[Yoda-esque]

Feisty off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed the vanquished Indian cricket team to bounce back strongly from the Test whitewash in Australia , saying that there is "nothing to worry" as such a setback can happen to any side in the world. "It happens in some series but there is nothing to worry about. We are world champions after all and we will be back in our elements soon," Harbhajan said following the inauguration of his cricket academy in Jalandhar on Sunday. "It is true that we have not performed well but it happens in cricket. I am sure the team will be back in form soon and give a tough fight to all its opponents," he added. India were humiliated 0-4 by Australia in one of most lopsided Test series in recent memory, barely six months after England handed them a similar thrashing. The 31-year-old Harbhajan, who was not picked for the just-concluded series, said he is hoping to make a comeback very soon. "I am doing what I am supposed to do. I am hopeful of playing in the national team as I am ready for a comeback. I have worked very hard to improve my game," he said. Harbhajan is a veteran of 98 Tests in which he has taken 406 wickets but was dropped from the team due to indifferent form last year. http://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/australia-tour-india-harbhajan-says-team-indias-failure-nothing-to-worry-about/20120129.htm :cantstop:

[Old guy]

Feisty off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed the vanquished Indian cricket team to bounce back strongly from the Test whitewash in Australia , saying that there is "nothing to worry" as such a setback can happen to any side in the world. "It happens in some series but there is nothing to worry about. We are world champions after all and we will be back in our elements soon," Harbhajan said following the inauguration of his cricket academy in Jalandhar on Sunday. "It is true that we have not performed well but it happens in cricket. I am sure the team will be back in form soon and give a tough fight to all its opponents," he added. India were humiliated 0-4 by Australia in one of most lopsided Test series in recent memory, barely six months after England handed them a similar thrashing. The 31-year-old Harbhajan, who was not picked for the just-concluded series, said he is hoping to make a comeback very soon. "I am doing what I am supposed to do. I am hopeful of playing in the national team as I am ready for a comeback. I have worked very hard to improve my game," he said. Harbhajan is a veteran of 98 Tests in which he has taken 406 wickets but was dropped from the team due to indifferent form last year. http://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/australia-tour-india-harbhajan-says-team-indias-failure-nothing-to-worry-about/20120129.htm :cantstop:

see fit again before ipl..

[NeutralCat]

Harby saying it's ok that we have lost 8 in a row overseas lol, the joke that is Indian cricket keeps on giving.

[The Outsider]

I like where the OP is getting, but not the manner in which he is getting there. It's not denial, but a celebration of mediocrity whose next chapter will start in a couple of months. Do you really think the average Indian cricket viewer gives a damn about Dhnoi struggling to put bat to ball in an away test match when he can lead CSK to another IPL title? Do you really think the average Indian cricket viewer gives a damn about Tendulkar flopping in two consecutive away series measuring 16 innings when he turns up for the Mumbai "Indians"? Do you really think that these great cricketers like Tendulkar, Dravid, and Laxman have the good of the team at heart when they continue to potter from one innings to another?