Indian squad vs Lanka

http://www.cricinfo.com/indvsl2009/content/current/story/433658.html

India squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra.

oh dear oh dear. still seeing the tamil love

probable

sehwag
gambhir
dravid
srt
laxman
yuvraj
dhoni
bhajji
mishra
zaheer
ishant

FFS. Beyond a joke.

Why and how the hell likes of Badri and Vijay could be selected for tests? Do we've any room for any other opener for a home test series? And will Dhoni ever look beyond Yuvraj for the only middle order slot available? Answer is NO.

Add Karthik to this list and you've got the clue about who is in charge of selection.

What did Vijay do wrong? Played one test against Aus, looked the part, and hasn't been picked since. Deserves another shot at some stage. Badrinath is a strange one. Cheteshwar Pujara would have been a better pick, imo.

I'm surprised Nehra wasn't recalled. He looks a changed bowler these days.

Vijay is fine. Badri & Yuvraj ????????????

Sreesanth is another odd one. He's been in poor form with the ball for the last year now, although injuries haven't helped.

Chawla's omision shocks me.

Chawla has only gone downhill since his omission from Indian ODI team some time back.

Besides with Mishra and Ojha already in the mix and with India's own NPA to lead the spin attack, he didn't really have no place in Indian team.

Henry wrote:What did Vijay do wrong?

Probably nothing. Has been pretty good in FC cricket since his last and only test against Aus last year.

My point is that his inclusion is pretty pointless considering that Gambhir-Sehwag duo at the top can't be separated anytime soon.

Besides, we never pick 3 openers for a home series. Vijay would've been better off playing the Ranji trophy games instead for his state. Cooling his heels in the dressing room won't be worth anything.

The SL team will run rings around this Indian team on the field, running between the wickets etc. Basically the age/intent factor difference will show up.

Maybe they're considering batting Vijay at six? It could be between him and Yuvraj for the final middle order spot.

Henry wrote:Maybe they're considering batting Vijay at six? It could be between him and Yuvraj for the final middle order spot.

That might be disastrous. Plus it would make the move to pick Badri even more 'sensible'.

Henry wrote:Sreesanth is another odd one. He's been in poor form with the ball for the last year now, although injuries haven't helped.

He has been rewarded for being a dickhead the whole season pissing off rival players, his own state board and BCCI in that order.

Moral of the story: When BCCI warns a player to behave or risk stringent punishment, it really means a test recall despite being crap as a player the whole season as well.


I wonder what happened to Pragyan Ozha? And Badrinath? Did someone in the selection panel think there was a warm up match coming up against Sri Lanka B or something? If not then the whole selection panel is just signing up blindly for whoever Srikanth suggests. Frankly speaking, I would rather have a Karthick playing in the middle order over Yuvi. Hell even Kaif will be better than Yuvraj in a test side anyday and given my low regard for Kaif that really speaks a lot. It should be a comedy show alright, seeing the idiot Yuvraj trying to survive the spinners in the middle sessions.

Even more shocking is Bhajji's 'automatic' selection. The guy has been a waste, a pessenger for a couple of seasons now bar the time when someone from Aus provokes him. Otherwise he has been shithouse as a player for 2 straight years now.

Batman wrote:

Henry wrote:Sreesanth is another odd one. He's been in poor form with the ball for the last year now, although injuries haven't helped.

He has been rewarded for being a dickhead the whole season pissing off rival players, his own state board and BCCI in that order.

Moral of the story: When BCCI warns a player to behave or risk stringent punishment, it really means a test recall despite being crap as a player the whole season as well.


I wonder what happened to Pragyan Ozha? And Badrinath? Did someone in the selection panel think there was a warm up match coming up against Sri Lanka B or something? If not then the whole selection panel is just signing up blindly for whoever Srikanth suggests. Frankly speaking, I would rather have a Karthick playing in the middle order over Yuvi. Hell even Kaif will be better than Yuvraj in a test side anyday and given my low regard for Kaif that really speaks a lot. It should be a comedy show alright, seeing the idiot Yuvraj trying to survive the spinners in the middle sessions.

Maybe you can pick up some decent material

Bhajji's last few years' stats:

'09: 16 wickets in 3 tests @ 21;
'08: 63 wickets in 13 tests @ 32;
'07: 13 wickets in 4 tests @ 46;
'06: 19 wickets in 7 tests @ 53;
'05: 30 wickets in 7 tests @ 28;

It has to be said Bhajji has been fairly average for last 5 years. And considering Amit Mishra's success in whatever little chances he got during last year indicate that we got to be bit more accommodating to Mishra rather than blindly picking Bhajji in final XI.

Even the much maligned Paul Harris has better figures than these.

Last time the famed Indian batting line up (which included Ganguly) came up against SL in SL, barring Sehwag and Gambhir the rest were cut down to size. VVS and Dravid fared slightly better but overall the "famed" tag lineup was on paper only.

This time around it is on home turf and the Mendis mystery is not that unknown anymore, yet I am not that convinced that the ageing batting lineup will fire all that well. The SL team will have the benefit of youth and intent on their side which will give them an edge.