India in Bangladesh

[Karthik]

After India's disastrous exit in the World Cup,they will head to Bangladesh to play 3 tests & 2 One Day Internationals.The squad has been selected and looks a bit odd!

ODI squad: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwary,Dinesh Mongia, Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh.

Test squad: Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid (capt), VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble, Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, VRV Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Munaf Patel.

*Not in World Cup squad
*New Inclusions

Players who missed out - ODI squad - Harbhajan Singh,Agit Agarkar,Sachin Tendulkar,Sourav Ganguly & Irfan Pathan

[Nostromo]

I think Gambhir is more of a Test player (in the Justin Langer mould) than ODI. I have some regard for Dinesh Mongia in both forms of the game. He can be a good potential finisher with the bat and is a decent spinner. He has never been in the team for any appreciable length of time to be properly assessed. Hope that he does well in BD.

Still no Kaif in the ODI squad? What is going on with him? Personal problems or just bad form?

Balaji seems to be still out of favour for tests and Nehra for ODIs.

Are the two pace Singhs in each other's place? I thought that VRV had more potential as an ODI bowler once he overcame that overstepping problem.

I know nothing about Tiwari & Chawla; what are they like?

[vvvrulz]

Very very disappointing to see Mohammad Kaif overlooked once again. Surely after such a dismal world cup showing he would have earned a recall, surely !! He has the highest average abroad in ODI's in the past year in the entire team (from memory).

Not quite sure if Ganguly deserved the "rest" either, he has been accused for being slow, but hey at least the guy has been making runs, that is surely better than nothing..

But apart from that there isn't too much else to question, seems like generally a fair enough selection.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Nostromo

Balaji seems to be still out of favour for tests and Nehra for ODIs.

I know nothing about Tiwari & Chawla; what are they like?

I think Balaji and Nehra won't play cricket for India again.They've been out for a long while due to facing injuries and unless you are an established player like Sachin Tendulkar,you probably won't play again.Nehra at least has been playing domestic cricket.But Balaji on the other hand hasn't played any type of cricket for a long while.

Manoj Tiwari plays for West Bengal and was instrumental in bringing them to the finals of the Ranji Trophy.I'm happy with the decision to pick him.Piyush Chawla is one of the best U-19 players in the whole world and doesn't fail to pick up wickets.

[Nostromo]

Originally Posted by Karthik

I think Balaji and Nehra won't play cricket for India again.

That's a bit harsh, isn't it? Both are talented and are potential matchwinners (remember Nehra against England in the 2003 Cup?) but could go through lean patches now and then like all cricketers. I think this tendency to discard good players like rubbish simply because of injury or poor form is very unhealthy. I know that there are a lot of talented young players out there and while they should be given their chances, it is equally important to nurture a few top players who can boost each other's performances while playing together. That maturity and team spirit on the field is increasingly missing in the Indian XI for quite some time now, probably because the individual players chop and change so often that they hardly know each other. It will lead more and more to situations like Yuvraj Singh's ridiculous run out against Sri Lanka in this World Cup.

That's why I believe that this 'rotation policy' being encouraged by Vengsarkar is a bad idea if enforced simply for its own sake. It'll be no different from the meaningless and much-criticised quota system currently practiced in South Africa.

[Wanderer]

Pity about Balaji. After his tour to Pakistan 3 seasons ago, I had high hopes for the smiling assasin. That injury seems to have put at end to his playing aspirations.

Kaif must wonder what on earth he must do to get a look-in. He will always be a fringe player. Unfortunate.

Happy Chawla was picked. Hope they dont bowl the poor boy into early retirement too.

[Speedboy Salesman]

Originally Posted by Wanderer

Pity about Balaji.

I always quite like Balaji, he was a pretty decent bowler, he can't be that old can he?

[ll0OoO0ll]

Balaji reminds me of Hanumaan ji. Very athletic and full of energy.

[vvvrulz]

Balaji is a workman-like player, not a star. Same applies to Kaif, that is why neither will consistently feature in the Indian XI. Until this mentality is removed, indian cricket will never move forward.

[Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Speedboy Salesman

I always quite like Balaji, he was a pretty decent bowler, he can't be that old can he?

Well, he is only about 25 now, isnt he? And that should mean he has about 6/7 years of cricket left in him. But he does seem to be injury prone...Like Shane Bond

He's not even in the Tamil Nadu Ranju Trophy Super League side for this season...

I just think that last operation he had has put an end to his international career...It was a stomach op wasn't it? Not sure on the details though...