Selectors are not making tough calls, they are making stupid calls

Cricinfo mentions that the Sandeep Patil led selection panel is taking hard decisions. It gives the examples of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan and latest Sehwag.  Yuvraj Singh did not get a long rope when he made a comeback to the Test team this time and he did start strong with a 74 in Ahmedabad. But later on his form tapered and he was dropped. 

His scoreline read 32, 11 in Kolkata, 74, DNB in Ahmedabad, 0 and 8 in Mumbai.  Average of 25 in 5 innings. 

Who replaced him ?  Shri Ravindra Jadeja. Failure with bat, decent with the ball. He shall be persisted with the rest of the test series vs Australia. And will he go to South Africa ? Probably yes, unless he form does not miraculously fade away. 

He is deemed to be an allrounder. An allrounder who can bowl more than he can bat. They say  he provides the 5th bowler option to the team. But he disturbs the batting balance. He is no good enough to score more than scratchy 20s or at the max 30s. What if the top order fails and #5 and #6 are just done with a match saving (or turning partnership)? Will his batting help  if he continues to make scratchy runs ? 

India's next Test series is against SA, NZ and England away. At the max there will be 1 spinner, top 2 if a turning track is provided. Will Jadeja be good enough to be # 2 spinner in away conditions ? If the selection panel says we are grooming the openers for away series, why not groom the # 2 spinner ? Wait do we need to ? We have 3 spinners already, 3 main spinners who are primarily bowlers. Ashvin, Harbhajan and Ojha, 

Will Jadeja be good enough to surpass 2 of the above gentlemen to be # 2 spinner and still bat at 7 ?  The guess is very simple to make. Like Dravid says, India needs to identify its overseas attack. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar might be handy in seaming, swinging conditions, but India will need a pace bowler too. Some one like Steven Finn or James Pattinson.  Umesh Yadav comes close to that but he is out injured and he would make a comeback through IPL. But is IPL a benchmark to judge Test fitness ?

So coming back to # 7 question, if not Jadeja then who ? Dhoni then will need to move back at 7 and a frontline batsman will need to come back. Either Raina, Yuvraj or Rahane or even Sehwag, form permitting.

Did selectors have a plan on who will partner Vijay in Mohali ? Dhawan or Rahane ? If Dhawan is the answer, as he is a natural opener, then what happens to Rahane ? Is he another Manoj Tiwary ? Why is then Rahane even in the team ? 

If Dhawan plays then will he continue to play in South Africa too even if his form dips in IPL and subsequent domestic season later this year ? For that matter Vijay too ? What if Gambhir finds form in IPL, ODIs in England, SL and then domestic season ? Will he continue to be ignored ?

We never would know the answers to the questions because the Indian selectors do not communicate. They continue to operate in primitive days when communication was hard to make. BCCI does not explain the logic behind selections, omissions.  And god knows till when they will continue to operate in this mode. 

So it is very wrong to say selectors are taking hard decisions.  They are making stupid decisions with no logic in it, no substance to it. 

Sehwag finally dropped

I am little confused over Sehwag's drop from the next 2 Tests against Australia. He was long due for consistency and that was not coming. Too many similar dismissals, too many low scores and after 27 runs in 3 innings in home tests vs Australia the axe was due and that happened. 

I will not go in stats,  they are too visible and available on news channels and cricinfo. 

But guys like Sehwag are beyond statistics and numbers. They are gifted players who arrive once in a while and while they are around, the opposition fear the team. Unfortunately off late his form had dipped to such an extent that the very foundation he and Gambhir led in their prolific times was shaken. The long partnerships were not coming, they were losing their wickets in a predictable fashion and too early. 

When legends were around, a quick wicket or 2 did not matter much as Dravid or Laxman or Tendulkar would control the slide. But now with the legends at 3 and 5 gone and Tendulkar nearing his end of career, the onus was on the Delhi duo to hit the purple patch and be more consistent. 

Unfortunately they lost the runs and form at a very wrong time. As a result the team in Mohali will be altogether a new look one. A new opening pair in Vijay and Rahane / Dhawan followed by run machine Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli and Dhoni. The number 7 is for a scratchy dog who will scratch, scratch and scratch and then shoulder the arms to ball and get bowled.

The next test tour of India is to SA, NZ and then England in next year and half. With the most prolific openers out of the team, it shall be upto the new pair to establish themselves and settle before the tours begin. But that is too far right now. First there are 2 tests in this home series to deal with followed by IPL, a few A  tours, a monsoon season and the home season.

Logic shall suggest Rahane to partner Vijay in the 3rd Test as he has been in the team for almost a year now and still waiting for his debut. But then it is Dhoni and we never know what he shall think.

On a lighter note, may be Sehwag should start playing for CSK and sign a declaration to MSD and Srini that he does not harbor any captaincy ambitions. That might be his ticket to reclaim his spot back.

Sehwag for sure is not done and it is not the end of road for our guy.  He will be back and will return stronger than ever. Sehwag is one reason I shall continue to watch cricket after Tendulkar retires sooner than later.

England's Ashes bragging begins

Have a look at the cricinfo's page for England vs New Zealand Test series. You'd find a lot of blabbering and noise on Ashes prospects and England's almost sure Ashes win home and away.  

New Zealand has for a start dented the confidence in the start of 1st Test match on day 2. Latest England were 5 for 86.

This constant Ashes bragging is not only belittling of their immediate opponent, but it also is a sign of rudeness.  England have clinched Ashes and they defeated India in India. Great, but they have been pathetic in their home series before Ashes. 

Their best spinner is in doubt for the Ashes and England management has little faith in Monty Panesar.  Stuart Broad has his own set of problems and Steven Finn cannot continue to break stumps and get away. Very soon that shall be termed as a no-ball.

And soon as I write this, the 6th wicket is gone. Compton and KP have scored ducks, hyped Root has scored 4. Cook 10 and Bell 23. The conditions are pretty English, overcast and damp. And still a newbie bowler has troubled England. 

England might still recover and win this test match and probably the series as well. But it shall serve them good if they focus right now on Kiwis series and worry about Australia little bit late.

Shri Rahulji Gandhi is the MoM for Hyderabad Test

So who will be the man of the match ?

Ravinder Jadeja ?

If he is the MoM, then  for sure he will be the keynote speaker in the Wharton university replacing Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal. And as a reward he is already standing in the 2nd slip ahead of Tendulkar, who rarely stands in slips. Guess what, he has so quickly replaced the likes of Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman who used to stand in slips in their playing days.

Cheteshwar Pujara or Monk Vijay ?  Monk Vijay should be keynote speaker in IIPM or Kalavati Devi Institute of Technology and Science in Raibareli, UP.

None of the above. 

It will be Shri Rahulji Gandhi, the Congress VP, who has guided Indian team with his ability and silence on a ground named after his dad Rajiv Gandhi to a memorable victory. 

So lets cheer up for Shri Rahul Gandhi, the MoM of Hyderabad Test match, first such instance in the history of Test cricket that a non-player has become MoM.

Chennai Super Kings defeat Australia yet again

Chennai Super Kinks have now defeated Australia 2 out of 2 times. Way to go Uncle Srini. What an inspired selections he has forced. Dhoni in the first test match. Ashvin all over home season taking quick 75 wickets in a year and half,  ignoring all of his overseas failures. 

And then Sir Jadeja. Failing as a batsman, does not matter. Bowling out Clarke 2 times in 2 innings.  12 wickets now in 3 Test matches. I think he is the fastest Indian to reach 12 Test wickets.  

Old Monk, the next one. 167 rums were the best 167 runs any Test player has ever made in the history of Test cricket.   He wanted to show the world what he is capable of. Yes sir, we all know what you are capable of. One century now and he will milk it for next 10 odd test matches. Who knows he might even have earned a ODI and T20I recall. IPL is now less than a month away. CSK are fixed semi-finalists anyways and M Vijay will take them extra yard to the finals.

So who needs Harbhajan now ? Or even Ojha ? Get in any random fast bowler of Chennai Super Kings or a TN fast bowler. Who needs Zaheer Khan ? Or Umesh Yadav.

Meanwhile Australia are disgracing themselves by 1) muddled selections 2) giving wickets to likes of Ravindra Jadeja making him look best ever Indian spinner in eyes of Indian commentators.  

India go 2-0 up and the Border Gavaskar trophy is almost earned back. Thanks to Chennai Super Kings. N Srinivasan will be a hot commodity in England now and for sure ECB will consult the guy to loan his match winners to England team for Ashes series so that England can retain Ashes home and away. In return England might also send few of its players for a full IPL.

Picking up Jadeja is not a best move in interests of Indian cricket in long term

Sir Shri Shri Ravindra Jadeja is bent on proving his critics wrong by performing little bit better than the expectations. But he is excelling only as bowler and underperforming as a batsman. At # 7 he ought to be better than what he is contributing.  He might take few more 2s or 3s in remaining 7 innings of this series and not contribute much with the bat, the captain Dhoni will praise this guy as if he is the best Indian cricketer around. 

But what will happen when India tour SA and NZ next year ? Then will he be needed as 2nd or 3rd spinner ? What if he does not improve as a batsman ? Will he not be a liability then? Should not a batsman be tried out at 6 and Dhoni drop at 7 ? Ojha and Ashvin or Ashvin and Harbhajan are good enough for any touring team. 

And in Kumble's era he and Harbhajan were too good for the visiting lot. But post Kumble, the spin stock in the country has dwindled and Harbhajan is no longer the bowler he was till 2008 and probably he might never be again. And that is why we see selectors making some real comical selections like bringing in Jadeja as allrounder or dropping Ojha or out of nowhere bringing in Rahul Sharma and then dropping him. And yes Piyush Chawla too. 

And Dhoni has been guilty of pushing Jadeja ahead of Harbhajan. Harbhajan is on a comeback trail and he needs his captain's confidence. Very often you see Harbhajan being brought in after Jadeja and Ashvin. That is an insult to the bowler who has played 101 tests and has highest wickets among the bowlers currently playing Test cricket. 

But the best thing Harbhajan Singh can do to get back his lost respect and position is take a 6-for and shut down his critics. And that shall be a warning sign to Sir Jadeja to improve his batting or get lost.

Dhoni 's masterclass 224

So finally India conclude the hard fought win in Chennai by 8 wickets, the largest over Australia in terms of wickets. It was a foregone conclusion since day 3 when MS Dhoni surprisingly scored a career best 224 of 265 balls and that swinged the match India's way.

MS Dhoni is the sort of guy who keeps you on his toes. You cannot form an opinion about him and stick to it. He shall always surprise you. When the entire world  thought, he has lost his TEST mojo, he came back with the innings of 99 and 224 in last 2 completed innings. One of them resulting in a draw and other swinging an even match in India's favor.

One must admire the cool and calm nature of MS when it comes to leading the team. Surely he has got issues in backing his favorite players who more often do not perform, but he surely steps up when needed. In the recently concluded ODI series vs Pak, when India were 5 for 29 on this very ground, he stepped up and scored a 100.

His hair have greyed out and so has his beard, but one thing that still amazes the cricket mad fans of this country is the coolness and calmness he brings to the crease. And several players have attributed that. He might have issues in handling of Sehwag or Yuvraj or Harbhajan, but one thing he never lets go and that is his ability to hit the bad balls and dent the confidence of spinners. 

I am not a very big fan of Dhoni's captaincy in TESTS post 2011 for all he has done is backed his franchisee players and sidelined the real performers and that debate is still on and will continue in future. He has promoted himself to # 6 spot in the lineup, once occupied by VVS Laxman when Sourav was around and later was a musical chair between Yuvraj, Kohli and Raina. Now that the greats are gone and the young lads have stepped in, the #6 spot is now gone to Dhoni. And the impact is immediately visible. 99 and 224 on # 6 in Nagpur and Chennai.

Later today in  the press confrence he did mention that India has found a "Settled" combination at least for this series. What this means is there is not going to be major changes in the batting lineup and the bowling lineup.

What this also means is Jadeja will continue to play at # 7 in Indian conditions and continue to perform poorly with the bat. And yes take 3-4 wickets in a test match with his "hard to get away" bowling.  And with Harbhajan in the team, the best bowler of England series -- Pragyan Ojha will continue to sit out. 

Vijay is not going out so soon and so is Sehwag after the 1st test failure. And so Gambhir, Rahane and Dhawan shall need to wait for their turns to play in the final XI.

Ideally in my opinion the #6 spot should have gone to Rahane and Dhoni should have played at 7 or swap the positions. And Ojha should have come in at an expense of one fast bowler, who seem surplus in the kind of tracks Chennai offered.

But for now let us savior the master class effort of Dhoni, the wicketkeeper batsman in this test and ignore the selection anomalies and follies of Dhoni, the CSK and India captain.  

At times I have felt the need to switch off Indian cricket ever since the likes of Ashvin, Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar have come in and started playing for India. But then for every Sharma or Jadeja, there is a Kohli and Pujara which ultimately overcomes the need to switch off.

I do not like the current team as much as I liked Ganguly or Kumble's test team or for that matter Dhoni's test team until the IPL kicked in its evil sons in the Test teams as well.  For me the nostalgia of Ganguly and Kumble's eras will always override momentary wins of Dhoni's IPL shaded test teams.

Similar route taken by Dhoni in Chennai test

India allowed Australia to post 380 from 5/153, thanks to yet another 100 from Clark(e) and heroic efforts from Henriques and Siddle. And that has become a familiar story in Indian test arena. Timid captaincy, favored selections, neglecting certain individuals and getting rid of them selectively.

Jadeja and Ashvin bowled most of the overs on day 1 and day 2. Harbhajan bowled only 25 overs. And I agree with what Laxman said of Dhoni's handling of Harbhajan. Harbhajan needs some favor, some prolonged spell of bowling. And before the rise of Chennai Ashvin, Harbhajan had the favor of Dhoni in all formats. But due to some pressure from Srini (dont want to believe this, but have to), there are some weird selections in final XI. Jadeja ahead of Ojha as bowler and Jadeja ahead of Rahane as batsman.

India are placed 3/182 and  this is the last batting pair on the crease.  After 4th wicket there is Dhoni and then there is Jadeja.  Good for nothing test batsman.

So it is very important Tendulkar and Kohli carry on as long as they can on day 3.

Starting XI for India in Chennai Test

Harbhajan Singh will play his 100th Test tomorrow vs his favorite team Australia and that is a very heartening news to hear. That was the only hint India provided on what its final playing 11 would be. A lot of suspense still remains on the composition of the team.

• Opening Partner to Sehwag

Who will open alongside Sehwag in the first Test ? Dhawan or Vijay or for that matter Ajinkya Rahane ? I think Vijay will get the nod. First he has some experience against Australia, two he has had some runs under his belt coming in the series. And foremost being this is his home ground.   Dhawan is in team replacing Gambhir, but it is unlikely that he shall play. Ajinkya Rahane should be lucky enough if he finds a spot in the playing XI. 

So let us assume it is going to be Murali Vijay.

The next 4 slots are pretty easy. Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli to follow.  Dhoni either at 6 if Jadeja plays or at 7 if Rahane playes. 

My hunch says it shall be Jadeja for his so called allround capabilities. 

So let's say Dhoni at 6 and Jadeja at 7.   Harbhajan at 8.

• How many spinners

How many spinners will India play ? 3 or 4 ? If 2 cant do the job then certainly 3 and 4 can't do. And Harbhajan being a certainty the questions remain who will sit out out of Ashvin and Ojha ? On basis of form, it has to be Ashvin. He did not get much success against England and off late he has struggled. But if Dhoni decides to do his own thinking, then I am sure he will play both spinners.

So Ashvin at 9, Ojha at 10. 

If he decides to go with 3 spinners (Jadeja included), then 2 places remain open for fast bowlers. And I feel India should go with 2 fast bowlers. 

No Zaheer Khan, no Umesh Yadav. Only Ishant Sharma, Dinda and the new guy Bhuvi.

I'll go with 2 fast bowlers -- Ishant and Bhuvi. But if Dhoni plays 1 fast bowler, then it will be Ishant Sharma. 

So there are two versions of the teams:

Dhoni's team : Vijay, Sehwag, Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni, Jadeja, Ashvin, Harbhajan, Ishant, Ojha

My team  : Sehwag, Vijay, Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli, Rahane, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Ishant, Ojha and Bhuvi.

Needless to say this is a very crucial test series for India given its pathetic record over last year and half in the longest format. One more series loss and Dhoni loses his captaincy.  Any victory of 2-0 or 3-0 shall be sweet. But practically speaking a 2-1 victory for India shall be a distinct possibility.

The 4 venues, as per Cricinfo stats, have been fortress for India with a rare loss coming way back in 1999. And if India plays out the young Australian pacers, then India will have done a good job.  The key to winning tests in India has always been scoring a huge 1st innings score and then unleashing the spinners on the opposition.  This was the winning formula for so many teams in home soil, but this team after the retirements of Dravid and Laxman, has failed to score high scores consistently.

So  it's a make or break series for quite a lot of cricketers especially Sehwag, Tendulkar, Harbhajan and captain Dhoni himself.  

The Indian pace bowling is inexperienced, the spin bowling is not. But there are too many doubts and questions on the quality of Indian spin especially after England trumped them few months back. And Indians falling to Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann was a shocking sight to see for all the fans. 

And as they say, this is a new series, new opposition. So let us hope that the team does not let us, the fans and bloggers down this time. And not to forget this series is against Australia. Even though there are lot of new players on both sides, the zip will be missing, but still the modern rivalry between this 2 teams is second to none.

So let's go boys and get back to the winning ways.

CSK players excel out of IPL too thanks to Uncle Srini's persuasion techniques

This article is written in satire mode. Take it seriously on your own peril.

Chennai Super Kinks really rock in every format of the game even beyond IPL. It's players, administrators, owners excel in every field. And even though they might not be very fair in their practices and not win many fans on the basis of their practices, they still ensure their players excel.

Their captain MS Dhoni is World Cup winning captain, whitewashed captain, home Tests loser captain of India. A One Day charmer, helicopter shot player, richest cricketer in the world, man who has played almost every game for India since that dreamy night in Mumbai on 2nd April. 

 Image Courtesy : Google search results from sports.ndtv.com

 

Ravinder Jadeja, until few days back, was the richest IPL player. He plays for India in all 3 formats. Look at the irony.He will play against Australia as chief spinner ahead of the man who has tormented them the most in every series in India -- Harbhajan Singh.  Not to forget Ravinder Jadeja is the most hated cricketer across India, but his haters have consistently dwindled in past few months and even though that number might go up any time on a single failure, the guy is unperturbed with the hate following he's got. He continues to perform only against England in limited overs cricket.

We all know how good R Ashvin, Mr Cricket, Suraj Randiv (now released) are. Their 4 players are representing India in Test team.And then there is Suresh Raina who is more of a Chennai man than a UP man now.

And the latest one to make Uncle Srini proud and have tears welled up in his eyes is Faf Du Plessis who has been named as T20 captain of South Africa.  Not long back George Bailey, Australia's T20 captain used to play for CSK too. Now he stands released and unsold in this year's auction.

That means, one more captaincy material for Srini's CSK if MSD rests or is injured. Du Plessis has already had a good start to his Test career too and he now enjoys captaincy of the T20 team as well after AB stepped down.

It will not be a bad idea to assume now that Uncle Srini has started to terrorize the foreign selection committees too to select CSK players for top jobs like captaincy or vice-captaincy.  South Africa being founder member of Champions League, was most happy to oblige.