Dhawan or Rahul ?

[Gollum]

Who should open for India in the 10 odd test matches this year? Murali Vijay is here to stay, probably our most vital batsman in test cricket. He is only 31 and relies more on judgement,technique and patience rather than hand eye co ordination or super human reflexes while batting. After Gavaskar he is the most technically correct,patient opener we have ever had and easily trumps Sehwag and Gambhir in this regard.So I expect him to only get better and be a permanent in the team till he retires. Dhawan was woeful in the away tours in England and Australia but Indian pitches should suit his play. His awful technique: lack of foot movement, playing away from the body, impulsive hooking/pulling, high risk shots won't be punished as much as in overseas pitches. But K L Rahul being only 23 yrs old with a good attitude to test cricket and a solid temperament could be a long term prospect for us, his 100 in SCG comfortably exceeded most expectations and judging by the way experts talk about him, he is a lambi race kaa ghoda. And he is someone who rates test cricket highly, judging by his commitment to domestic matches and his polar opposite approach to IPL circus batting. By the time next batch of overseas tours start in late 2017-early 2018 Dhawan will be close to 33-34 years old and won't be able to do much better than what he did this time because of the inherent faults in his batting and waning reflexes. But Rahul will be only 26-27 and if he gets 20-30 test matches under his belt by then he and Vijay can be our openers then and it will be a ripe time to win a few overseas series(with Dhoni out ). And hopefully Kohli doesn't promote his north Indian buddies above Vijay,Rahul,Ashwin etc We saw how his biased selection of Karn Sharma over Ashwin cost us the Adelaide test and the way he shouted at Vijay for no fault of his in one of the matches. What say ICFers, who should be given the preference in test cricket?

[BeautifulGame]

Rahul. Why is this up for debate seriously? Rahul just scored an overseas 100 on debut.

[Cricket_Hacker]

Rahul. Why is this up for debate seriously? Rahul just scored an overseas 100 on debut.

not debut But let's face it,Dhawan will be the first choice

[Gollum]

Rahul. Why is this up for debate seriously? Rahul just scored an overseas 100 on debut.

His debut was a disaster. The thing is Rahul failed miserably in the other 3 innings and his 100 contained 2-3 dropped chances. And Dhawan's good run in the WC and his prior good knocks in Indian pitches will hold him in good stead. Hope selectors aren't blighted by short term vision and instead focus on long term goals. Don't want to see us in our next batch of overseas matches with a kacchha player.

[BeautifulGame]

not debut But let's face it,Dhawan will be the first choice

Wasn't the SCG test his debut ? Why would Dhawan be first choice .Rahul is in the XI and is performing and has just scored a 100. Tell me the last time a batsmen dropped from the team after scoring a 100? Dhawan is doing well in ODI we will stick with for sure .But Vijay and Rahul r our openers in tests now

[urbestfriend]

Dhawan..Changes the game when batting on sub continent track..

[tweaker]

Dhawan was woeful in England & Australia.He was dropped & Rahul scored a century in the last test India played,so Rahul is the automatic choice

[Forever Indian]

Dhawan is hopeless in tests, has a woeful technique. Rahul or someone else should be tried as opener. It is a given that any opener will score runs in India, but we need to find someone who does well overseas as well and Dhawan is not the answer. If we don't blood a new opener during home tests and Bang tour, then we will never do well overseas.

[govinda]

dhawan can change games in sc but rahual is long term optian

[kubrickian]

Dhawan is better suited at 6 in tests to be honest. As an opener in conditions which assist swing, he has been poor simply because his temperament is not suited to play the wait and watch game which Vijay does effectively in foreign conditions. His style is usually an attacking game and so when he is forced to play slowly, he is usually caught in two minds and gets out cheaply. But he could do much better lower down the order. His technique is not completely poor as he has found success as an opener in ODIs facing two new balls, so he could probably handle the second new ball much better too because the bowlers are lot more tired after 80 overs. Its not the same as facing the new ball. If he comes in when the ball is old, he can attack, play his natural game and score runs freely. No. 6 might just be the perfect position for him.

[cowboysfan]

Dhawan can be in the squad but we need to groom Rahul,he needs to play as many tests as possible before his next overseas tours.

[zep1706]

It is an interesting question. I don't expect Rahul to be dropped after scoring a 100 and he is a future prospect, OTOH Dhawan should do well on Indian pitches. So it will be interesting to see which opener gets the first preference.

[adi B]

Tricky choice.cant drop rahul,he's a genuine talent but then dhawan will definitely do well at home and SC,he can score the runs quickly and gives us a right-left opening combo.I'd drop nohit and play rahul in his place

[Desi Cartman]

Is Rahul back? :yikes:

[Shivaji bhonsle]

Rahul. Dhawan has always been a good odi player. Keep him as a odi specialist opener. Kl Rahul should get a chance ahead of Rahane. He has the game to be aggressive in the middle order.

[fineleg]

Like kubrickian says, try dhawan at 6 in Tests Try as Ganguly replacement: - gives left hand batsman option - weaker technique like ganguly, but perhaps can score quick runs at 6 Try for 3-4 tests and see what happens. Nohit is brainfart in tests anyway

[vijay50]

Dhawan is better suited at 6 in tests to be honest. As an opener in conditions which assist swing, he has been poor simply because his temperament is not suited to play the wait and watch game which Vijay does effectively in foreign conditions. His style is usually an attacking game and so when he is forced to play slowly, he is usually caught in two minds and gets out cheaply. But he could do much better lower down the order. His technique is not completely poor as he has found success as an opener in ODIs facing two new balls, so he could probably handle the second new ball much better too because the bowlers are lot more tired after 80 overs. Its not the same as facing the new ball. If he comes in when the ball is old, he can attack, play his natural game and score runs freely. No. 6 might just be the perfect position for him.

Like kubrickian says, try dhawan at 6 in Tests Try as Ganguly replacement: - gives left hand batsman option - weaker technique like ganguly, but perhaps can score quick runs at 6 Try for 3-4 tests and see what happens. Nohit is brainfart in tests anyway

++++++++++.This should work out.

[coffee_rules]

No more Dhawan in Tests, he is a catch practice guy in Tests.

[vipin]

Test Batting Lineup :- Vijay Rahul Kohli Rahane 2 of Pujara/Rohit/Dhawan Wicketkeeper

[ThePhenomenal1]

once dhawan plays tests, he is woefully out of form. Keep him in odis, he is a beast there. T20s he can be good too. Rahul and vijay for tests is a must.