I simply dont understand why age should be a criteria for selection. Bhajji is a class act, with 400 wickets in tests, and easily the best spinner of the mordern era, after muralis and Warnes retirement. I think people are forgetting that he was the chief architect in the turnaround for Indian cricket in 2001 with 32 wickets. And he played a major role in the 2011 world cup. He is a class act, and he had a couple of unlucky decisions going against him in the first test, because we all know a spinner becomes a different bowler after the first wicket. Please stick with him for a few matches atleast, and then see the tide turn. he has 2-3 years of cricket in him. As kohli said after the game, he bowled well, but without luck. Look at the non-performing batsmen instead of targetting our world who is a proven performer everywhere!
Re: Treat a 400 wicket bowler with respect!
by T Prakash on Aug 19, 2015 04:08 PM
So you think we have to wait for baaji to take wickets when after 3 or 4 tours
Three spinners while it should have been three pace bowlers. Rahul and Rohit failed. No blame there! Selectors choice and team management to pick the best in the XI.
Re: 5 Bowlers!
by tejas on Aug 17, 2015 12:33 PM
Out of 5 bowlers, 3 bowlers were completely failed. Aaron and Ishant Sharma were huge disappointment. They gave away too many runs which as per test standard a crime, line & length were inconsistent, for Aaron he knows only to ball with speed and doesn't care where and how he ball. Sharma is experienced but not learning from his previous mistakes and repeating same mistakes. Why Harbhajan can not take more than one wicket on this great turning track is a big question only he knows the answer. If we ball this way, 7 bowlers are also not sufficient.
My question for Rohit sharmm is How a batsman who unable to cement his place at number 5 or 6 position, can promote to number 3 which is more difficult position to to bat. Rohit is talented but at test match level you need good temprament for batting long. Rohit should be played at number 6 otherwise there is no place for him in team.
Re: No place for Rohit
by srirama chandra rao on Aug 17, 2015 12:55 PM
That is perfect. Let Pujara play No. 3 spot which is familiar to him. When early wicket falls, we need a person who can stay for longer time with solid defence rather than forcing shots for which Rohit is capable. He can be given slot at No.6 if team plays four bowlers
My question for Rohit sharmm is How a batsman who unable to cement his place at number 5 or 6 position, can promote to number 3 which is more difficult position to to bat. Rohit is talented but at test match level you need good temprament for batting long. Rohit should be played at number 6 otherwise there is no place for him in team.
As for Harbhajan Singh, no doubt that he has been the great off-spinner for India for quite some time in the past. But unfortunately we have this habit of living in the glory of the past and not accepting the present. Nobody is denying his contribution to the Indian cricket, he is a great fighter, always give his 100% contribution whether batting, bowling etc. But the TRUTH NOW IS, HE IS NOT BOWLING WELL AT THE MOMENT. Galle was a great turning track, Ashwin got 10 wickets, Mishra got 6 wicket, and Harbhajan got just 1 in entire match, that speaks for his lost form. No player in cricket has been consistent throughout his life, even the greatest of them all like Kapil, Gavaskar, Tendulkar had lost their forms dearly at the end of their careers, it's natural and nothing new in it. Harbhajan's selection in the team was purely on the basis of his IPL performance, which unfortunately is not a good judgement for his inclusion in tests. IPL's quality of cricket and tests quality is totally different. Tests require a true performance, whereas in IPL or in T-20 in general you can get lucky and get wickets, same is true for Rohit Sharma's inclusion. It's time for our team management and selection team to drop him from the side and Harbhajan should also accept it gracefully and continue to play in IPL or domestic matches.
Re: Harbhajan Singh
by navdeep johar on Aug 17, 2015 10:36 AM
yes my dear. But do myou remember ashwin failed badly in England AND aUSTRALIA.. nOONE ASKED ANY QUES.. 1 bad game and you are after bhajji.. SO have patience if ashwin fails next time would you do the same.. I am sure you wont.. So we shd not be bias. Not everyday everyone will succed someone wil fail. Rohit sharma is club level IPL T20 PLAYER First chuck him out as he neither derves tests nor ODI'S only T-20.S
Re: Re: Harbhajan Singh
by tejas on Aug 17, 2015 10:55 AM
You are right about Ashwin, he was out form for a while, had he failed to perform in this test where the ball is spinning exceedingly he also would have faced the same criticism as Harbhajan is facing. I am a great fan of Harbhajan, but unfortunately his form at the domestic level also was not that promising and only IPL's performance was taken into account for his selection in tests which is a problem. If that was the case then Yuzwendra Chahal's performance in IPL was way better, then why he was not selected? When will we give youngsters the chance to come good? If we could have tried him against Shrilanka which was a relatively weak side compared to our coming South Africa tour, then that would have been great to boost his confidence.
actually it is not that bad idea to give rohit more chances...he was given more chances in odis and he came good...for 4 of the last 5 years he averages 50 plus in odis....even jayasurya who later became a big name in one dayers was a big failure for many years in odis...
similarly another ''talent'' vvs laxman was also given a long rope even after failing in his first 4 years in international test cricket...
Re: hi
by Sunil Vaidya on Aug 17, 2015 01:43 AM
rohit sharma in tests after 2 years in tests- 12 tests 21 innings 2 times notout 681 runs highest 177 average 35.84 100s 2 50s 2 vvs laxman in tests after 4 years in tests 16 tests 28 innings 2 times notout 626 runs highest 95 average 24.07 100s 0 50s 5
rohit sharma in odis till now- 138 matches 132 innings 22 times notout 4312 runs 264 highest average 39.20 strike rate 100s 7 50s 26 vvs laxman in odis 83 matches 83 innings 7 times notout 2338 runs 131 highest average 30.76 100s 6 50s 10
Re: Re: Re: hi
by tejas on Aug 17, 2015 09:20 AM
It's not about how he averaged in one dayers or in tests. It's about the CONSISTENCY, and scoring the runs when it MATTERS MOST. If you see Rohit Sharma's centuries or big scores, how many of them can you recollect, came while we were chasing the targets, or when all batsmen fails and Rohit Sharma scored the runs? I can't recollect many. He scores runs only when batting first, when there is no pressure, pitch is supportive or when opposition is weak. Whenever India needs a solid partnership at the top, or chasing the target he throws his wicket casually or irresponsibly without reading the situation of the game. Having talent, timing is not sufficient, how you utilise it to consistency, makes you a good batsman. Now, as everyone are doubting his place in the side, I am sure he will score one century or double century in coming tests, then everyone will again start praising him that how good he is, but after that he will again get out cheaply for the next 10 innings, that has been a trend with him. Averages doesn't always give you a true picture, it's about, in what circumstances he scored that runs & was that innings significant for our win, that's what ultimately matters. On that front Rohit Sharma is complete failure.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: hi
by Sunil Vaidya on Aug 17, 2015 01:30 PM
and frankly the person who most people want rohit to be replaced with i.e. pujara too has not been a success abroad frankly...in fact dhoni's away tests stats are better than pujara's away test stats if you care to check...
if rohit's away tests figure are not too good for that matter pujara's away test record is not good either!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: hi
by Sunil Vaidya on Aug 17, 2015 01:36 PM
rohit sharma in away tests- 10 tests 19 innings 1 not out 72 highest 339 runs 21.83 average 100s 0 50s 2 Pujara in away tests- 14 tests 27 innings 0 notout 153 highest 794 runs 29.40 avereage 100s 1 50s 3 Not much to choose from, dont you think?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: hi
by Sunil Vaidya on Aug 17, 2015 07:59 PM
when did I say otherwise...I am only saying that if rohit is not a success in away tests then neither is pujari...in fact like I said even a non-specialist batsman like dhoni has better away test record than a specialist batsman like pujari....so nothing that pujari should feel proud of...right?
and dhoni was criticized for dropping sehwag gambhir bhajji zaheer irfan etc. we saw what happened when gambhir played in england as also bhajji in the last few tests...
all those players were dropped because they were either injured or out of form or there were better replacements available and not because they had any fights with dhoni...
