Hello, Rahane here, anyone listening?

[Sooda]

Should be in but not as an opener (opener for LOI's only). Had an average of 8 as opener in 5 overseas FC matches. He's a middle order batsman' date=' bats at 4 or 5 I think in Ranji as well. I know he doesn't open.[/quote'] He opens for Mumbai a lot and scored a ton vs Aus for BP XI opening... but youre right he struggled in WI . Not sure we should go by that alone we need good openers desperately and right now he is the best bet. Having said that could be his long term spot is in the middle order

[Lord]

he HAS to play first Test against Aus surely

[Sachin=GOD]

he HAS to play first Test against Aus surely

he HAD to play the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Test vs England as well :cantstop:

[Lord]

he HAD to play the 1st' date=' 2nd, 3rd, 4th Test vs England as well :cantstop:[/quote'] no,u dont change combination after one game or series:giggle:

[rkt.india]

This bench warming will continue till certain player continues to keep his enjoyment above team's interest.

[Lord]

This bench warming will continue till certain player continues to keep his enjoyment above team's interest.

that certain player isnt stopping anyone from dropping him

[Sachin=GOD]

This bench warming will continue till certain player continues to keep his enjoyment above team's interest.

and he's occupying all 7 positions in the batting order, is he??

[rkt.india]

that certain player isnt stopping anyone from dropping him

Certain people are undroppable.

[Number]

and he's occupying all 7 positions in the batting order' date=' is he??[/quote'] He is our worst batsman without a doubt in top 8. Although he is enjoying the game.

[Lord]

Certain people are undroppable.

no they r not,the selectors need to hv guts

[saneindian]

2 months to go before the Aus series. Rahane needs to score at every given opportunity to force his way into the Test 11 vs the Aussies. Hopefully there will be no more Yuvraj/Raina experiments now.

[rkt.india]

and he's occupying all 7 positions in the batting order' date=' is he??[/quote'] No, but when you have batsmen out of form or not playing big innings, you need to make changes but because he is still there even after so much nonperformances, others are also escaped likes of Gambhir. and You can see Yuvraj, Bhajji and Zaheer dropped, but he is not.

[Ultimate_Game]

After the first home series defeat to England in 28 years will Rahane, and hopefully Rohit, finally get a legitimate shot at Test cricket or will Tendulkar's enjoyment of the game and Jaddu's so called all-round skills trump Rahane & Rohit once again?

[Sidhoni]

Nice article. I think his chance will come only if the "God" SRT will retire.

[Laaloo]

After the first home series defeat to England in 28 years will Rahane' date=' and hopefully Rohit, finally get a legitimate shot at Test cricket or will Tendulkar's enjoyment of the game and Jaddu's so called all-round skills trump Rahane & Rohit once again?[/quote'] Troubling this is that the Australia series is two months away. But after that, we don't play a test match for another 7 MONTHS when we tour South Africa in November. If Rahane or some other deserving player doesn't get a chance to play in the team now when the team is absolutely atrocious, then when will they play? A lot of things could happen in those 7 months. Injuries/loss of form etc. If you're not going to give a player a chance when he's absolutely bossing the domestic cricket, then when the hell are you going to play? Just like Kapil Dev was known to block Srinath's place in his last years, Sachin will be also looked at the same way. He could still very well retire now so that someone like Rahane can start playing. But knowing him and whatever has happened since the WC, he won't. It's already a little too late for him to retire. That's his problem now. Need to drop all the dead weights in the team Sehwag Sachin Dhoni ZAK Ashwin Should drop Gambhir also but if Dhoni's not the captain, then Gambhir is the next best choice.

[The Outsider]

^ There is no doubt Tendulkar should retire, but with the retard Dhoni as captain there is no guarantee that Rahane will get a game even if Tendulkar retires. He has played Yuvraj, Raina, and Jadeja ahead of Rahane till now FFS! And has even said after this match that youngsters deserve a long rope, so unless Dhoni is dumped Jadeja will continue to play in the series against Australia.

[Ultimate_Game]

Troubling this is that the Australia series is two months away. But after that' date=' we don't play a test match for another 7 MONTHS when we tour South Africa in November. If Rahane or some other deserving player doesn't get a chance to play in the team now when the team is absolutely atrocious, then when will they play? A lot of things could happen in those 7 months. Injuries/loss of form etc. If you're not going to give a player a chance when he's absolutely bossing the domestic cricket, then when the hell are you going to play? Just like Kapil Dev was known to block Srinath's place in his last years, Sachin will be also looked at the same way. He could still very well retire now so that someone like Rahane can start playing. But knowing him and whatever has happened since the WC, he won't. It's already a little too late for him to retire. That's his problem now. Need to drop all the dead weights in the team Sehwag Sachin Dhoni ZAK Ashwin Should drop Gambhir also but if Dhoni's not the captain, then Gambhir is the next best choice.

Ideally we should have blooded the new batsmen against NZ which would have allowed them enough time to cement their spot and hopefully establish themselves in the team by the time SA tour arrived. Now all we can hope is that the youngsters get off to a quick start like Pujara and our lack of planning doesn't come back to bite us.

[Number]

I agree if that captain Dhoni selects Raina in place of Sachin, I'll live with Sachin playing.

[Laaloo]

Ideally we should have blooded the new batsmen against NZ which would have allowed them enough time to cement their spot and hopefully establish themselves in the team by the time SA tour arrived. Now all we can hope is that the youngsters get off to a quick start like Pujara and our lack of planning doesn't come back to bite us.

Our youngster will use the South Africa series, then the series in NZ, and then finally the 5 test series in England to establish themselves. B->B->B->B-> Watch out Australia 2014, the rockstars are coming.

[Eternal Atma]

Monga's article just made me laugh. Far too emotive and sensationalist. He will get a game.