T20 squad for WC

[rkt.india]

Pawan Negi?  How did he come into the picture? When you already have a left arm spinner why another. How good is this Shreyas Gopal. His bowling stats don't look good. But he was making news right? 

Negi is there more for his hard hitting batting value than just bowling. He is better hitter than Jaddu.

[express bowling]

Dhawan, Rohit, Kohli  (Rahane back-up)

Yuvi, Raina, Dhoni

Pandya/Negi/Jadeja - 2 out of these 3 will play - Most likely Jadeja plays all games unless injured.  

Ashwin - Lock since no Mishra in the squad.  

Bumrah/Nehra/Shami - 2 out of these 3 will play.  Maybe against Aus/Eng/NZ They might consider playing Pandya as 2nd seamer? But doubt that.  

 

Spot-on with this break-up.

As you can see...no back-up for the middle order. If Yuvi is out of form...poof...no one is there unless Pandya can step-up. For that , he needs to be tried up the order against SL..

 

[express bowling]

Aaron has played only 9 test matches over a period of 5 years. He has had a start stop career so far because of injuries and whenever he has made a comeback, he has never got a consistent run. One match he plays and the next match he is dropped. We should judge him once he plays some matches consistently. He has shown improvement in the test matches he has played recently. He has a lot of potential and Indian fast bowlers be it Srinath or Zaheer have all taken a long time to develop into good bowlers. 

Exactly.

Aaron has struggled with injury all his life. 3 major ones I think. Yet, he has shown the will to come back and bowl 145 k +. Very very difficult really. He needs to be given some games on the trot to get his confidence and rhythm back. 

Aaron is not a brain-dead bowler. He bowled quite intelligently when he debuted against England. His inaccuracy after return from injury  has been due to some changes that he made to his action to avoid stress on his back.  It has already started improving , as we saw in the test series. Some extra support from the team management and BCCi can give us a good as well as quick bowler.

Many of his expensive innings have been due to instructions to bowl short continuously, although it was not really working. A really quick bowler is a rare commodity anywhere and his talent should not be wasted.

Edited February 5, 2016 by express bowling

[The Realist]

Dhoni had also said that Harbhajan would play if the opposition has many left-hand batsmen. It is Harbhajan's experience and hitting ability down the order that come in handy, according to Dhoni.

The big change from India's last WorldT20 squad was the absence of legspinner Amit Mishra, who was India's second-highest wicket-taker. While he has come back into the Test team since then, he has not played a Twenty20 for India.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-world-twenty20-2016/content/story/969185.html

 

[express bowling]

Dhoni had also said that Harbhajan would play if the opposition has many left-hand batsmen. It is Harbhajan's experience and hitting ability down the order that come in handy, according to Dhoni.

The big change from India's last WorldT20 squad was the absence of legspinner Amit Mishra, who was India's second-highest wicket-taker. While he has come back into the Test team since then, he has not played a Twenty20 for India.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-world-twenty20-2016/content/story/969185.html

 

Mishra should have been there. Don't know why he is being ignored.

[sandeep]

Spot-on with this break-up.

As you can see...no back-up for the middle order. If Yuvi is out of form...poof...no one is there unless Pandya can step-up. For that , he needs to be tried up the order against SL..

 

Yes, no backup for middle-order, but the problem is, there isn't anyone out there crying out to be selected.  Lower order hitters who can get the job with relative consistency at the top level are few and far between.  Manish Pandey is also not a guy who can come in and whack it like Raina from the first few balls.  Guys like Saurabh Tiwary, Mayank Agarwal, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav have flashed the ability at times, but just haven't been consistent enough.  Hardik, whether he's good  enough to take the next step or not, has shown a level of consistency and thus got picked.  Agree with you that he needs to get a few chances with the bat to build up confidence - You can't overrate the importance of confidence in T20, need to be mentally at your best to get it done.  

Another issue with the squad is there is no backup 'keeper - not sure who would don the gloves if Dhoni has a back issue, and he's had that a few times in his career and he's getting older.  

I don't know anything about Negi, but let's see, we may find a useful player - don't forget there was another Delhi spinner who could bat a bit who made the team about 15 years ago, turned out to be a pretty useful player for Team India

At the end of the day, can't blame the selectors too much - they've done the best they could have, given the options available.  Didn't expect any less from Sandeep Patil.  The man is a quality selector.  

 

[renjith]

Yes, no backup for middle-order, but the problem is, there isn't anyone out there crying out to be selected.  Lower order hitters who can get the job with relative consistency at the top level are few and far between.  Manish Pandey is also not a guy who can come in and whack it like Raina from the first few balls.  Guys like Saurabh Tiwary, Mayank Agarwal, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav have flashed the ability at times, but just haven't been consistent enough.  Hardik, whether he's good  enough to take the next step or not, has shown a level of consistency and thus got picked.  Agree with you that he needs to get a few chances with the bat to build up confidence - You can't overrate the importance of confidence in T20, need to be mentally at your best to get it done.  

Another issue with the squad is there is no backup 'keeper - not sure who would don the gloves if Dhoni has a back issue, and he's had that a few times in his career and he's getting older.  

I don't know anything about Negi, but let's see, we may find a useful player - don't forget there was another Delhi spinner who could bat a bit who made the team about 15 years ago, turned out to be a pretty useful player for Team India

At the end of the day, can't blame the selectors too much - they've done the best they could have, given the options available.  Didn't expect any less from Sandeep Patil.  The man is a quality selector.  

 

dhawan and rahane are clearly not suited for t20. Selectors should have tried out shreyas iyer, mayank agarwal and manesh pandey much earlier instead of those two.

2 off spiners and 2 left arm spinners does not add any sort of variety. Mishra should have been tried out much earlier.

Youraj singhs and shamis selection are more based on hope.

After all these are the few spots selectors have to use their brain as rest of the players selects themselves.

Overall selections leading into the worldcup have been very poor.

[sandeep]

dhawan and rahane are clearly not suited for t20. Selectors should have tried out shreyas iyer, mayank agarwal and manesh pandey much earlier instead of those two.

2 off spiners and 2 left arm spinners does not add any sort of variety. Mishra should have been tried out much earlier.

Youraj singhs and shamis selection are more based on hope.

After all these are the few spots selectors have to use their brain as rest of the players selects themselves.

Overall selections leading into the worldcup have been very poor.

Disagree with you on Dhawan and Rahane - Rahane can do what Kohli does for us in T20s, anchor us at around 125 SR with a high degree of consistency.  We don't need him since our top 3 are firing, so he rides the bench.  What has Mayank Agarwal done to impress you so much?  Where was he in Mushtaq Ali trophy? Hardik Pandya lit it up on a consistent basis and made the team.  BCCI does a lot of things wrong, but on the selection front, the path for batsmen is clear and consistent.  Make your way into the team on the back of consistent quality performances.  Shreyas Iyer has done quite a bit last year, and should be next in line, but again its not as if he set the world on fire in the last couple of months.  

You don't just discard proven performers to chase flavor of the month - and thank god our selectors don't do that paki-style nonsense.  

[rkt.india]

Consistency and t20. Really. T20 is a hit and miss format.

[renjith]

Disagree with you on Dhawan and Rahane - Rahane can do what Kohli does for us in T20s, anchor us at around 125 SR with a high degree of consistency.  We don't need him since our top 3 are firing, so he rides the bench.  What has Mayank Agarwal done to impress you so much?  Where was he in Mushtaq Ali trophy? Hardik Pandya lit it up on a consistent basis and made the team.  BCCI does a lot of things wrong, but on the selection front, the path for batsmen is clear and consistent.  Make your way into the team on the back of consistent quality performances.  Shreyas Iyer has done quite a bit last year, and should be next in line, but again its not as if he set the world on fire in the last couple of months.  

You don't just discard proven performers to chase flavor of the month - and thank god our selectors don't do that paki-style nonsense.  

We look option less now coz these selectors didn't try out enough youngsters in the lead up to the worldcup in Lois. That is why selection of rahane, dhawan, Youraj,  shami,  harbhajan, ... looking ok from outside. That is Wat I call as poor job.

[bowl_out]

What's the point of having 2 offies and 2 left arm spinners... 

Bhajji is never going to play with Ashwin in the side... Could have gone with Mishra instead of Bhajji...

Negi and Jadeja have played in the CSK XI squad.. I wouldn't be surprised if he replaces Pandya in a couple of matches...

Not sure about Shami's fitness, but looks like he will be a back up pacer...

Otherwise good squad...

[vvvslaxman]

India misses Mike Hussey, Fauf duplessi and Bravo 

[sandeep]

We look option less now coz these selectors didn't try out enough youngsters in the lead up to the worldcup in Lois. That is why selection of rahane, dhawan, Youraj,  shami,  harbhajan, ... looking ok from outside. That is Wat I call as poor job.

Again, which promising young batsman or pacer has been left out who has been knocking loud on the door to selection?  Hardik Pandya averaged 20 more runs than Shreyas Iyer in Mushtaq ali, and got picked.  Next best batsman was Parthiv Patel, I dont see anyone crying out to get him selected.  Best bowler in terms of wickets was Irfan Pathan - dont really need him in team balance, so obvious non-selection there.  Bhajji actually outbowled Mishra big-time - took almost the same number of wickets, giving away about 4 runs per over vs 8 for Mishra.  Again, these are the grounds and conditions where the WC T20 will be played, why shouldn't these performances and form factor into selection?  

This is not a Calendar girl photo shoot, where you want to see new faces for the sake of it.  Stability is important so that players feel confident enough to get the job done - constant chopping and changing only guarantees disaster.  Ask the Windies or Pakis how that works out.    I'd rather have the selectors give a guy a couple of games too many, rather than constant churning of new faces given a game or two.  

[express bowling]

India misses Mike Hussey, Fauf duplessi and Bravo 

[renjith]

Again, which promising young batsman or pacer has been left out who has been knocking loud on the door to selection?  Hardik Pandya averaged 20 more runs than Shreyas Iyer in Mushtaq ali, and got picked.  Next best batsman was Parthiv Patel, I dont see anyone crying out to get him selected.  Best bowler in terms of wickets was Irfan Pathan - dont really need him in team balance, so obvious non-selection there.  Bhajji actually outbowled Mishra big-time - took almost the same number of wickets, giving away about 4 runs per over vs 8 for Mishra.  Again, these are the grounds and conditions where the WC T20 will be played, why shouldn't these performances and form factor into selection?  

This is not a Calendar girl photo shoot, where you want to see new faces for the sake of it.  Stability is important so that players feel confident enough to get the job done - constant chopping and changing only guarantees disaster.  Ask the Windies or Pakis how that works out.    I'd rather have the selectors give a guy a couple of games too many, rather than constant churning of new faces given a game or two.  

thre is only one selection criteria for t20 batting. That is hitting ability. I don't want to see class or technique or consistency or even long term planning/maturing of players. Iyer and pandey looks more suited for that to me than dhawan or rahane. Agarwal hit an attacking century against sa for india A. So he as well deserved a chance then. If you dont understand this you have little idea about t20 format.

[sandeep]

thre is only one selection criteria for t20 batting. That is hitting ability. I don't want to see class or technique or consistency or even long term planning/maturing of players. Iyer and pandey looks more suited for that to me than dhawan or rahane. Agarwal hit an attacking century against sa for india A. So he as well deserved a chance then. If you dont understand this you have little idea about t20 format.

If you have good hitting ability, you should be able to hit successfully on a consistent basis.  If you can't get that, you have little idea about cricket - in any format.  Pandya showed it, Mayank Agarwal has not.  Based on your logic, you would love a team of 11 Afridis, since he has so much "hitting ability".  

Does Team India need a bit more hitting fire-power in the middle-order? Sure.  But again, apart from Pandya, none of the other guys in contention have really made a case for themselves.  Only other batsman who did, is Parthiv Patel, but he can only really do it in power-play overs, not down the order.  

 

Edited February 5, 2016 by sandeep
typo

[MK55]

Exactly.

Aaron has struggled with injury all his life. 3 major ones I think. Yet, he has shown the will to come back and bowl 145 k +. Very very difficult really. He needs to be given some games on the trot to get his confidence and rhythm back. 

Aaron is not a brain-dead bowler. He bowled quite intelligently when he debuted against England. His inaccuracy after return from injury  has been due to some changes that he made to his action to avoid stress on his back.  It has already started improving , as we saw in the test series. Some extra support from the team management and BCCi can give us a good as well as quick bowler.

Many of his expensive innings have been due to instructions to bowl short continuously, although it was not really working. A really quick bowler is a rare commodity anywhere and his talent should not be wasted.

+1
He has had 5 back stress fractures along with a surgery. Going through rehab and then coming back to bowl without compromising pace in itself deserves some credit.  A LOT of people would have just given up. And all this rehab when he hadn't even established himself in the side. The least the selectors do here is reward him with some chances to prove himself.

I can understand him not getting opportunities if we had bowlers like Starc in the side. And he must have played what 4 ODIs since his comeback??  In IPL too its difficult to do anything impressionable as he plays on that Bangalore pitch. Him not getting selected for the T20 WC squad is still understandable since he hasn't t played any LOIs of late. But it seems that he's not even in the reckoning for LOI selection. 

[renjith]

If you have good hitting ability, you should be able to hit successfully on a consistent basis.  If you can't get that, you have little idea about cricket - in any format.  Pandya showed it, Mayank Agarwal has not.  Based on your logic, you would love a team of 11 Afridis, since he has so much "hitting ability".  

Does Team India need a bit more hitting fire-power in the middle-order? Sure.  But again, apart from Pandya, none of the other guys in contention have really made a case for themselves.  Only other batsman who did, is Parthiv Patel, but he can only really do it in power-play overs, not down the order.  

 

I would pick Afridi over rahane or dhawan in a t20 team any given day. Is that even a tough decision to make?

What you are sayin is only valid for tests and 50 over matches. T20 needs completely different strategies.

Edited February 5, 2016 by renjith

[sandeep]

I would pick Afridi over rahane or dhawan in a t20 team any given day. Is that even a tough decision to make?

What you are sayin is only valid for tests and 50 over matches. T20 needs completely different strategies.

Afridi himself doesn't pick himself to open the innings in T20.  He's Pak captain, why does he come in at #6 and have Mr Selfie and some other useless batsmen open the batting for his country?  Is it because he thinks Naqli Kohli is better than him?  

[diehardpacer]

Had the selectors tried Iyer,Mayank,Manish,Surya Yadav,Nair in the series vs Bangladesh,Zimbabwe and SA,we could have known if they would fit into the squad or not.They have wasted a full year without trying them at all.

I am not sold on picking Negi without even trying him in internationals.I really don't want Aaron to play T20s.He seems the most promising bowler and I want him to be a long term test match bowler.It is better for him to stay far from Dhoni. Kohli has used both Umesh and Aaron better till now.In the series vs WI and SL before WC,they were bowling really well together under Kohli.

Amit Mishra had a major role in our journey till finals in 2014 T20 WC.He was troubling the SA batsmen a lot and could easily have played as 3rd spinner.Jadeja,Yuvi and now Negi are three left arm spinners and playing them together is too risky.Don't think Bhajji will play,if Ashwin plays.

And people bashing Rahane need to understand that he has the hitting game too which he showed in 5th ODI vs SA (88 runs off 55 balls) and WC match(70 runs off 50 balls) vs SA.He has scored at SR of around 100 in Aus ,which is what Rohit,Kohli and Dhawan were doing till the 3rd ODI.His fielding and catching is top class which usually saves 20 runs.Even if he doesn't play,he will be great as a substitute fielder too.