The Indian Squad for the Test series in Australia

Nath wrote:Murali Kartik any chance?

Hope so.

So here goes:

16 member team announced:

Virender Sehwag
Jaffer
Kumble
Dravid
Saurav
Sachin
Yuvraj
Dhoni
Laxman
karthik
RP Singh
Pathan
Ishant
Pankaj
Harbhajan
Zaheer

SG wrote:

For stats sake, he is yet to complete a full test series after India toured WI in '06 and thats 18 months since that series.

Whats the point of taking such an unfit bowler on a tour as rigorous as Australian tour is?

Exactly. The big grounds are going to put a big strain on everyone especially the bowlers and plenty of ground fielding and running around will need to be done. This will be the most physically (never mind mentally) demanding tour that the newbies will have ever played. And if Australia bat for two consecutive days, the last thing you need is bowlers breaking down like Shoaib Akhtar.

There's a lot to be said for having players who can actually last a full tour.

Munaf Patel and Gautam Gambhir dropped.

yessssss no gambhir.

brave decision to take sehwag but I like it.

If RP and ZAK can stay fit for all the tests I think this is a decent bowling line up.

what the heck is that Pankaj selection about? so idiotic! even delhi's sangwan could have been better.

VRV or munaf atleast have potential.if pathan proves ineffective in tests or a bowler breaks down, they could have turned to them. Ishant is quite raw at the moment. This could backfire big time!

Harbhajan is another waste of space. only relief is aussies don't play him the best and even they may not be as clueless on their home soil.

Munaf is not playing, so I will supporting Australia. I am a big fan of his.

Pankaj is a good selection, he is 6'7, can bend his back, extract bounce from good length and is an excellent fielder and is very fit. He can dominate the likes of Mt FTB.

I had a feeling that the selectors were bluffing in regards to Sehwag. Seemed ludicrous at the time to leave a player with his experience and record in Australia out of the 24 probables. Don't know much about Pankaj Singh. I assume he's quite similar to Ishant? From that squad, i'd say the first Test team will be-

Jaffer
Dravid
Laxman
Tendulkar
Ganguly
Yuvraj
Dhoni+
Kumble(c)
Zaheer
RP Singh
Ishant

I can't decide whether I should be jubilant that Sehwag was picked or try and hunt down the selection comittee one by one for picking such a mediocre seam line-up for such an important tour? Ishant AND Pankaj Singh? FFS!

Unless he was unfit (more than usual) it's a huge mistake to leave out Munaf. That effectively leaves 1/3 of my dream seam line-up for Australia.

the main point is Munaf is senior to both Ishant and Pankaj and has more international experience. He would have guided the likes of Ishant and Pankaj better. As such they just look up to him and take his words as pearls of wisdom. It would have been a big confidence booster for especially Ishant if Munaf was included.

It now looks as if too many juniors have been included in the attack. Does not sound good to me.

But all in all, they've done a decent job again. Thankful that Gambhir or VRV weren't picked.

I have my doubts about youngsters. But I will be supporting Australia because Munaf is not picked.

But it's been pointed out already- History shows that Munaf is incapable of playing more than 2 Tests in a row before getting injured. So it's more than likely that he would have played at Melbourne, then felt a niggle at Sydney a week later, and been ruled out of Adelaide and probably Perth as well.

He's kind of an icon in my eyes, because it is especially after he joined the team that success on pitches in WI, England were achieved. I don't why but I just have this gut instinct about players and the luck they bring to the team. And I am not amenable to reason when this 'instinct' stuff kicks in.

Also he popularised fast bowling in the country esp for the new generation. Suddenly a lot of tall youngsters wanted to become seamers. that gave us Ishant, Pankaj, VRV etc. He also mentored Sreesanth (though he can't be mentored), RP as well.

His injury problems are a bit overhyped IMHO. Before the Saffie tour he was alright, and then he rushed himself in a couple of times. He should have been alright.

he played in Delhi as well as Kolkata but he needs more match practice. Zaheer and RP have been sitting out for 2 matches, yet need not practice whatsoever.

Oh FFS Buckaroo.

And anyways he was worth the gamble in a squad with 5 seamers. It's not like one cannot be called in if smething serious happens. Injuries are a part of a fast bowlers life. They happen all over the world.

doremi wrote:His injury problems are a bit overhyped IMHO. Before the Saffie tour he was alright, and then he rushed himself in a couple of times. He should have been alright.

But he was ruled out of this last Test with an injury, so surely he would have been rushing again if he was to play in 2 weeks at Melbourne?

oh FFS doremi, would the heavens have falled down if he was included.

Sehwag came in from nowhere. I think this is just the result of having a batting centric selection board. They know crap all about fast bowlers and their mindset.

hack pthoo

Henry wrote:

doremi wrote:His injury problems are a bit overhyped IMHO. Before the Saffie tour he was alright, and then he rushed himself in a couple of times. He should have been alright.

But he was ruled out of this last Test with an injury, so surely he would have been rushing again if he was to play in 2 weeks at Melbourne?

It wasn't serious. Like RP, he was with the squad practising.

And anyways as I said before it was a gamble definitely worth taking.

*Buckaroo* wrote:oh FFS doremi, would the heavens have falled down if he was included.

Sehwag came in from nowhere. I think this is just the result of having a batting centric selection board. They know crap all about fast bowlers and their mindset.

hack pthoo

The FFS wasn't about Munaf's deselection. Irt was all the melodrama of Munaf inspiing Ishant and VRV to take up fast bowling whn they're all basically the same age.

Fast bowling is about lots of melodrama buddy. It's all from the heart. He was there at MRF pace academy before anyone of them. I know this.

*Buckaroo* wrote:He's kind of an icon in my eyes, because it is especially after he joined the team that success on pitches in WI, England were achieved. I don't why but I just have this gut instinct about players and the luck they bring to the team. And I am not amenable to reason when this 'instinct' stuff kicks in.

Also he popularised fast bowling in the country esp for the new generation. Suddenly a lot of tall youngsters wanted to become seamers. that gave us Ishant, Pankaj, VRV etc. He also mentored Sreesanth (though he can't be mentored), RP as well.

wow! that has to be one of the stupidest posts i have seen on the cricket forum in 7 years. and thats saying something. congrats

Hope Munaf's 'izzat' isn't too scarred by this and he works on his fitness instead of going off on another strop again after this.

The One wrote:

*Buckaroo* wrote:He's kind of an icon in my eyes, because it is especially after he joined the team that success on pitches in WI, England were achieved. I don't why but I just have this gut instinct about players and the luck they bring to the team. And I am not amenable to reason when this 'instinct' stuff kicks in.

Also he popularised fast bowling in the country esp for the new generation. Suddenly a lot of tall youngsters wanted to become seamers. that gave us Ishant, Pankaj, VRV etc. He also mentored Sreesanth (though he can't be mentored), RP as well.

wow! that has to be one of the stupidest posts i have seen on the cricket forum in 7 years. and thats saying something. congrats

lol wtf, so he wasn't just being sarcastic here.