Are experiments still on?

[gator]

Inspite of a lot of bad press on the word "Experiments" associated with the indian cricket team, I believe experiments conducted with good vision and planning is the way forward and prevent stagnation.... These are the experiments I would like to see: 1. Dont disturb the opening pair, but get Yuvraj in at 3 irrespective of when the first wicket falls. 2. Give Piyush some opportunities in the first 30 overs against weaker opposition or when the series result is already decided. 3. While chasing big scores, Dhoni must consistently play at number 4 behind Yuvi. 4. Groom Uthappa for Yuvi's finisher slot. This lad is powerful, biffs hard and his FTB style is ideal in the last 10 overs...

[King]

I don't believe Ganguly can offer much as an opener. One reason why India hasn't been able to post huge scores overseas has been the inability to score enough runs during the power play. Even the 2nd ODI saw India put 39 runs on the board in the first 10 overs on a flat pitch and short ground. That simply is unacceptable. You can look at the best teams around the world and there is at least one opener that has a go early on. I wouldn't touch Tendulkar at this point in time at the top but Ganguly should come in at no.5 and Rahul at no.5 or vice versa if Ganguly is going to look to nudge around. Yuvraj at no.3 should be a permanent fixture. He scores briskly, he can run his singles well and can go over the top if there is a need during the power play.

[gator]

Ravi... Ganguly, if he doesnt open is of no value to the team... he is not the quick runner between the wickets.... he does offer stability at the top though..... getting 40-50 runs on the board without loss of any wicket is pretty valuable and offers a free license to everyone else who follows.... exactly what happened in bristol...

[King]

Yup agree with that Gator. You know Tendulkar can be temperamental too at the top. If both anchor, it won't get the team anywhere. I'm convinced Ganguly cannot bat at the top anymore. Either Uthappa, Gambhir or Karthik should open. That will ease a bit of pressure of Tendulkar to score rather quickly. I wouldn't play Ganguly at all in ODIs but considering that is not going to happen I would rather not see him at the top trying to get a 80 or 90 balls 50 even on flat tracks. Ganguly is invaluable in the test team though.

[gator]

as i said earlier, Uthappa will prove to be invaluable in the last 10 overs, take my word.... Uthappa's weakness is the moving ball and there is no chance of tht in the last 10 unless he comes up against extremely good reverse swing operators and in tht case, all bets are off on anyone..... Gambhir is a good option for the opening slot, but dropping Ganguly to replace him will create another big drama....

[Ram]

Uthappa is most effective when the field is in. He is not a all-field striker like Yuvraj . His shots arent all-along the ground , nor does he clear the field regularly for six. Most of his boundaries are one bounce 4s. If he were to come down the order and slog , he would get caught in the deep immediately. There is no way Yuvraj should come at No.3. No.4 and No.5 are best slots for him. He is not someone who can anchor the innings , which is the primary job of a number 3. I wouldnt mind Ganguly coming in at no.3 or Karthik. My batting order would be Sachin, Uthappa , Ganguly , Yuvraj , Dravid , Karthik, Dhoni and 4 bowlers (or) if we want to play 5 bowlers , it would be Sachin , Ganguly, Karthik , Yuvraj , Dravid , Dhoni , Pathan and 4 bowlers. I still believe Pathan is more useful to our one day than a couple of present players.

[gator]

Uthappa is most effective when the field is in. He is not a all-field striker like Yuvraj . His shots arent all-along the ground , nor does he clear the field regularly for six. Most of his boundaries are one bounce 4s. If he were to come down the order and slog , he would get caught in the deep immediately.

i disagree.... Uthappa is a pretty powerful striker of the ball... i have seen some really huge sixes from him....

[Ram]

Gats , he isnt a natutal all-field striker like Yuvraj. He has his spots and his favorite areas. We havent seen how he plays some quality spin. I think we are yet to see enough of Uthappa to decide if he is good enough to play in the middle order.

[jf1gp_1]

Yup agree with that Gator. You know Tendulkar can be temperamental too at the top. If both anchor' date= it won't get the team anywhere. I'm convinced Ganguly cannot bat at the top anymore.

Not many indian greats know how to retire gracefully. Srinath was the only one who retired when he should have.

[Chandan]

Not many indian greats know how to retire gracefully. Srinath was the only one who retired when he should have.

So you want Tendulkar to retire? Reasons?

[bigdhoni7]

i agree with pretty much all the op's opinion. it's pretty much to only way right now if india want to dominate this odi series. if we are going to truly experiment though i suggest we give ishant and bose a shot possibly opening the bowling with one of our top bowlers (zak, rp and munaf). give rohit a chance probably coming number 5 after dravid. that is until we have this series in the bag (like 4-1). it would be awesome to see the big three rested for the final odi and give a young indian team led by dhoni the opportunity to get some experience ahead of the meaningless 20/20 cup. probably also bring back bhaji, sehwag and pathan just to see what happens win or lose.

[Chandan]

i agree with pretty much all the op's opinion. it's pretty much to only way right now if india want to dominate this odi series. if we are going to truly experiment though i suggest we give ishant and bose a shot possibly opening the bowling with one of our top bowlers (zak, rp and munaf). give rohit a chance probably coming number 5 after dravid. that is until we have this series in the bag (like 4-1). it would be awesome to see the big three rested for the final odi and give a young indian team led by dhoni the opportunity to get some experience ahead of the meaningless 20/20 cup. probably also bring back bhaji, sehwag and pathan just to see what happens win or lose.

I hope you know that Ishant and Bose are not even in the ODI team for this tour!!!

[bigdhoni7]

then what was the whole purpose of bringing them? i believe ishant only bowled in like one odi (the second sa/ind game). and bose played against the sri lankan A team. iirc he did pretty well in that test.

[Chandan]

You can ask the selectors. But they are NOT in the team for ODIs here.

[jf1gp_1]

So you want Tendulkar to retire? Reasons?

no i want sachin, saurav n dravid to retire from odis and concentrate on test.

[Chandan]

no i want sachin' date=' saurav n dravid to retire from odis and concentrate on test.[/quote'] First give your reasons, as to why do you want them to retire. Then give the name of their replacements according to you and why do you think they should replace these three, ie, their strengths.

[The Outsider]

^ Not at the same time but Ganguly, Dravid, and Tendulkar in that order should play selective ODIs and gradually phase out of the team. Badrinath, Sehwag, Sharma, Tiwari, Raina should be phased in.

[jf1gp_1]

First give your reasons, as to why do you want them to retire. Then give the name of their replacements according to you and why do you think they should replace these three, ie, their strengths.

none will survive till wc2011 and if even 2 of them are in wc2011 team that speaks about the quality of cricket players India is producing. Sachin, Dravid are still playing quality ODI cricket so retire gracefully thats how ppl will remember them. My views abt saurav are pretty clear thats why i am on this forum and not the other one. Saurav we can replace in a min with uthapa/sehwag. Uthappa can open in place of saurav and sehwag can come in middle order. For sachin and rahul it will take time to find replacement but dont forget we found replacements for sunny and kapil i am sure we will find suitable players for sachin and rahul.

[Chandan]

If you'll want them to retire, obviously you'll have replacements in mind. Or else how can you tewll them to retire just for the sake of it? How many of 2003 WC team were playing in 1999--Sachin, Saurav, Srinath and Kumble. The real team came together in 2002, just one year before the WC. So it is absolutely laughable to say that they should retire now because they won't be playing after 4 years!!

[jf1gp_1]

If you'll want them to retire, obviously you'll have replacements in mind. Or else how can you tewll them to retire just for the sake of it? How many of 2003 WC team were playing in 1999--Sachin, Saurav, Srinath and Kumble. The real team came together in 2002, just one year before the WC. So it is absolutely laughable to say that they should retire now because they won't be playing after 4 years!!

2007 wc team came together in early 2007 we all know the result. The way the game is played is changing every year. its getting faster, door for gifted but unfit players is slowly closing. Yet we continue to field 3 35yr old in our team and have no clue what our team will look like once these 3 are gone. In this changing world of cricket players like munaf will soon become liability. Yes he has got the runs but the only team in the world that would even think of fielding saurav in ODIs is India. Everyone keeps talking abt where are the replacement, yes we tried and failed with few but that doesnt mean we should stop. when the whole world is looking to improve we hit our peak in 2003 and since then its been a decline. All i am saying is visualize an ideal odi team a team which can beat aussies/rsa/nz/sl on their turf and then tell me how the hell does a 35yrs saurav ganguly fit in that team. Dont give me look at his record BS he WAS a great ODI player only place for him in my opinion is in ICL.