A T Rayudu

[imaginarydiva]

Has anyone been following the performance of Rayudu.The first time i saw him was as the indian captain in the U-19 World cup;and i agree with what everyone has been saying-he truly is the Sachin of the new millenium.Atleast hes indian's brightest prospect for the coming years.Hes been pretty consistent in the Ranji trophy matches as well.Actually i was surprised that he didnt get a chance in the squad for Bangladesh;while his teammate;Dinesh Karthick has already made a beginning.Anyways;its just a matter of time b4 he makes his mark on the international arena.

[Statto]

Where would he come in though? There is no obvious void to be filled in the Indian batting lineup. If hes an opener he may have a chance (is he?) but I wouldnt expect India would reshuffle their whole batting order to fit him in.

[Maranello]

If this guy is really that good, I'd drop Ganguly...he's the weakest link, good bye!

Dravid can be a decent captain, and probably would not resort to gamesmanship, showmanship or downright cheating (deliberately slow over rates etc) as Ganguly does... Dravid is also a very well-read and thoughtful cricketer, guys like that need to be the role models for youngsters, not street yobs and arrogant prissys, etc

So this would allow someone better to be the Indian no.5 or 6, eg Yuvraj, Kaif, or some young chap.

The only other weak link is the second opening slot, no one of Chopra, Yuvraj, Ramesh or Gambhir et al has really made it their own...

[imaginarydiva]

I somehow cant agree abt leaving Ganguly.Hes India's best bet in the current situation.AND hes way more imaginative and shrewd than Dravid.A good batsman may not necessarily do well as a captain; as is evident from Sachin and Lara.Anyways,most of us in India feel that Dravid is OK for the stop gap arrangements;but otherwise Ganguly is OK.Also Ganguly is more popular among the players than Dravid.

[vvvrulz]

I've been a fan of dropping Ganguly for years, HOWEVER he is a pretty good captain I must admit. Dravid and Sachin could not fill in those shoes. We need to look to the future and seek out a potential leader for the team, right now I don't see too much..

[SSA.]

Originally Posted by Maranello

Dravid can be a decent captain, and probably would not resort to gamesmanship, showmanship or downright cheating ...

I think its a bit too harsh calling Ganguly a cheat!

Dravid may be a well read and thoughtful cricketer but he has not been anything special as a captain. He is our best batsman yes but I am not convinced on Dravid the captain. He is too softspoken and too much of a gentleman.

Ganguly on the other hand is the complete opposite of Dravid but he has been a good captain for India and managed to unite the team. He has been able to rise above the regionalism that has always been a problem in India and he backs the players he believes in. The youngsters look upto Ganguly and I don't see any reason to drop him just because the media portrays him as an arrogant person.

He has done a good job so far and India should continue with him as captain and as player.

[SSA.]

Originally Posted by vvvrulz

We need to look to the future and seek out a potential leader for the team, right now I don't see too much..

I think Kaif is the man to groom for captaincy after Ganguly.

[vvvrulz]

True, he did lead the under-19 team I beleive.

[imaginarydiva]

Kumble would be cool too.

[SSA.]

Yes but we should be looking out for the future captain who will hopefully serve the team for a while. Ganguly and Kumble will retire around the same time and as of now I don't see any reason to sack Ganguly. He's done a good job so far.

Kaif looks like a good prospect. and I do believe has has done well at the under 19 level.