Australia Tour of India 2013 |Feb-Mar|

[cowboysfan]

Vijay and Dhawan are dead ends and not international class,we are just wasting our time with these guys.

[NareshK]

Vijay could be good. He did decently as an opener when he started out. Once he began playing IPL, he started playing too many shots and his test form also suffered.

[Sandeep99]

Vijay may come good! Rahane should start playing at 5-6... Can't see him scoring too many against the new ball (atleast till the time he gets used to test matches) and Gambhir should be sent for a season of county cricket immediately

[rkt.india]

Rahane is not an opener and is not chosen as an opener in the team. He will play in middle order and is selected as a middle order batsman.

[Sean Bradley]

I would give it to Shikhar Dhawan, M. Vijay has been a tried n tested failure, Rahane is a makeshift opener, so hes out of contention for me as an opener.

[bharat297]

I would probably go with Vijay, only because he scored a ton in the Irani trophy and he has some experience in Tests (incl. success against Australia). I think technique-wise Rahane is probably a stronger player but for whatever reason he is struggling as an opener when given the chance, and he seems down on confidence. I feel that Rahane may miss out because the number 6 spot is going to go to Dhoni with Jadeja at 7. I think better options would be: 1) Play Rahane or even Dhawan at 6 2) Play Dhoni at 6 and pick Ashwin at 7 as the bowling-all rounder and then play 3 spinners. I think Ashwin, Harbhajan and Ojha are the best spin bowling combination out of the squad selected. Option No.2 is my preferred option.

[game_changerr]

Vijay and Dhawan are dead ends and not international class' date='we are just wasting our time with these guys.[/quote'] then who????gauti again:nervous:

[yoda]

In related news, Gambhir just scored a 100 against Aus after being dropped. Bottom line, they all score in meaningless matches.

[rkt.india]

In related news' date=' Gambhir just scored a 100 against Aus after being dropped. Bottom line, they all score in meaningless matches.[/quote'] mostly thrived on mediocre spinners, rarely scored against pacers.

[Number]

Sachin Tendulkar 'bowled' thrice at NCA nets

the local bowlers at the National Cricket Academy uprooted his timber at least thrice. A forceful short through point resulted in an inside-edge that shattered his off-stick. He was slow to come forward to another ball and his defence was breached again.

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_sachin-tendulkar-bowled-thrice-at-nca-nets_1801086

[rkt.india]

Want to help Team India? Try not to care

They talk about the overbearing burden of the expectations of a billion fans. ItÃÔ a really bad thing that people always expect us to win, they whisper loudly. Now, without judging whether and how the ÃÃurden affects their performance, it is fair to say that at least this little impediment has been removed from the Indian cricket teamÃÔ path to success against the Australians. We have learnt to expect little, if anything, at all. It wasnÃÕ so over a year ago. India were headed to Australia as equal sparring partners. The fans were excited about what was touted to be a potentially epic series. Sure, both teams had chinks in their armours IndiaÃÔ in particular were exposed embarrassingly in England but there was enough firepower on paper such that there were even talks of a 4-0 series win from both quarters. We know how that story ended. Much has changed in the months following the drubbing Down Under. The Indian team has tasted more than its share of failure over the years but this particular thrashing took an unprecedented toll on its reputation and credibility. What began as a nasty bloodlust meandered into a slide towards apathy. Anyone living in the public eye will testify: thereÃÔ only one thing more worrying than anger detachment. It usually starts with disappointment, builds up to anger, plateaus at bitterness, tapers into cynicism and culminates in indifference. Most couples counsellors may recognise these as the five stages leading to alimony hearings. But, hey, when has IndiaÃÔ relationship with cricket been any less intense, complicated and demanding than marriage? It is on this muted note that the next edition of the India-Australia rivalry will commence. And on a significantly different balance of power than the previous few series between the two countries. Michael ClarkeÃÔ team, despite the retirement of legends like Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, has managed to hold its own and survive the challenges thrown to it by the ever-threatening Sri Lankans and a reinforced West Indies. AustraliaÃÔ star has been constantly rising and you have to be a serious optimist to see a silver lining in the dark cloud that has covered IndiaÃÔ fortunes. Because I never believed in the Indian teamÃÔ invincibility, I am also more positive than others that there are still redeeming strengths that may just come to the fore. The greatest of these, as I have already said, is that there is a sense of reality that envelops the players this time around. Success will be celebrated but failure will hardly be unexpected. This is perhaps the best gift that the fans will have given the team in a while, as well as to themselves. By realigning expectations to the recent track record and a group of players in flux, they spare themselves the biting disappointment that defeat brings. This is a more theoretical shift. On a more specific level, while there is so much newbies like Cheteshwar Pujara, can bring to the team, I sense that the old guard may well show their muscle when they are least expected to. For instance: - You donÃÕ have to like Harbhajan Singh or even admire his skill as a spinner to appreciate the importance of fielding him in a playing XI against Australia. I am hardly a fan of his methods but consider the fact that he, more than others, has the ability to get under their skin and rattle them. I believe that the Indians, during the 2011-12 tour, had lacked this psychological edge and, letÃÔ face it, the brazen gumption that could have come so handy. - The Terrible Ton bogey has been put to rest, thank god. It has been the singularly most embarrassing phase in Sachin TendulkarÃÔ career, this media obsession with the 100th century and his seemingly single-minded quest for the same. It became more important than winning the game, as far as fans and scribes were concerned, and it was too late by the time they realized that nothing was as important as playing to win. I maintain that Tendulkar was a spectator who was dragged into the circus and, consequently, failed to make his last series Down Under count. This is his chance to play a less pressured, more natural game against his favourite rivals. Unless someone, somewhere, finds another statistic to baffle us all with. - Against the backdrop of all the debate about his efficacy as captain, MS Dhoni has batted his way into supreme form. The experts like to project current favourite, Virat Kohli, as skipper-in-waiting almost as a sword hanging over DhoniÃÔ head. But there is a certain joy to being relatively more thick-skinned than others. He is a veteran of this captaincy game and has learnt that it takes just a few solid solo performances to stave off the vultures. This may go against popular opinion but I believe that there is no real alternative to Dhoni as captain and a successful showing against the Aussies is all that he needs to cement that. But I fall victim again to that old devil hope. It lurks where it has no business to be. Only in its absence will Team India and its fans find peace and, perhaps, fun. There you go then, boys. The pressureÃÔ off. Go forth and survive. WeÃÃl try not to care.

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/want-to-help-team-india-try-not-to-care-630858.html

[hatja_tau]

:nervous: Get those bowlers in the Indian team right away!

[SLICKR392]

Dhoni will pick Rahane.

[The Realist]

None of them truly convince. Vijay has poor technique and looked awful in the away West Indies series. Rahane never been given a proper run-out and he looked shaky in the Eng ODIs. Dhawan not sure whether he can really step up at international level. Make sense for Rahane to be given a try since he’s been around the team bench forever but Dhoni has his favourites.

[Sidhoni]

:hysterical:

[rkt.india]

None of them truly convince. Vijay has poor technique and looked awful in the away West Indies series. Rahane never been given a proper run-out and he looked shaky in the Eng ODIs. Dhawan not sure whether he can really step up at international level. Make sense for Rahane to be given a try since heÃÔ been around the team bench forever but Dhoni has his favourites.

Rahane is not an opener and is not selected in the team as an opener.

[rudradhar]

Murali Vijay should open the inning with Virender Sehwag. He had some experience and can play well against pace and spin attack.

[SLICKR392]

Star Cricket showing the India A highlights.

[Marut]

I thought it was supposed to mean "Sachin had bowling practice at NCA nets" , until I opened the thread.

[Number]

As an Indian I'll support them but I am not looking forward to this series at all. The camp at NCA was supposed to be of a week but Dhoni got it shortened to 3 days then on the last day half the team practiced, half of them like Dhoni came late and didn't bother practicing. Then we have a someone who enjoys getting bowled but will never leave patrimony no.4 position .