We need to give more time to Sehwag: Dhoni

[rkt.india]

T Unfortunately, test cricket has never been generous to stylish shot-making openers. Openers such as Gibbs, Slater, Jayasurya, etc- the shotmaking openers- don't do so well in their 30s, which is the period where mostly dour & gritty openers succeed. r

What about Hayden? He started doing well in 30s.

[Muloghonto]

What about Hayden? He started doing well in 30s.

Hayden was an anomaly. He was one of the best front foot players and happened to play during a time when there weren't very many geuninely great fast bowlers going around. As great as Pollock was, he or anyone else in the Matty Hayden glory period were genuinely fast. He played one series against Akhtar IIRC and got tooled by Akhtar and i don't remember him playing vs Bond. IMO, despite Hayden's superior 'allround record' than Sehwag, i'd still rather pick Sehwag in the team due to Hayden's suspect backfoot play against the fast moving ball. The fact that Hayden was so over-reliant on front foot shotmaking would make him completely useless against most good bowlers with serious pace.

[tweaker]

how much time does sehwag need.england 4.0australlia 4.0.southafrica 3.0

[G_B_]

The issue of Sehwag sums up the unbelievable shortsightedness in Indian cricket - both from the fans and establishment. Veeru does not come with the tightest defensive technique- never has and never will. He is a career middle order bat who's been the most spectacular success story in test cricket. Due to his extraordiary talent- hand-eye coordination and clutter-free thinking, he's managed to average 50+ as an opener in tests. At his pomp, he averaged 50+ in Australia and destroyed class pace attacks. For any opener, that is a vaunted accomplishment. For a middle order bat to do so, is mindboggling. Unfortunately, test cricket has never been generous to stylish shot-making openers. Openers such as Gibbs, Slater, Jayasurya, etc- the shotmaking openers- don't do so well in their 30s, which is the period where mostly dour & gritty openers succeed. So IMO, it is completely unrealistic to expect Sehwag, a career middle order bat by trade, thrust into opening and being the most spectacular success story in cricket for filling in a slot he isn't trained for, to do well. However, it would be criminal to take this middle order bat who's no longer good enough to open the batting and discard him. The logical thing for Sehwag would be to shunt him down the order- like West Indies did with Viv Richards when Richards started to get old. Sehwag has all the ability to succeed when the ball has lost its shine and he knows what to expect from the pitch- ideal for #5 or #6 IMO and there is where he should bat for now. Infact, when we go tour South Africa, our plan should be simple- get Gambhir and someone else to take lessons from Akash Chopra on how to blunt the ball, do that job and not expose the #3-#4 bat till the 15th-20th over. The middle order should be Pujara, Tendulkar (or Rahane/Rayudu if Tendy retires after this series), Kohli, Sehwag, Dhoni & Ashwin to round out #3-#8 spots. If we do this, we have a good chance in not losing due to batting collapses.If we don't, Sehwag would be wasted in South Africa and it would be extremely sad to see a middle order bat who's succeeded spectacularly at a job he wasn't suited for being given the shaft and shown the door without giving him a chance to play where he belongs-in the middle order

so who do you replace in the middle order? sehwag at and dhoni at 7? worth a shot IMO Dhawan Rahane Pujara Sachin Kohli Sehwag Dhoni Ashwin xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx (bowlers)