And in the mean time, Badrinath ...

[Brainfade]

continues to pile it on. Even given the weak attacks, placid pitches and all that, his consistency over the years has been nothing short of amazing. It takes unusual motivation to keep doing this at a high level season after season. Unfortunately, his window is closing and closing fast - he was not even in the farcical 24 for the Aussie trip. If he never wears the India cap, I'd rate him as the most unlucky Indian first-class batsman of all time.

[Guest HariSampath]

Poor Badri...he is getting 100s by the bucketful, even in his sleep...just another day in the office for him. If Badri doesnt get to play for India 11 soon, its India's loss and NOT Badri's

[fineleg]

Not just Badrinath. TN captain Sharath was a very good batsman too. And he was very unfortunate not to make it into the Test-11, becos our middle order was packed. I think Badrinath may get very unlucky too.

[bharat297]

Well he is 27 ... that is by no means old ... especially for Test cricket. People have said stuff like the attacks are poor and the pitches are flat, which are all true, but you can only score against the opposition you play. He does deserve a chance in the near future. Outside the current sqaud, he should be the next middle order batsman in line.

[Ram]

^ Do we have any minnow series coming up ? They can try some fringe players there. Will help in giving chances to promising youngsters and also make sure the seniors are on their toes. I believe the emergence of Yuvraj as a test contender has given our seniors a kick in their backside. Nobody's place is granted now, everybody needs to perform. I cannot recall ONE Indian player whose name hasnt been bandied about as a possible candidate for getting dropped from the side ( Except Anil Kumble)

[bharat297]

Next year we play 3 ODIs against Bangladesh and then later we play 2 Tests and 3 ODIs against Zimbabwe. If Badrinath does not get a game in any of those matches he has been seriously screwed.

[Brainfade]

Well he is 27 ... that is by no means old ... especially for Test cricket. People have said stuff like the attacks are poor and the pitches are flat, which are all true, but you can only score against the opposition you play. He does deserve a chance in the near future. Outside the current sqaud, he should be the next middle order batsman in line.

27 is old by Indian selectors' standards. Players like Hussey have started their international careers at an older age, but that does not work for our selectors. The next-in-line middle order bats are Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary. Mark it down - Badrinath's only opportunity came when he was picked for the ODI 14 and then sent back. He will be an afterthought from this point onwards. I hope to heck I am wrong, though.

[Guest HariSampath]

They wasted Badri for 2 ODIs by unnecessarily picking Dravid who was dropped eventually due to a miserable run, that would have been a very good chance for Badri.

[bharat297]

27 is old by Indian selectors' standards. Players like Hussey have started their international careers at an older age, but that does not work for our selectors. The next-in-line middle order bats are Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary. Mark it down - Badrinath's only opportunity came when he was picked for the ODI 14 and then sent back. He will be an afterthought from this point onwards. I hope to heck I am wrong, though.

I think thats part of the problem. The selectors are too keen on selecting players that are 18-21 , who have not gained enough experience before International level. Look at the hit-list of players we have destroyed ... * Irfan Pathan * Parthiv Patel * Vinod Kambli * Dinesh Karthik * Suresh Raina All these players were just rising stars and were thrust into the international scene very early. They started off well, then struggled to cope with the rigours in the long run, lost their confidence and were sent back to domestic cricket to gain the experience which they should have had in the first place before being picked. Tiwary and Sharma are both good players, but have no where near enough experience at domestic and first-class level (particularly outside India) that they need before being picked. I think you are right though that Tiwary will be the next in line (Badrinath deserves it more) , but I see him heading down the route of the above 5 (I hope I am wrong), as he does not have enough experience.

[Chandan]

Well he is 27 ... that is by no means old ... especially for Test cricket. People have said stuff like the attacks are poor and the pitches are flat, which are all true, but you can only score against the opposition you play. He does deserve a chance in the near future. Outside the current sqaud, he should be the next middle order batsman in line.

Very true Bharat. I don't think being 27 is a disadvantage. In fact if he gives India 5 terrific years in the middle order, I'll be happy enough. He'll have to prove himself vs SA A in SA and this will be the first major tournament for India A that he'll play. India A will go to SA next month. I hope Badri proves his mettle there. I also hope that they pick bowlers like Morkel and Steyn to make his performance all the more creditable. My best wishes to him.

[fineleg]

Very true Bharat. I don't think being 27 is a disadvantage. In fact if he gives India 5 terrific years in the middle order, I'll be happy enough. He'll have to prove himself vs SA A in SA and this will be the first major tournament for India A that he'll play. India A will go to SA next month. I hope Badri proves his mettle there. I also hope that they pick bowlers like Morkel and Steyn to make his performance all the more creditable. My best wishes to him.

No way they will play Steyn - these top notch guys require rest, and SA will not do something foolish like overplay these top players.

[Chandan]

They wasted Badri for 2 ODIs by unnecessarily picking Dravid who was dropped eventually due to a miserable run' date=' that would have been a very good chance for Badri.[/quote'] Hari, I'm glad that Badri didn't play in ODIs. He is not a very good batsman in the shorter version. Had he failed then, he might have been discarded forever.

[Chandan]

No way they will play Steyn - these top notch guys require rest' date=' and SA will not do something foolish like overplay these top players.[/quote'] Steyn had come to India in SA A squad but could not play the first 4dayer as he was not fully fit and the second match was washed out.

[Guest HariSampath]

Hari, I'm glad that Badri didn't play in ODIs. He is not a very good batsman in the shorter version. Had he failed then, he might have been discarded forever.

why not ? we have not even tried Badri, so how do we know if he is good or not ? In fact in the India A South Africa A match, Badri came in when we were struggling with 5 wkts down, and got a runa ball 89, he also took 4 wkts to win us the game. So if a batsman is performing he needs to be tried wherever there is opportunity, especially someone like Badri who has been getting literally tons of runs and hundreds each time he steps on to a cricket field, for past few seasons

[Guest HariSampath]

No way they will play Steyn - these top notch guys require rest' date=' and SA will not do something foolish like overplay these top players.[/quote'] Dale Steyn did play against India A here, and Badri did get plenty of runs

[bunny]

Badri did well in the Top End Series (Ind A vs NZ A and Ind A vs Aus A) in 2006. He has scored consistently against all A teams. The reality is he needs to wait for another year or take the risk, and become an opener. But I hope he gets a chance before any of Rohit Sharma, Kaif, Tiwary, Raina, etc. And totally agree with Chandan. He needs to be given a run in test matches first.

[bunny]

BTW Hari, Dale Steyn wasn't a part of SA A, SA did have Albie Morkel and Langeveldt though.

[Guest HariSampath]

Steyn did come here, I do remember, maybe ODI or something

[Chandan]

Dale Steyn did play against India A here' date=' and Badri did get plenty of runs[/quote'] Steyn was in the squad: Link South Africa A are scheduled to play two four-day games and three limited-over games against India A. However, changes will be made to the squad after the four-day games because some of the players would be needed for the Test tour in Pakistan. South Africa A: Morne van Wyk, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Boeta Dippenaar (capt), Hashim Amla, Justin Ontong, Ashwell Prince, Werner Coetsee, Dale Steyn, Thami Tsolekile, Friedel de Wet, Yusuf Abdullah, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt. ----------------------------- This was the squad that came to play the FC matches. In the first, Steyn was not fit, hence didn't play. Scorecard The second match in which Steyn was to be played was washed off and our batsmen could not face SA bowlers: Scorecard Then Steyn left to play for SA seniors in Pakistan. You can get all the links here.

[bunny]

btw, is it India A or India-U19 that's touring SA ?