Injustice to Pankaj Singh

[maniac]

Even if Pankaj Singh is as good as Praveen Kumar,that still won't do it for us...From what I have seen of him doesn't have the 'it' factor much like Jaddu. Both should be rewarded for their recent performances,but I will say it right now,they dont have what it takes to cut it at the top level.

[Old guy]

Even if Pankaj Singh is as good as Praveen Kumar,that still won't do it for us...From what I have seen of him doesn't have the 'it' factor much like Jaddu. Both should be rewarded for their recent performances,but I will say it right now,they dont have what it takes to cut it at the top level.

have u seen him bowl ? pk is bad comparison:hysterical:

[maniac]

have u seen him bowl ? pk is bad comparison:hysterical:

Yes,I have......btw PK is a special talent based on the amount of swing he generates and when he debuted-in ODI's he was around the same pace as what Pankaj bowls. He would have to be as good as PK as a swing bowler with his current pace to cut it at the international level,otherwise we have another Vinay on our hands. I am trying to say if you bowl at 130-135k,you need to be as good as PK. I dont see anything special in this kid...Love to be proven wrong.

[Old guy]

Yes,I have......btw PK is a special talent based on the amount of swing he generates and when he debuted-in ODI's he was around the same pace as what Pankaj bowls. He would have to be as good as PK as a swing bowler with his current pace to cut it at the international level,otherwise we have another Vinay on our hands. I am trying to say if you bowl at 130-135k,you need to be as good as PK. I dont see anything special in this kid...Love to be proven wrong.

he is 135 to 140 much more taller and gets lots of bounce and carry.. pk is just swing bowler...even pankaj relies on swing but he is different pk is 125 to 130...only effective when there is swing vinay is different he does not even get tht much swing and is 10th rate tundler like tht article on cricinfo said :giggle:

[rkt.india]

Yes,I have......btw PK is a special talent based on the amount of swing he generates and when he debuted-in ODI's he was around the same pace as what Pankaj bowls. He would have to be as good as PK as a swing bowler with his current pace to cut it at the international level,otherwise we have another Vinay on our hands. I am trying to say if you bowl at 130-135k,you need to be as good as PK. I dont see anything special in this kid...Love to be proven wrong.

PL bowls around 125K mostly in longer forms. Pankaj now bowls around 132-141K bracket.

[MCcricket]

One more 5 wicket haul in an inning, what else this guy needs to do to play for India, he is a one man army for Rajasthan, on present form the best bowler to play for India along with Shami, seletors are blind and dum@ and Dea@, maybe partial against RCA. NEXT TIME ANY TEAM GETS PICKED UP HE SHOULD BE IN IT, HIS STRONG SUIT IS LONGER VERSION OF THE GAME AND CAN BE TRIED IN ODI'S.

[Lord]

if Pankaj played for Delhi/Mumbai,he'd hv played for India much easrlier. thats why I feel talented guys should move to the teams where they r most likely to be picked.ofcourse selectors should be picking from all the states but thats not gonna happen

[MCcricket]

bcci has a problem with RCA , BIHAR AND A FEW STATE ASSOCIATIONS, INFACT MUMBAI PLAYERS HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED EVER SINCE SRINI , CHEEKA TOOK OVER, PLAYERS FROM SOUTH WERE PREFERRED ALONG WITH CSK PLAYERS, not to say Mumbai has deserving players except for Rohit. Suyal, Dhawan, Bist, Pankaj were deserving players who should've got their chance last year, the good thing is wickets have improved this year, hopefully we will see better batters, pacers, especially spinner now who learn to bowl on good tracks and try to turn the ball then just be dust bowl spinners.

[Dumbbells]

How long will he play for india? He is 28. Right? Awana should have been selected two years back. He s already 26. Fast bowlers have short life.

[Old guy]

How long will he play for india? He is 28. Right? Awana should have been selected two years back. He s already 26. Fast bowlers have short life.

nope he has enough time ..yes he is not gonna have 10 year career but good 4-5 years are easy.. and in those years we will tour away play world cup ... we need to get rid of this mentality ..yes if guy is over 32-33 then therei sn o point in investing time in him but 28 is still young some guys start late and develop game bit late if they are fit enough and can perform and should be picked its not like we have tons of young bowlers who are better then him if there is guy as good as him who is 23 yes then select him but if not then pankaj should be selected..its no brainer

[MCcricket]

How long will he play for india? He is 28. Right? Awana should have been selected two years back. He s already 26. Fast bowlers have short life.

He is 27, right time for him to play he has upped his game this year, was missing a yard to trouble world class batters, now he has that, Awana also is brought in at the right time, he is a late bloomer, bolwers like Pandey, Sharma are good at young age, same with Aaron, wanna see Anwar in the bowlers to be groomed setup, he is 26 already but very talented, ECB would have drafted him in LIONS and EXCELLENCE SQUAD, AS WE CANNOT WASTE HIM.

[its me]

Even if Pankaj Singh is as good as Praveen Kumar,that still won't do it for us...From what I have seen of him doesn't have the 'it' factor much like Jaddu. Both should be rewarded for their recent performances,but I will say it right now,they dont have what it takes to cut it at the top level.

Pankaj is quicker, taller and fitter.He can bowl long spells and has good bounce because of his height.He is the right material for test cricket.He should get chance in this season.

[msb1991]

Even if Pankaj Singh is as good as Praveen Kumar' date='that still won't do it for us...From what I have seen of him doesn't have the 'it' factor much like Jaddu.[/quote'] How do people say Praveen didn't have what it takes at Test level. Guy bowled tremendously well throughout the series against England. Far better than Ishant and Sreesanth. All Praveen lacked was fitness.

[CG]

How do people say Praveen didn't have what it takes at Test level. Guy bowled tremendously well throughout the series against England. Far better than Ishant and Sreesanth. All Praveen lacked was fitness.

Fitness and pace are the most important things.Praveen kumar lacks in both.You cannot bowl 125k and pick wickets in sc.

[Lord]

How do people say Praveen didn't have what it takes at Test level. Guy bowled tremendously well throughout the series against England. Far better than Ishant and Sreesanth. All Praveen lacked was fitness.

Praveen doesnt have 'it' even though he did well in England.Ishant has 'it' but is perenially unlucky guess what is 'it'?:giggle:

[saneindian]

How do people say Praveen didn't have what it takes at Test level. Guy bowled tremendously well throughout the series against England. Far better than Ishant and Sreesanth. All Praveen lacked was fitness.

Thats like saying all that a batsman needs to succedd is to know how to play shots. PK did well in England, but since then he has done absolutely nothing and has totally lost his swing and control. Played a couple of games in the season and is perhaps waiting for the IPL to be fit again. Time for us to move on...we have a decent crop of bowlers and none of these younger bowlers would be worse than the experienced ones we have. Better to keep rotating them, we may end up with a couple of decent ones who can serve the team for 4-5 years.

[Old guy]

Thats like saying all that a batsman needs to succedd is to know how to play shots. PK did well in England, but since then he has done absolutely nothing and has totally lost his swing and control. Played a couple of games in the season and is perhaps waiting for the IPL to be fit again. Time for us to move on...we have a decent crop of bowlers and none of these younger bowlers would be worse than the experienced ones we have. Better to keep rotating them, we may end up with a couple of decent ones who can serve the team for 4-5 years.

yes we have young players now better to back them up then to recycle these tried and tested failures (even not staying fit is a failure imo ) instead of rejecting young bowlers after 1 game we need to back them for whole series even if they fail this is the only way they are gonna become good enough to compete at international level..

[msb1991]

Thats like saying all that a batsman needs to succedd is to know how to play shots. PK did well in England, but since then he has done absolutely nothing and has totally lost his swing and control. Played a couple of games in the season and is perhaps waiting for the IPL to be fit again. Time for us to move on...we have a decent crop of bowlers and none of these younger bowlers would be worse than the experienced ones we have. Better to keep rotating them, we may end up with a couple of decent ones who can serve the team for 4-5 years.

My previous post acknowledged that fitness means I would not have Praveen in any Test squad due to his fitness.

[MCcricket]

Pankaj Singh – The Unsung Hero Dec272012 Indian Nets SessionPankaj Singh has been the spearhead of Rajasthan’s pace attack for more than nine years now. After their successful second term as Ranji Champions last season, Rajasthan are banking heavily on him once again to deliver them the title for a record third time. Averaging 25.7 in 65 matches on flat Indian pitches is an achievement in itself. Standing tall at 6 feet 5 inches, Pankaj has 16 five wicket hauls in just 65 matches and his form in the last 4 seasons has been prodigious to say the least. Many who believe that the Rajasthan triumphs were only because of the three professionals – Aakash Chopra, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Rashmi Parida – tend to forget that all three are batsmen, and that the contribution of bowlers cannot be ignored. The bowling department was led by Pankaj Singh in both the seasons. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2010-11 Ranji season with 43 wickets (53 in the entire domestic season) and was the third highest wicket-taker in Rajasthan’s victorious campaign last season. He has bagged close to 150 wickets in the last four domestic seasons. However, the national cap keeps eluding him. A bowler of such a fearsome repute in the domestic circuit is not even considered to be one of the top 10 fast bowlers in the country. Although his first class average is way better than the likes of Ishant Sharma averaging 33, RP Singh (32), Sreesanth (36), Varun Aaron (41), Umesh Yadav (27), Irfan Pathan (28), Ashok Dinda (29) and Abhimanyu Mithun (30), all of these bowlers are being preferred over Pankaj Singh for national selection. What is truly sad to see is that he is not even in the slightest reckoning for the national team. He has consistently been ignored after being selected for one lone match in 2010 in a second-string Indian team led by Suresh Raina. When the ongoing series against England started, as many as 9 fast bowlers (Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Abhimanyu Mithun and Sreesanth) were injured but Pankaj was still ignored. It is also interesting to note the fact that unlike many fast bowlers, Pankaj is not injury-prone and is used to bowling long spells for Rajasthan. Pankaj was denied place in the Indian squad for want of speed by the selectors, but for the last three seasons we have seen a completely new Pankaj Singh – someone who can bowl consistently at around 130 – 135 kph throughout the day. It is quite interesting to see that how long the selectors will keep ignoring the most consistent fast bowler in the Indian domestic circuit. I really hope he does not land up being another Ajay Sharma, who averaged 67.5 in 129 first class appearances but played only one Test match for India.

[MCcricket]

What crime has Pankaj Singh committed, why is India's best bowler right now out Follow @cricket_country India vs Australia 2013: Dropped Nathan Lyon counters coach Mickey ArthurÃÔ claim Matthew Wade promises a better Australian show... HomeNews & FeaturesHumourCartoonsGalleryVideosPollsFansAuthorsSachinSeriesFacebook NZ vs ENG NZ 402/7 (108.0 Ovs) SL vs BAN SL 361/3 (85.3 Ovs) IND vs AUS India won by an innings and 135 runs AFG vs SCO Afghanistan won by 5 wkts Pankaj Singh continues to be ignored despite phenomenal track record in domestic cricket By Nishad Pai Vaidya On February 12, 2013, 11:14 am Tweet Tags: Nishad Pai Vaidya, Pankaj Singh, Facts and Figures, Indian fast bowlers, top Indian fast bowlers, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Abhimanyu Mithun, Jaydev Unadkat Despite encouraging performances at the domestic level, Pankaj Singh hasnÃÕ been included in even the India A sides Ž© Getty Images By Nishad Pai Vaidya Indian cricket is replete with examples of titans at the domestic level who didnÃÕ get on to don the India cap KP Bhaskar, Amol Muzumdar, Padmakar Shivalkar and Rajinder Goel being strong cases in point. Then, there is someone like a Wasim Jaffer who has been scoring tons of runs after being axed and yet continues to be ignored by the national selectors. And now there is Pankaj Singh, another tried and tested performer, who isnÃÕ getting his due at the highest level. The tall seamer from Rajasthan has been toiling in domestic cricket for years and yet the opportunity to play for India evades him. Here is a bowler who has taken 149 wickets in the last four seasons in Indian domestic cricket a mark of remarkable consistency and discipline. Those performances have helped Rajasthan once languishing in the erstwhile Plate League in the Ranji Trophy to raise the bar and even clinch the coveted title twice. However, somewhere Pankaj has escaped the vision of the selectors; or have they turned a blind eye towards him? The tally of 149 wickets does form a decent picture of his success, but one gets a better understanding on examination of his season wise break-up. Here is what he has done in domestic cricket since the 2009-10 season: Season M Wkts Avg 5WI 10WM 2009-10 6 32 19.93 2 1 2010-11 11 53 23.56 4 1 2011-12 11 35 30.97 2 0 2012-13 7 29 24.75 3 0 A true reflection of PankajÃÔ hard work is the ÅÂverage column. Apart from the 2011-12 season, he has averaged below 25 in the three others. Even when he did average over 30, his performance was crucial to RajasthanÃÔ title triumph. The 2010-11 and the 2011-12 seasons have been highlighted as those were the years Rajasthan emerged victorious in the Ranji Trophy. In recent times, the Indian selectors have tried out various fast bowlers at the highest level. Some of them have risen through the ranks after good performances for the India A side. Pankaj was handed a maiden call-up during IndiaÃÔ tour to Australia in 2007-08. On that tour, he was given two games both practice matches and was discarded immediately thereafter. The second call-up came when India toured Zimbabwe for a one-day series in 2010, where he got his only international cap. The interesting thing is that despite encouraging performances at the domestic level, Pankaj hasnÃÕ been included in the India A sides. The most stunning exclusion came after the 2010-11 season as he wasnÃÕ considered for the Emerging Players Tournament Down Under. It was shocking to find that a bowler who picked more than 50 wickets in the season wasnÃÕ picked. Other fast bowlers India tried out since 2009-10 Let us compare PankajÃÔ performances with the fast bowlers who have made their Test debuts for India after the 2009-10 season. The men in question are: Abhimanyu Mithun, Jaydev Unadkat, Praveen Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and R Vinay Kumar. The perfect parameter to measure would be their season wise break-up in First-Class cricket since 2009-10. Abhimanyu Mithun Season M Wkts Avg 5WI 10WM 2009-10 10 52 23.26 3 1 2010-11 10 31 30.25 1 0 2011-12 4 14 29.42 0 0 2012-13 8 27 31.03 1 0 Jaydev Unadkat Season M Wkts Avg 5WI 10WM 2009-10 Did not play 2010-11 7 20 43.70 0 0 2011-12 7 26 27.03 2 0 2012-13 11 20 41.30 0 0 Praveen Kumar Season M Wkts Avg 5WI 10WM 2009-10 5 22 21.27 2 0 2010-11 1 6 20.50 1 0 2011-12 1 2 36.50 0 0 2012-13 3 8 33.25 0 0 Umesh Yadav Season M Wkts Avg 5WI 10WM 2009-10 6 16 29.12 1 0 2010-11 8 23 33.52 1 0 2011-12 3* 13 22.00 0 0 2012-13 3* 16 17.75 2 0 *includes Test matches Varun Aaron Season M Wkts Avg 5WI 10WM 2009-10 4 8 38.12 0 0 2010-11 5 13 32.53 1 0 2011-12 2* 4 61.50 0 0 *includes a test match R Vinay Kumar Season M Wkts Avg 5WI 10WM 2009-10 9 53 19.96 3 1 2010-11 8 27 23.22 1 0 2011-12 4 12 28.33 0 0 2012-13 7 22 22.63 1 1 Vinay Kumar is the only one who comes close to PankajÃÔ phenomenal returns. Some of the others have done decently well and their selections have been on promise more than anything else. The most relevant example would be that of Varun Aaron. His returns in domestic cricket havenÃÕ been great, but he was selected because of his raw pace. Here is a combined tally of all the Indian fast bowlers who have made their international debuts since 2009-10: Bowler M Wkts Pankaj Singh 35 149 Abhimanyu Mithun 32 124 Jaydev Unadkat* 25 66 Praveen Kumar 10 38 Umesh Yadav 20 68 Varun Aaron** 11 25 R Vinay Kumar 28 114 *Did not play 2009-10 season **did not play 2012-13 season Pankaj is the clear leader in this table and the only uncapped player in the group. It is astonishing that the selectors continue to ignore him even for India A team. Bowlers with inferior records have been handed the chance to travel with the India A side and pick up valuable experience. However, PankajÃÔ last stint with the A team was way back in 2007. Indian team management has often mishandled fast-bowlers and a bowler like Pankaj has been wasted without being given a fair shot. What more can a player do but perform and hold on to every last bit of hope? Late last year, Pankaj made his feelings clear when he told ESPNcricinfo, Ÿhy am I not presented with an opportunity? What more do I need to do to seek attention? The heart goes out for Pankaj Singh. Will the Dhritarashtras who matter in Indian cricket finally show the necessary vision and do Pankaj belated justice? (Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and an analyst, anchor and voice-over artist for the site's YouTube Channel. He shot to fame by spotting a wrong replay during IPL4 which resulted in Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal. His insights on the game have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. He has also participated on live TV talk-shows on cricket. Nishad can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nishad_44) Related Articles Ishant Sharma: Does 17 wickets in 13 Tests at 77.88 deserve a place in the India side? Time is running out for Virender Sehwag MS Dhoni is the most successful Indian captain on several statistical counts What MS Dhoni possibly meant when he talked about a "settled combination"