Indian test team for SL series

Yuvraj recalled as are Ishant and Sree.

Here is the full squad,

MS Dhoni (wk & capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, M Vijay, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha (wk)

Pretty much along expected lines with the exception of Saha (what does Karthik have to do to prove his metal?) and maybe Yuvraj. Is Dhoni playing at his favouritism game again? Where's Pujara?
Good to see Ishant and Sree back......must cut out his antics, though.

what does Karthik have to do to prove his metal

May be by scoring runs and being better behind stumps.

Last time India played him as WK in a full test series, he was awful, absolutely awful. However, I'm not sure if even Saha is the right choice for 2nd WK.

saha is a poor choice as are yuvraj and vijay. dont know who else they could have picked as wk, but i would have liked to see 2 of kohli, sharma, pujara or rahane as the extra batsmen. yuvraj is almost guaranteed to play in this team, and thats a bit worrying

And I don't know what else would Pujara have to do to get a chance.

Pujara is scoring bucketful of runs in Eng. I believe Rahane too is doing the same.

There isn't much of a chance for Vijay to play in the final XI. Anyway he may not face much of short stuff from SL bowlers.

Karthik has scored runs and is an excellent fielder. His wk isn't as bad as you make it out to be. Besides, he fills in as an opener. I don't know much about Saha. The one test he played, he played for the opposition.
Vijay hasn't done much either lately. I reckon you have another tourist there too. I think India has lost an opportunity here to test some of the obvious talent it has.
Bench warmers, IMO; Vijay, Ojha, Saha and prbably Raina (what a shame).

Karthik has scored runs

He still can't average beyond 27 in test cricket. Thats decidedly poor. And if you witnessed him during India's last series in Eng, he was reprieved no less than 3-4 times in every test innings he batted in. If you don't believe me, ask Eng fans.

karthik is neither a long term opening solution nor a keeping one. he's not exactly someone who has not gotten any chances either

better to use that space for someone who you think will represent india in tests for a few years at least

It's individual perception I guess. But both your statements have some truth in them. Only I'm not aware of any better solution for the moment and I do believe an alternate to Dhoni is essential in any squad and Karthik, ATM, is best suited to fill the requirements. Saha definitely isn't it. But admitedely my knowledge of him is limited to the IPL and that one test match. Neither is Patel.

And if you witnessed him during India's last series in Eng, he was reprieved no less than 3-4 times in every test innings he batted in. If you don't believe me, ask Eng fans.

I am an Eng fan and I do believe you are exaggerating a tad, SG. Our fielding isn't that bad.

It was not only fielding lapses from Eng. He was reprieved 3-4 times by umpires and sometimes Eng bowlers got him out on no-balls.

Ask Smerk. He knows that series like back of his hand.

SG wrote:Ask Smerk. He knows that series like back of his hand. pet sheep

Fixed.

SG wrote:

what does Karthik have to do to prove his metal

May be by scoring runs and being better behind stumps.

Last time India played him as WK in a full test series, he was awful, absolutely awful. However, I'm not sure if even Saha is the right choice for 2nd WK.

Saha is equally bad behind stumps. Didn't he give 26 byes just recently against WI A in one game? I can't criticize with full force because I didn't see the match, but 26 byes only point to how poor the keeper is.

And didn't we see his batting? He is a sitting duck against quality fast bowler and every side has at least one good fast bowler.

Kartik obviously is not a perfect keeper but is still far better than Saha.

What about Goswami? He looks pretty decent.

They make the same mistakes again and again and again and again. Astounding. Most of the squad picks itself, and when they actually need to do their jobs, they screw up every time.

Are you ****** kidding me? Drop Yuvi for ODIs and get him back for Tests? Morons.

Don't have huge issues with Vijay's selection. He looks a test player and done decent/good in whatever chances he got in the longer version. Think he was also picked considering Sehwag's iffy fitness, as he is also an opener.

Karthik definitely should have been 2nd keeper.

R Sharma should have been ahead of Yuvraj. He is easily the most classiest among the younger bats. His problem was application and he seemed to have got over it in the last few months.

Basically anyone not Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina would have done. I guess we should be thankful Jadeja doesn't show up.

no problem with yuvraj's selection. he was a certain starter before being dropped and hopefully that was the jolt required. id have had rohit ahead of raina - looks more of a test player.

pujara, kohli etc - their time will come once the big 3 are gone.

kartik's had his chances, time to move on.

Rohit and Yuvraj both have lots of talent but it's not about talent with them. It's attitude. They are both lazy, and lose focus easily. Raina is better, but I don't think he's quite up there talent or technique wise.

Vijay always looks good, but he seems to have a bad habit of making pretty 30's and 40's and then giving it away.

Kohli seems to be both talented and hard working. Everything i've seen and heard about Pujara suggests he is as well. These are the guys that should be getting picked. These are the guys that want true success, rather than the $$$$ on offer from T20.

I haven't seen much of Rahane bat, but if a young Mumbai player who averages close to 70 in first class cricket can't get a look in, then it's pretty obvious the selectors just don't rate him.

Rahane is still very young. Probably younger than Pujara and Kohli.

His time will come.

So Fat Yuvraj is back. Unless he had completely stopped eating and run from Mohali to Delhi once every week I don't see how he could be any fitter.

Not sure which pressure brought hm back this time. The sponsors, Zonal powers or the crazy fans. Probably all the above.

It is getting a bit sick and tiring to see the same old names over and over again. This is a curse of Indian Cricket and in general the Indian psyche where they cannot let go. We have had politicians rule from their death beds and even while they were in prison. I hope that the younger generations start thinking differently away from the dynastic mindset.

SG wrote:Rahane is still very young. Probably younger than Pujara and Kohli.

His time will come.

They're basically all the same age. In fact I think they were all in the same under 19 team at one point.

they will all get a go in the next 2-3 years. whoever is good enough to grab his chances will stay

tbh kohli looks a bit too loose outside the off. he needs to work on that if he wants a test cap