Will Virat Kohli's 5 bowler strategy work?

[rkt.india]

first of all, enough of this ARSOL Rohit in test team. Bring in Karun Nair to bat 5-6. Back Pujara or Rahane at 3 or even Rahul.

[Lannister]

I was a big BINNY critic but he has shut me up by his performances.

Is Binny even in the squad? He would've become better all rounder by now if he had been given enough chances, but Dhoni with his love affair for Jadeja had other plans.

[jf1gp_1]

Question is will 3 batsman strategy work ?

[zep1706]

It may or may not work but you have to try it. I have been asking for this for years now. Finally we have a captain who at least has the guts to try it.

[Pagalpanti]

It is not a long term solution. No team can sustain for long playing 5 batsmen' date=' especially, when two of those are Dhawan and Rohit. Pujara is suddenly out of favor who we have seen playing some of the best innings ever played on turning tracks. His 131 at Wankhede against Swann and Panesar and his two innings at FSK against Aus were masterclass. Rohit and Dhawan cant play such innings on tough pitches even in their dreams.[/quote'] Kohli isn't an established captain to have his fav boy keep playing at 3. Pujara will eventually find his place back to 3.

[swatpulla]

Srilanka have produced some of the most result-oriented pitches in the last few years. The ball swings prodigiously the first 1-2 days there and obviously starts turning square from day 3 onwards...now this is a matter for high concern as Spin and Swing has been our biggest downfall recently. Gone are the days when Pace and Bounce or Short-pitch bowling was what used to own us as our current Generation bar Raina are much better at that but unfortunately their technique against Spin and swing bowling has deteriorated rapidly.

I doubt your claim. I remember seeing a stat on result oriented pitches for the last 5 years and Lanka was up there with UAE as the place with most draws.

[maniac]

I doubt your claim. I remember seeing a stat on result oriented pitches for the last 5 years and Lanka was up there with UAE as the place with most draws.

Before doubting claims actually "following" cricket helps.......or looking up results on stats guru may be a distant 2nd option as well. but here you go in descending order of the last few series Last series 3tests VS Pak 2-1 in fav of Pak Vs SA 3 tests-1-1,3rd test was a draw but an exciting one famous for imran Tahir's drama,so good series overall Vs Bangladesh 2 tests-Who Gives A Fk but 1-0 in fav of Srilanka and 1 test was draw. vs Newzealand 2 test series- 1-1 Vs Pak(agreed boring series) 3 tests- 1-0 to Srilanka and 2 draws. vs England 1-1 So not as boring as you think....yeah the fact is with srilanka a draw game is so boring that it overshadows the rest of the series. In recent times there have been some dustbowls/minefields like in Galle etc. and some swing and seam conditions

[gakgupta]

In subcontinent conditions we will be ok with saha. It is when we tour aboard we might be found with this strategy. So might work for short term. Long term it will be tough. Although I would see dhonis average away from home and compare with saha in upcoming tours.

However we are losing away tours.... We might as well try something new

[HippoSucks]

Srilanka have produced some of the most result-oriented pitches in the last few years. The ball swings prodigiously the first 1-2 days there and obviously starts turning square from day 3 onwards...now this is a matter for high concern as Spin and Swing has been our biggest downfall recently. Gone are the days when Pace and Bounce or Short-pitch bowling was what used to own us as our current Generation bar Raina are much better at that but unfortunately their technique against Spin and swing bowling has deteriorated rapidly.

Flat pitches and result-oriented pitches are not mutually exclusive. From what I remember most of the recent Sri Lankan pitches have been batting-friendly to a certain extent despite leading to results.

[tweaker]

We should expect Saha as only specialist wicketkeeper ,who can bat at no 10.If he scores 2,3 runs that will be bonus.

[beetle]

We should expect Saha as only specialist wicketkeeper ' date='who can bat at no 10.If he scores 2,3 runs that will be bonus.[/quote'] true. No need to get him at 7 . Move ashwin or bhuvi up.

[Vijy]

I don't think it will work unless we have 3 out of 5 who can bat. Ashwin is an automatic selection, and I feel that Ishant and Shami will probably also play. Hence, the other 2 must be selected with care. Candidates include: Spin: Mishra (averages around 25 in Tests), Rassool (his best domestic days seem to be over, but he had a couple of good domestic seasons in the past), Aparajith (miserable with bat and ball recently, but may improve in the future); I dunno about Jayant Yadav who had a decent season last year. Bhajji should not be allowed anywhere near the squad. Medium pacer: Bhuvi (in swinging conditions, he's an automatic pick + a very underrated bat), Rishi Dhawan (played in admittedly weak league, but his record is impressive) Binny is a very useful player in ODIs, but he's not Test quality with the bat or with the ball, i.e. he can't average above 35 with the bat or produce 2-3 wkts per match with the ball. As posters have already said, a 5-bowler attack requires a keeper with the batting skills of Andy Flower, Gilly, Sanga, ABDV, Sarfaraz Ahmed, etc. Even someone at the level of Matt Prior would be acceptable.