"Ishant Sharma replaces Bhuvi for the extra bounce" : Virat Kohli

[MenInG]

Incredible that a bowler who took 6 wickets in the 1st Test has been dropped for Ishant.

He'd better do something special or this will not look good.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Kohli and Shastri try to be too clever and have their favourites.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

BK is miles ahead of Sharma

VK&co have outdone our past selections

Let's see how he does. But an absurd decision IMO.

 

[GrandMaster]

It makes sense tbh. It’s a dry pitch with no grass, nothing much for swing bowlers.

 

[Oligochaetes]

In my personal opinion this is a bad decision.

Bumrah and Ishant have to perform really well to justify this decision.

 

[MenInG]

BK is miles ahead of Sharma

VK&co have outdone our past selections

Let's see how he does. But an absurd decision IMO.

Play your best bowlers.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Shami looks absolutely toothless, I wouldve dropped him for Kumar.. Kumar could bat also this is just really poor by Kohli..

 

[Sin Nombre]

Play your best bowlers.

Bhuvi is also India's best batsman in these conditions.

 

[Romali_rotti]

This wicket looks dead and flat, I am surprised South Africans gave Indians a wicket like this...

 

[Tyler Durden]

Kohli and his favoritism. This shami guy looks clueless and brainless. Ishant is a tested failure and dropping our best Bowler for these brainless bowlers is a sin. Kohli is the most dumbest Indian captain ever.

 

[Slog]

In hindsight may not be a bad decision because of the conditions. Also Ishant isn't as much of a disaster now as people think he is

However even then I'd have dropped Shami

 

[Romali_rotti]

AB to make a double 100 on this flat Phatta and AMLA to help himself to some runs also. Indians will succumb to the scorecard pressure..

 

[CricketCartoons]

Signs of a team in distress when fans whine about a selection.

 

[Sidilicious]

And Pakistani fans though their selections were bad!

 

[MenInG]

Ishant is bowling well tbh - so not a bad choice but maybe the bowler to drop should have been Shami

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

No swing, seam or bounce so far, our bowlers will struggle to pick 20 wickets here.

Good start from Pandya, maiden.

 

[Sin Nombre]

On early indications, Kohli will finally get bashed by the Indian media for idiocy.

 

[MenInG]

Good bounce for Ishant!

 

[Dingolfy]

In hindsight may not be a bad decision because of the conditions. Also Ishant isn't as much of a disaster now as people think he is

However even then I'd have dropped Shami

Shami was our best test bowler for a while and also pretty good with reverse swing which will come handy on such dry pitches.Bhuvi is a beast on pitches assisting movement but not that much on dry pattas like this.

 

[Major]

Brave decision by kohli. Shows he could be a good captain. Doesnt go with the flow. Takes everything into account

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Brave decision by kohli. Shows he could be a good captain. Doesnt go with the flow. Takes everything into account

Takes everything into account

After 80 test matches Ishant averages 36something. That's 160 innings.

 

[hadi123]

Sharma removed de Villiers. Let's see what else he can do.

 

[CanadianG00se]

After 80 test matches Ishant averages 36something. That's 160 innings.

He is doing better in this test match so fair call (Brave call) from Kohli. I Sharma’s career stats have no relevance in today’s performance. He can either bowl absolute best or absolute rubbish. Im sure you’re not watching today’s game or else you’d not be making fun of this decision. Easily best pacer out there today.
Anyways, Kohli’s gamble is paying off. Some Indian fans are wrist slitters and will criticise Kohli no matter what he does. If he had played BK then people would be criticising him for selecting BK on flat track, now that he took a brave call yet same fans are mocking him. Indian fans are the worst fans, never backs the team but only cries about team selection. I miss the passion Indian fans had in 90s. Despite having weak team fans were passionate and would back no matter what. But now when team is actually doing better, fans are downright pathetic and cry babies.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

He is doing better in this test match so fair call (Brave call) from Kohli. I Sharma’s career stats have no relevance in today’s performance. He can either bowl absolute best or absolute rubbish. Im sure you’re not watching today’s game or else you’d not be making fun of this decision. Easily best pacer out there today.
Anyways, Kohli’s gamble is paying off. Some Indian fans are wrist slitters and will criticise Kohli no matter what he does. If he had played BK then people would be criticising him for selecting BK on flat track, now that he took a brave call yet same fans are mocking him. Indian fans are the worst fans, never backs the team but only cries about team selection. I miss the passion Indian fans had in 90s. Despite having weak team fans were passionate and would back no matter what. But now when team is actually doing better, fans are downright pathetic and cry babies.

I was following the scoreboard. Good for him if he bowled well today. But it is unfair to BK after bowling his heart out in the 1st game.
I ain't a hater so I hope Ishant gets a 5fer and brings it home for India same way he did in England a while ago

 

[Justcrazy]

Not a good decision , Bhuvi is a good bowler , in form.

You can expect him to score 20 - 25 runs easily.

 

[CanadianG00se]

I was following the scoreboard. Good for him if he bowled well today. But it is unfair to BK after bowling his heart out in the 1st game.
I ain't a hater so I hope Ishant gets a 5fer and brings it home for India same way he did in England a while ago

I think BK or for that matter anyone should understand and accept that team comes before individual. Pitch is flat with some bounce, and BK isn’t known for bounce. So, his inculsion would’ve been less helpful. I do agree its unfortunate that BK have to sit out after bowling his heart out in 1st match, but like i said team comes first.

 

[Hasan123]

Bhuvi should have played. Shami sbould have been the one who was dropped if they wanted to play Ishant.

 

[Varun]

Watching Virat Kohli's Decisions, He Should Drop Himself, Says Virender Sehwag

Former India opener Virender Sehwag criticised India captain Virat Kohli's decision to drop Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the second Test match at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Saturday. Kohli made three changes to the playing eleven as Shikhar Dhawan made way for KL Rahul, Ishant Sharma came in place of Bhuvneshwar and Parthiv Patel replaced the injured Wriddiman Saha who had done his hamstring just before the Test match. Sehwag was not happy to see Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar sit out and came down heavily on the Indian skipper for excluding both the players.

"Watching Virat Kohli exclude Shikhar Dhawan for just one Test failure, and Bhuvneshwar for no reason at all, Kohli should drop himself in the third Test at Johannesburg, if he fails to perform in Centurion," Sehwag told India TV.

Bhuvneshwar was the pick of the bowlers for India as he picked up six wickets in the last Test match at Newlands, Cape Town. It was Bhuvneshwar's first spell in the first Test that rocked the hosts early on. Not only that, Bhuvneshwar was more than handy with the bat in the lower-order that kept India in the match after the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals while chasing a target of 209 in the second innings. Bhuvneshwar added 49 for the eighth wicket as he, along with Ravichandran Ashwin kept the Indian hopes alive. Talking about Bhuvneshwar's exclusion, Sehwag said, "Excluding Bhuvneshwar wasn't the right decision. Citing that Ishant might benefit with his height, Virat Kohli has hurt Bhuvneshwar Kumar's self-confidence."

"They could have played Ishant in place of any other bowler. Bhuvneshwar performed well in Cape Town and excluding him like this isn't justified," he added.

South Africa lead the 3-match Test series 1-0 as India lost the first Test by 72 runs.

https://sports.ndtv.com/south-afric...uld-drop-himself-says-virender-sehwag-1799690

Well, well. Shots fired.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Well said. He's being a total idiot.

 

[iRfaN_LA]

Why would kohli favor shami? Doesn’t make any sense. This is not favoritism, its just a poor decision.

 

[MMHS]

So, Kumar wasn't injured!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bilal7]

Picked *Insert bowler* for the extra bounce should be turned into a meme.

Kumar wouldn't have been useful here but why Ishant and not Jadeja? That is India's strength and the new curator has gone and prepared the complete opposite of a regular Centurion wicket with spin on day one.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Picked *Insert bowler* for the extra bounce should be turned into a meme.

Kumar wouldn't have been useful here but why Ishant and not Jadeja? That is India's strength and the new curator has gone and prepared the complete opposite of a regular Centurion wicket with spin on day one.

Spin on day one?

There was hardly any turn. Just because Ashwin has 3 against his name, you don't have to just assume the pitch has turn.

Whatever wicket he got, was courtesy extra bounce.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Spin on day one?

There was hardly any turn. Just because Ashwin has 3 against his name, you don't have to just assume the pitch has turn.

Whatever wicket he got, was courtesy extra bounce.

There is a popular notion on PP. If Indian spinners specially Ash gets wickets then pitch must be spinning one otherwise there is no way Ashwin would get wickets. Similarly, If Kohli scores then pitch must be flat. Now some fans even go this far, when Kohli bats pitch was flat, and when on same pitch and same match Ash bags wickets then all of a sudden pitch become rank turner. Skills and Talent are only reserved for Men in Green.

 

[Bilal7]

Spin on day one?

There was hardly any turn. Just because Ashwin has 3 against his name, you don't have to just assume the pitch has turn.

Whatever wicket he got, was courtesy extra bounce.

I don't know what match you were watching but if you were watching the Centurion test, there was definite spin on offer. Ashwin has said as much himself and so has the rest of the world. How else will a spinner bowl 31 overs on the first day of a test in South Africa? Especially when said spinner infamous for being impotent on pitches where he does not get much help? Some quotes from Cricinfo articles:

"Ashwin said there wasn't much help for the fast bowlers in the surface. Even the spin that he got was from the dampness in the morning session, and he had to work harder in the second half of the day."

"In walked Quinton de Kock, a left-hander. Ashwin, from round the wicket, greeted him with a quick-turning offbreak in the channel outside off stump. New to the crease, de Kock pushed at it without really moving his feet and edged to slip."

"Amla was looking at his serene best, putting Shami away disdainfully when he kept dropping short in a brief post-tea spell, driving Ashwin against the turn with a twirl of his wrists, and, on 79, keeping out a shin-high shooter from Bumrah as if it was a perfectly normal delivery."

 

[jnaveen1980]

Lot of fans predicted this after Bhuvi's remark about slip catching in the last test at the press conference. It happened for real. Kohli drops anyone who crosses with him.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

I don't know what match you were watching but if you were watching the Centurion test, there was definite spin on offer. Ashwin has said as much himself and so has the rest of the world. How else will a spinner bowl 31 overs on the first day of a test in South Africa? Especially when said spinner infamous for being impotent on pitches where he does not get much help? Some quotes from Cricinfo articles:

"Ashwin said there wasn't much help for the fast bowlers in the surface. Even the spin that he got was from the dampness in the morning session, and he had to work harder in the second half of the day."

"In walked Quinton de Kock, a left-hander. Ashwin, from round the wicket, greeted him with a quick-turning offbreak in the channel outside off stump. New to the crease, de Kock pushed at it without really moving his feet and edged to slip."

"Amla was looking at his serene best, putting Shami away disdainfully when he kept dropping short in a brief post-tea spell, driving Ashwin against the turn with a twirl of his wrists, and, on 79, keeping out a shin-high shooter from Bumrah as if it was a perfectly normal delivery."

Well now that you confirmed that you are basing it from Cricinfo/cricbuzz commentary I know how much of the match you watched. So yeah, please go ahead and assume whatever you want.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

There is a popular notion on PP. If Indian spinners specially Ash gets wickets then pitch must be spinning one otherwise there is no way Ashwin would get wickets. Similarly, If Kohli scores then pitch must be flat. Now some fans even go this far, when Kohli bats pitch was flat, and when on same pitch and same match Ash bags wickets then all of a sudden pitch become rank turner. Skills and Talent are only reserved for Men in Green.

In the last test, they were like "Oh...but but he took tail-enders wickets"

Now they think Centurion has served up a pitch like Nagpur

Good god, what lengths some go to just to berate a player they don't like. Sigh

 

[Bilal7]

Well now that you confirmed that you are basing it from Cricinfo/cricbuzz commentary I know how much of the match you watched. So yeah, please go ahead and assume whatever you want.

In the last test, they were like "Oh...but but he took tail-enders wickets"

Now they think Centurion has served up a pitch like Nagpur

Good god, what lengths some go to just to berate a player they don't like. Sigh

I watched the match. I just provided proof for my claims which you hilariously refuse to accept. It doesn't matter who likes who and who doesn't. Facts are facts.

Fact #1: Ashwin did only pick up tail-end wickets last game.
Fact #2: He did have turn on offer yesterday.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Not a smart thinker Kohli is he?

 

[jnaveen1980]

I watched the match. I just provided proof for my claims which you hilariously refuse to accept. It doesn't matter who likes who and who doesn't. Facts are facts.

Fact #1: Ashwin did only pick up tail-end wickets last game.
Fact #2: He did have turn on offer yesterday.

Ashwin was hardly used in the last match. If anything you didn't need spinners at all

This match Ashwin had more chance to bowl and used more as an attacking option. It is remotely close to any of the Indian pitches. Second of all there is an ocean of difference between Kookaburra and SG balls when it comes to assisting spinners. If Ash had bowled with SG ball he would have rolled them over by now.

 

[Bilal7]

Ashwin was hardly used in the last match. If anything you didn't need spinners at all

This match Ashwin had more chance to bowl and used more as an attacking option. It is remotely close to any of the Indian pitches. Second of all there is an ocean of difference between Kookaburra and SG balls when it comes to assisting spinners. If Ash had bowled with SG ball he would have rolled them over by now.

Yasir Shah and every other Pakistani spinner have used the kookaburra extensively and done very well with it. That's beside the point though because yes, it was South Africa, yes it was a kookaburra but there was still turn on day one. How can some people be blind to that?

I do expect Ashwin to be deadly in the second innings. India missed a trick by not playing Jadeja instead of one of the pacers on this pitch. They have a very good chance to win on this Indian-style pitch.

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistan lost on a UAE-style wicket in Cape Town in 2013 because of playing one spinner only. Chucker ran riot but lacked support. Had the management played Rehman as well, Pakistan would have most likely won the game.


If India lose a close match here, the decision of not playing Jadeja can be blamed in hindsight.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Yasir Shah and every other Pakistani spinner have used the kookaburra extensively and done very well with it. That's beside the point though because yes, it was South Africa, yes it was a kookaburra but there was still turn on day one. How can some people be blind to that?

I do expect Ashwin to be deadly in the second innings. India missed a trick by not playing Jadeja instead of one of the pacers on this pitch. They have a very good chance to win on this Indian-style pitch.

Reason why leggies do well in OZ is because they are better suited with Kookaburra than finger spinners. Sure there are some freak performances. But overall on a relatively true wicket, with very slow turn finger spinners can do jack with Kookaburra.