Breaking news: Aus Tour selection [Merged]

[Rohan495]

if you saw yesterday dravid wasnt too keen when asked about him opening. He was asked by Ramiz raja at a postgame interview

[Ram]

To be honest, this whole Sehwag selection thing looks murky to me. I didnt see any evidence of Gambhir's shoulder strain in the match. Dont know from where he suddenly picked it up. Seems like the selectors were under pressure from other sources to include Sehwag. And Besides, if you look at the selection pattern, in the original 24 probables, Akash Chopra was included. Even considering that Gambhir was ahead of Chopra in the pecking order, Once Gambhir is ruled unfit , Akash is the natural alternative, since he was the next opener in the probables list. To overlook Chopra completely, and include someone who wasnt even in the original can mean only a couple of things, -- Some outside power had exerted influence ( maybe its the BCCI honchos themselves) -- The team was unhappy with the original selection and wanted Sehwag in . In all this drama, i know one guy who will feel VERY VERY upset. All his runs in the domestic circuit this season has so far have come to nought.

[fineleg]

MM, This is plain and pure dirty politics by BCCI - "power and influence" is how Sehwag got in. 'Injury to Gambhir' - my foot. If GG injured, next in 24 was Chopra, where did Sehwag come in suddenly? POLITICS

[Ram]

^ Relax, it may not be ONLY politics, mainly because not including Veeru in a probables list to Aus is a brilliantly retarded decision in the first place. Sehwag should have been there anyway, but the way its been done is what embarrassing. As i think about it, a few more things could have changed the balance, - Yuvraj's century. Till before that, We could almost say with certainty as to what the eleven is going to be for the first test. But his brilliant 100 may have ruffled a few feathers, forcing the selectors to have a re-look at the squad - I am also quite sure the team management would have had some silent chats with some of the potential names that have been bandied about as replacement of Karthik for the opener's slot , like Dravid, Laxman. I think both of them refused the offer bluntly. But for Yuvraj's 100, i am certain Karthik-Jaffer would have opened in Melbourne, but since it looks like that is not going to happen, they needed some other specialist opener. They may have thought Chopra- Jaffer combo was not an ideal one, and could have decided to include Sehwag to pair with Jaffer. So essentially, Karthik could open no more, and Jaffer - Chopra is not an ideal combination. So, In came Virender Sehwag. This is the way i see it.

[living]

^ Relax, it may not be ONLY politics, mainly because not including Veeru in a probables list to Aus is a brilliantly retarded decision in the first place. Sehwag should have been there anyway, but the way its been done is what embarrassing. As i think about it, a few more things could have changed the balance, - Yuvraj's century. Till before that, We could almost say with certainty as to what the eleven is going to be for the first test. But his brilliant 100 may have ruffled a few feathers, forcing the selectors to have a re-look at the squad - I am also quite sure the team management would have had some silent chats with some of the potential names that have been bandied about as replacement of Karthik for the opener's slot , like Dravid, Laxman. I think both of them refused the offer bluntly. But for Yuvraj's 100, i am certain Karthik-Jaffer would have opened in Melbourne, but since it looks like that is not going to happen, they needed some other specialist opener. They may have thought Chopra- Jaffer combo was not an ideal one, and could have decided to include Sehwag to pair with Jaffer. So essentially, Karthik could open no more, and Jaffer - Chopra is not an ideal combination. So, In came Virender Sehwag. This is the way i see it.

What makes anyone think Jaffer / Chopra is not a good combination??? Akash Chopra is a 'solid' player. I would compare him to the likes to Cook, and he brings in the added advantage of being a close in fielder. Honestly I don't think Pathan would do any worse than Sehwag as an opener If I was Akash Chopra I would give the finger to BCCI and start playing in ICL

[Mr. Wicket]

Sehwag's advantages over Chopra: - past record of success at home and away. Chopra - moderate success (given his task) in Aus, failure at home - capability of making big scores - 195, 155, a handful of fifties - quicker s/r - won't let the Aus bowlers dominate or get into a rhythm, and can give a huge platform for the middle order to build on - second spinner! Harbhajan is unlikely to play if we go by recent form... the lineup will most likely be Kumble + 3 quicks. In that case Sehwag could be a very handy support part time spinner as he was in the Windies where he did an OUTSTANDING job with the ball at times Only thing where Chopra really has an advantage over Sehwag is in domestic form right now, and his bat pad fielding (which I'm sure the idiot selectors have not taken into account).

[Ram]

What makes anyone think Jaffer / Chopra is not a good combination??? Akash Chopra is a 'solid' player. I would compare him to the likes to Cook, and he brings in the added advantage of being a close in fielder. Honestly I don't think Pathan would do any worse than Sehwag as an opener If I was Akash Chopra I would give the finger to BCCI and start playing in ICL

If one wants to entertain ANY chances of doing well against Aus, there is no way we can have Chopra, Jaffer and Dravid as a our no 1 ,2 ,3 in that order. All of them are defensive top-order batsman. That wont cut against Aus, and i think the team realizes that. With regards to Chopra, i wouldnt go that far yet. This Aus tour may break many a career. Chopra is actually quite close to a test team call-up. I would wait till the end of this tour before i make drastic proclamations.

[Desi Cartman]

I'm sooo pissed off. I agree with the idea of including sehwag but if this is what they wanted to then why didnt they let him play in the 2nd or at least the 3rd Test. I would have even dropped jaffer cuz he is anyway in good form just to get sehwag back in the game or not play yuvraj but play Sehwag cuz the team needs an opener. For PP, long time ago I read somewhere that his dad is one of the bigger industrialists in Gujarat, if thats the case then Im not surprised at his inclusion. He wasnt the best keeper to tour last time around either ... somethings FISHY !:nervous:

[Mr. Wicket]

ith regards to Chopra' date=' i wouldnt go that far yet. This Aus tour may break many a career. Chopra is actually quite close to a test team call-up. I would wait till the end of this tour before i make drastic proclamations.[/quote'] Even otherwise, there are a few guys on the verge of retirement in the near future. If a couple of spaces open up in the MO, its possible that Sehwag (if he fires) and Yuvraj might slot in there and leave an opening slot open.

[Rohan495]

Karthik should have been selected over Harbhajan I feel like Karthik should been selected over Harbhajan. I think Karthiks bowling would be better suited in Australia. he did bowl against them and when had the opportunity he showed hes a handy bowler especially since hes a leftie spinner. Harbhajans line often becomes really predictable and would be handled quit easily by the aussies. poor karthik seems like a player that just tags along with the team for no use.

[DesiChap]

No and does not matter. 2 spinners will not play in Australia. 3 Seamers will play. The only game Bhajji will play is Sydney. We all know how great Karthik was last time in Sydney.

[simba28]

Parthiv Patel?? Does any1 agree that the little guy should be given a chance to play for India before he runs out of gas in domestic cricket? I know there are already two keepers in the team . But the way he has been playing lately, they should have atleast given him a go. Its a wild thought but he could have been tried for the opening slot in OZ.. or atleast a 20 20 game was a must

[bharat297]

If he is going to run out of gas in domestic cricket, then he should def not play international cricket. He may still play 20-20 or ODIs ... remember this was only a Test squad.

[bharat297]

Yea I think after facing Muralitharan, I dont see the Australians having any trouble with Bhajji. I would have gone with Kartik.

[Ram]

I have some reservations over Parthiv Patel as an international class batsman. His BIG scoring area is the arc between cover and slips in the off-side. He slashes a lot to balls outside off. Now, that sorta technique may fetch you a lot of runs in domestic cricket, where the ball rarely bounces above hip-high and pace is mostly below 130 kmph, but he may struggle a lot with that kind of technique in international cricket, where the pitches are much faster and the bowlers are much more skillful. Having said that, IF he is selected to open for Ind, I am certain he will have his moments of brilliance, like a century every 7-8 tests, but the main problem is, those 100s will be dotted with a lot of mediocre scores between them. His average over a full series will therefore be not so great ( in the mid-30s). Still, he is much better batsman than we give him credit for, has a compact defense and some really high-scoring areas. However, a few things on his side are 1) His age : He is still VERY VERY young. He could almost go another decade without playing another intnl match and yet make a comeback 2) His mental toughness : Mark my words, the kid has got the beans to fight it out. Still cant forget his battling innings in his debut series in 2002 in England , where he helped us save the second test match. Harmsion was on fire then. We then went on to win the third test at Leeds and drew the 4th test to tie the series. Not to forget his fluent knock in the Sydney test in 2003/4 or his fighting 50 against the likes of a much quicker/fitter Akhtar in the 3rd test of the 2004 series, where he opened. 3) He has already played LOTS of international cricket. He knows what it takes to succeed at the level That experience will prove invaluable.

[bharat297]

^ 100% agree with that.

[Laaloo]

lol look at yesterdays performance bhajji bowled 6 FREAKING overs and went for 28 runs that SUITED spinners im serious dude bhajji sucks he should prolly be played in ODIS only piyush chawla or even kartik should have got the nod

[poori_meri]

Wicket keeper replacing a spinner:giggle:

[fineleg]

Wicket keeper replacing a spinner:giggle:

Poori_Meri, We are talking abt Murli Kartik not Dinesh Kartik Harby does not deserve to be part of Test squad esp in Away Tours.

[fineleg]

"His BIG scoring area is the arc between cover and slips in the off-side. " Has this changed now? OR is it still the same?