England is playing an interesting Test against New Zealand where a new Ambrose is making the right kind of noises albeit with the bat and for England. On the other hand South Africa have blown away the Bangladeshis to be crowned the no.1 team in ICC rankings. This sets up an interesting situation! India just beat the no.1 side and are up against a no.1 side (ODI)! Let's hope they soon become the no.1 side!!
The first Test against the South Africans is at Chennai and begins on the 26th of March and a few things beg to be noticed. Firstly, the headache for the selectors. The openers slot that must be giving the real headaches to the selectors. Sehwag is an automatic choice for the opener's slot Tests and while on the subject, his performance in the two tests that he played in Australia emphasises the point that a Captain who supports to Sehwag really stands to gain as he not only has an opener who can change the fortunes of a match in a jiffy but really keeps the spirit of the side high over a 5 day period. Add to this his useful bowling and much improved fitness, you have a neat package for whom, run rate is never an issue! The other opener with him would be a toss up between Jaffer and Gambhir and given the fact that Gambhir would not find a place amongst the formidable middle order, it would be best to give Gambhir the other slot. The other question is, does Yuvraj get a look in? With Brad Hogg out of the way, he just may:) though I would not rush into this choice given the fact that his form has been horrendous in the five day version of the game and India has turning tracks (Surprise! Surprise!). I would even put Dhoni on a notice. There are quite a few good keepers waiting in the wing who at the moment seem to be better and more reliable than Dhoni in the longer version and unless he performs, he should be made to concentrate on his ODI and T20 skills! Then come the spinners. Bhajji is an automatic choice and so is the Captain, thus there can be no classical leg spinner. If we need one, Amit Mishra should be picked. He is the best classical leggie in the country and can bet well too! I am afraid, Piyush Chawla needs to do a lot of hard work before he can even dream of coming near Mishra. Lastly the fast bowling attack! There seem to be quite a few options...... but.... the selectors really need to sit down with them and the trainers and physios and work out their injury prevention schedules if we are to keep them for long. Else one might find on a later day that this battery had a short life!
Another thing that the interests me is the presence of Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning specialist who now forms an important part of the support staff of Coach Kirsten. Having worked with the key South African players, it is upto the Indians to try and utilise his skills to the fullest in a way that not only helps them with the mental conditioning but also tread a path that would aid them in exploiting mental chinks in the armour of the Proteas without breaching ethical barriers.
We however are getting ahead of ourselves. First comes the Deodhar Trophy, the zonal one day tournament that is currently underway. Forget IPL, forget the Test Matches, follow these matches as it is these matches that are going to exhibit the talent for the future. We see advertisements on all channels about the "Karamyudh" but hardly any of the Deodhar Trophy! The initial round of Deodhar will have the top stars participating but it will be the later part (when the top stars will be off for National duty) when the fresh and interesting talent is more likely to be unearthed. Here's praying for great competition (in the true spirit), which seems to be the order of the day:)!
Till then!
The first Test against the South Africans is at Chennai and begins on the 26th of March and a few things beg to be noticed. Firstly, the headache for the selectors. The openers slot that must be giving the real headaches to the selectors. Sehwag is an automatic choice for the opener's slot Tests and while on the subject, his performance in the two tests that he played in Australia emphasises the point that a Captain who supports to Sehwag really stands to gain as he not only has an opener who can change the fortunes of a match in a jiffy but really keeps the spirit of the side high over a 5 day period. Add to this his useful bowling and much improved fitness, you have a neat package for whom, run rate is never an issue! The other opener with him would be a toss up between Jaffer and Gambhir and given the fact that Gambhir would not find a place amongst the formidable middle order, it would be best to give Gambhir the other slot. The other question is, does Yuvraj get a look in? With Brad Hogg out of the way, he just may:) though I would not rush into this choice given the fact that his form has been horrendous in the five day version of the game and India has turning tracks (Surprise! Surprise!). I would even put Dhoni on a notice. There are quite a few good keepers waiting in the wing who at the moment seem to be better and more reliable than Dhoni in the longer version and unless he performs, he should be made to concentrate on his ODI and T20 skills! Then come the spinners. Bhajji is an automatic choice and so is the Captain, thus there can be no classical leg spinner. If we need one, Amit Mishra should be picked. He is the best classical leggie in the country and can bet well too! I am afraid, Piyush Chawla needs to do a lot of hard work before he can even dream of coming near Mishra. Lastly the fast bowling attack! There seem to be quite a few options...... but.... the selectors really need to sit down with them and the trainers and physios and work out their injury prevention schedules if we are to keep them for long. Else one might find on a later day that this battery had a short life!
Another thing that the interests me is the presence of Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning specialist who now forms an important part of the support staff of Coach Kirsten. Having worked with the key South African players, it is upto the Indians to try and utilise his skills to the fullest in a way that not only helps them with the mental conditioning but also tread a path that would aid them in exploiting mental chinks in the armour of the Proteas without breaching ethical barriers.
We however are getting ahead of ourselves. First comes the Deodhar Trophy, the zonal one day tournament that is currently underway. Forget IPL, forget the Test Matches, follow these matches as it is these matches that are going to exhibit the talent for the future. We see advertisements on all channels about the "Karamyudh" but hardly any of the Deodhar Trophy! The initial round of Deodhar will have the top stars participating but it will be the later part (when the top stars will be off for National duty) when the fresh and interesting talent is more likely to be unearthed. Here's praying for great competition (in the true spirit), which seems to be the order of the day:)!
Till then!
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