The curious case of Indian team/playing XI selection

[OneTip-OneHand]

This has been bothering me for quite some time now. If you have been following Indian Cricket,you'll notice a pattern of stupidity or favourism when it comes to selection. Lots of players playing either wrong format or they shouldn't have been in the squad in the first place.

I mean isn't it wise to play specialists for any particular format rather than playing same duds over and over again. In this era of limited over cricket one player can change the entire equation. Look at what Fakhar Zaman did in CT, Levis yesterday and list goes on. Whereas whenever i see Indian team playing these days, Everytime i get the same feeling - oh no, why this/these guys!!!! Perhaps barring tests we are carrying more than 1 baggage with us.

1. Rohit Sharma- I don't know why he keeps getting selected for test matches. The guy should be nowhere near test squad.
2. Ajinka Rahane- Same as above. A clueless ODI cricketer. Should only play tests.
3. Ashwin- Just concentrate on tests dude. Post injury he looks all over the place.
4. Yuvraj- He should have some dignity and hang his boots from Internationals. One innings here and there won't do any good to the team. He is past his prime but have some strong connections for keep getting selected. Probably some cricket left in him to earn some bucks in IPL.
5. Dhoni- Only format he should be playing before retirement is ODIs.
6. Karthik- What has he done to get a recall? Alright he did good yesterday. But he isn't getting any younger to play as a specialist batsman. A tried and tested failure at international level.

What is the point of meaningless ODIs against WI or lets say Zimbabwe if we can't provide opportunities to the youngsters. Rishabh Pant carried drinks in entire series just to get a T20 match yesterday. Krunla Pandya could have been better bet in place of Ashwin or Jadeja . While we have Samsons, Manish Pandeys wasting their golden years for some yester year superstars.

A lot was said about Kohli backing the fast bowlers. Atleast one of new crop bowlers could have been tested against WI. May be Shardul Thakur or Nathu Singh.

Surely our 2019 World Cup preparations isn't going in right direction and Most probably we are going to see same ones in 2019.

Last point i want to make is Kohli should give up the captaincy in one format preferrably T20Is. May be Pandya should be captaining the T20 team.

 

[Syed1]

You guys seriously need to do something about your openers. Sharma/Dhawan/Rahane look good but the fact is India has the LOWEST runrate amongst top eight since the 2015 WC. That is not the stat a team should have if they are aiming to be the best in the world. Need a Fakhar type of gung-ho batsman whose sole aim should be to go hell to leather. Even if he fails you have a monster batsman like Kohli coming in at number three. As an outsider I feel like India has started to play a very "safety first" type of cricket. Look at the first Pak-India match in the CT, India were like 180/1 with plenty of overs to go but the batsmen were just knocking it around and looking for a RR of 4-5. In the same situation a team like England or Australia would be aiming for a RR of 6-8. Thankfully cameos from Yuvi, Pandya and Wahab saved India on that day otherwise they were looking for a sub-par score.

 

[OneTip-OneHand]

You guys seriously need to do something about your openers. Sharma/Dhawan/Rahane look good but the fact is India has the LOWEST runrate amongst top eight since the 2015 WC. That is not the stat a team should have if they are aiming to be the best in the world. Need a Fakhar type of gung-ho batsman whose sole aim should be to go hell to leather. Even if he fails you have a monster batsman like Kohli coming in at number three. As an outsider I feel like India has started to play a very "safety first" type of cricket. Look at the first Pak-India match in the CT, India were like 180/1 with plenty of overs to go but the batsmen were just knocking it around and looking for a RR of 4-5. In the same situation a team like England or Australia would be aiming for a RR of 6-8. Thankfully cameos from Yuvi, Pandya and Wahab saved India on that day otherwise they were looking for a sub-par score.

Agreed with every word of yours. This approach of safety first is highly unacceptable LOIs. From the days of Sachin/Sehwag/Ganguly/Gambhir to this mediocrity!!!

 

[troodon]

Agreed with OP.

I was disgusted to see Ashwin/Jaddu/Rahane/Yuvraj/MSD/Karthik in the lineup for WI tour. We all know what those guys can do. A section of them are very old too and past their best years almost half a decade ago.

Ashwin and Jaddu are finger spinners and are not suitable for the ultra flat pitches that ICC or opponents dishes out these days. They will not get any turn and are forced to dart hoping to give away only a single. You need mystery spinners like Kuldeep or young leggies like Chahal who can bowl the googlies to stop batsmen like Lewis or Finch or Fakhar from advancing down the track.

I would have been happy losing 5-0 and 1-0 to WI with a bunch of youngsters. This was a tour where India could have unearthed another exciting pacer or a batsman like Pant/Samson/Iyer or another spinner allrounder like Krunal Pandya (decent spinner and a big hitter coming down the order). Krunal can also play sensibly if the situation needed.

Indian selectors always play it safe. Always select big names even agianst minnows. Total dumb approach.

 

[santos11]

Agreed with every word of yours. This approach of safety first is highly unacceptable LOIs. From the days of Sachin/Sehwag/Ganguly/Gambhir to this mediocrity!!!

Agree, and I can't believe what I'm watching. Indian openers used to provide explosive starts at the top since 90s and instead of progressing to a whole New level, the opening standards have regressed to safety 1st approach.

I blame the fool Tuk Tuk Sharma for this regression of Indian batting at the top. And look at his replacement got example, Rahane the 80s batsman .

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

I believe,India has much more very good talents in their domestic circuit than their current XI. 5/6 players should be replaced by those.

 

[MMHS]

It's a trap set by their own performance. IND is playing so well at home that many of these players will average out their performance- one can't drop them. Also, IND is playing too many matches, many of those soft matches, hence overall team's W/L is too good for a major shake up.

For example, they won 4-2 in CT & made the final. Then won 3-1 in WI (would have been 4-1), and probably will win 4-1 or 5-0 in SRL as well. After that, BCCI is planning to host SRL & NZ in winter - another 8-2 or 9-1 outing. Every player has lobby - if Kartik is dropped for SRL, what will be the reason after his last innings - but if he bats 4/5 times at 4 against SRL, he'll hit couple of hundreds!!!! This is just one example.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Both Ashwin and Jadeja have no place in LOs teams.

 

[RamLakhan]

There are two basic reasons for this:
1) Business - BCCI can sell matches with names like Dhoni, Yuvaraj... Even if the team loses, there will be talks/debates/questions about this... They will be in news... This news sells! So BCCI doesn't want to try some youngsters as nobody cares if they lose/win, it takes time for these players to grow into stature of someone like Kohli. Do you know what was the stardom of a promising cricketer (right cricket fans would have estimated it by then) like Kohli in 2011 world cup? During the growth of these players BCCI feels that some money would be lost! Hence they want to accommodate these stars! This is similar to how Indian movies are made/dependent on stars! Without big names BCCI can't sell matches in West Indies.

2) Politics - Like stars in Indian Cinema, these some players have godfathers, links, network, followers, etc, who can safeguard their places in the team on their wish (Of course they feel that they worked hard to gain that position, went through struggling days, etc) This continues until they are almost drained out to play anymore! Hence it is difficult to break through this politics

But externally these things are portrayed as "Well these are experienced players, you can't just throw them out like that, we need their experience, blah blah!" "Hmm... Cricket Selection and Management is not as simple as you think, they should analyze lot of things before selecting a team... So leave it for the experts!" You will see people like Kohli, Shastri, etc, speaking politically correct stuffs like this!

Hence things won't run according to what we think (though everyone knows we are right!) Hence, teams like Pakistan in CT'17, WI in last world cup T20, India in 1983 will make surprise wins because of their refreshing team where Business & Politics are eclipsed for some time!

Probably Modi should extend his operation/mission to even cricket/sports as well

 

[Hasan123]

Introduction of KL and Pant in LO teams will at least change that outdated approach India maintained in CT. Kuldeep should get a lon run in LO, he seems to have the variations and ability to pick up wickets. Ashwin and Jadeja don't seem to be the same bowlers in LO as they are in tests. Also Dhoni and Yuvraj should be dropped. Neither is the same force, there reflexes are going and I don't see them scoring in 2019 WC. If they are picked vs Sri Lanka they will score and keep there places for future series.

Also Kohli needs to improve tactically in Odis, I also feel Dhonis presence in the field isn't helping him. I can understand he wants advice, but he seems to go to him a lot and in the CT final it seemed as though MS had taken over. Kohli needs to make his own decisions and back them instead of relaying on Dhoni.

 

[idrizzy]

India team of now reminds me of Pak team a couple years ago: lack of explosive openers, in need of a reliable frontline spin option, ageing players and the constant selection of below average players.

 

[Specialisttailender]

Rehane should only play Tests while Rohit should only play ODIS and T20s.

Yuvi needs to be dropped, period.

I want Dhoni to bat up and play this ODI series vs SL and if he can't perform against SL he should be forced to retire like Laxman, Sehwag, and Ganguly.

Don't see why we need to bring DK when we can test Pant and give him more chances. Why keep talented youngsters ?

Need to move on from Ishant forever.

Ashwin is only good at home on turning pitches and it is the fact. He can't do good vs any opponent when the pitch is not in his favour. Do we really not have any other spinners to threaten Ashwin and Jadeja other than Kuldeep ?

Kuldeep still bowling 1-2 bad ball per over, need to rectify.

 

[thehub]

DK, Yuvi, Dhoni, Jadeja and Ashwin should not be in the ODI and T20 squad at all.

if Rahul and Rohit are available, then I would not include Rahane in the squad as well.

 

[OneTip-OneHand]

If reports are to be believed- Sehwag is all set to be the next coach which could.be disaster. What a combo it'll be of coach and captain!!!

 

[sboy96567]

When dhoni became the captain. He replaced senior players with good youngs

 

[RamLakhan]

Kuldeep still bowling 1-2 bad ball per over, need to rectify.

The trend today is not about 1 or 2 bad balls in an over. It is about 1 or 2 great/surprising/unplayable balls that a bowler can bowl in an over. That is the only way an attacking batsman can be dismissed today! That is the only way to put pressure/brakes on teams and restrict the totals! (Pakistan employed such tactics against Indian batsmen on CT Finals! Indians were capable of chasing that total against average bowlers, but not against Aamir. Similarly Sri Lanka could chase such total against Indian bowlers who were average!) Hence bowlers today need such X-factor today! So-called tight bowling of Ashwin/Jadeja can be handled at ease (unless the matches are played on rank turners), same thing applies to medium-pacers! Hence Ashwin/Jadeja kind of bowlers are valid only for Test matches, this reality has to be understood. If Ashwin/Jadeja kind of bowlers have to remain in LOI teams, then LOI should go back to old format/rules, one ball, only day matches, liberal field restrictions, etc. This also means that T20 should be banned. In that case these bowlers can become more effective than Kuldeep/Chahal, because then patience/experience/perseverance comes into play!

 

[RamLakhan]

If reports are to be believed- Sehwag is all set to be the next coach which could.be disaster. What a combo it'll be of coach and captain!!!

Sehwag probably accepted a compact package (publicized numbers can be high) Also he can be best friend to Kohli!

 

[RamLakhan]

When dhoni became the captain. He replaced senior players with good youngs

You people are missing some points. India won the inaugural world T20 because of the kind of team they had (even an useless Joginder Sharma was apt to the situation as he had no pressure on him) The credit went to Dhoni! (Similar to Pakistan team of CT-17). At that time T20 was not that popular, so guys like Sachin, Dravid, etc, preferred to stay away from that format! This became a boon to our T20 team. Even sponsors were not bothered about it much! Otherwise the result would not have been the same. For similar reasons we won a Tri-Series in Australia few years back!

But now the situation is different. Seniors prefer to retire from Test Matches and stick to LOIs. The sponsors/endorsement depend on these guys where they have signed annual contracts! So its not easy to remove them from the team... They are not just playing for the nation, they are also playing for these sponsors. BCCI is dependent on this revenue (and not just the passion of cricket fans!) All the Ads/Logos on their helmets, armguards, bats, pads, etc, has to be displayed! They know people watch these matches whether the team is full of seniors or newcomers (in fact team of seniors/regulars sell well or watched well!) How many of you (mass) watch the matches when we send B/C teams to West Indies/Bangladesh/Zimbabwe? except passionate fans who want to see their team win always! But the reality is that the matches are watched in spite of wins/losses. Of course teams/players will be questioned for failures. But that will go in the process (As everyone knows that these players can make up for the failures through odd performances).

So, only the show will run successfully, but it is teams like Pakistan and even West Indies (if they put their act together) are capable of winning matches/trophies through their energetic teams. Pakistan is also prone to get into our situation once they also get stuck up with so-called veteran players (as they were stuck up with Younis, Misbah, etc some time back!) Till then they can relish (as we do at times)

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

This has been bothering me for quite some time now. If you have been following Indian Cricket,you'll notice a pattern of stupidity or favourism when it comes to selection. Lots of players playing either wrong format or they shouldn't have been in the squad in the first place.

I mean isn't it wise to play specialists for any particular format rather than playing same duds over and over again. In this era of limited over cricket one player can change the entire equation. Look at what Fakhar Zaman did in CT, Levis yesterday and list goes on. Whereas whenever i see Indian team playing these days, Everytime i get the same feeling - oh no, why this/these guys!!!! Perhaps barring tests we are carrying more than 1 baggage with us.

1. Rohit Sharma- I don't know why he keeps getting selected for test matches. The guy should be nowhere near test squad.
2. Ajinka Rahane- Same as above. A clueless ODI cricketer. Should only play tests.
3. Ashwin- Just concentrate on tests dude. Post injury he looks all over the place.
4. Yuvraj- He should have some dignity and hang his boots from Internationals. One innings here and there won't do any good to the team. He is past his prime but have some strong connections for keep getting selected. Probably some cricket left in him to earn some bucks in IPL.
5. Dhoni- Only format he should be playing before retirement is ODIs.
6. Karthik- What has he done to get a recall? Alright he did good yesterday. But he isn't getting any younger to play as a specialist batsman. A tried and tested failure at international level.

What is the point of meaningless ODIs against WI or lets say Zimbabwe if we can't provide opportunities to the youngsters. Rishabh Pant carried drinks in entire series just to get a T20 match yesterday. Krunla Pandya could have been better bet in place of Ashwin or Jadeja . While we have Samsons, Manish Pandeys wasting their golden years for some yester year superstars.

A lot was said about Kohli backing the fast bowlers. Atleast one of new crop bowlers could have been tested against WI. May be Shardul Thakur or Nathu Singh.

Surely our 2019 World Cup preparations isn't going in right direction and Most probably we are going to see same ones in 2019.

Last point i want to make is Kohli should give up the captaincy in one format preferrably T20Is. May be Pandya should be captaining the T20 team.

Wasnt Ajinka Rahane MOTS againt the West indies I dont think he this bad in ODI.

 

[Specialisttailender]

The trend today is not about 1 or 2 bad balls in an over. It is about 1 or 2 great/surprising/unplayable balls that a bowler can bowl in an over. That is the only way an attacking batsman can be dismissed today! That is the only way to put pressure/brakes on teams and restrict the totals! (Pakistan employed such tactics against Indian batsmen on CT Finals! Indians were capable of chasing that total against average bowlers, but not against Aamir. Similarly Sri Lanka could chase such total against Indian bowlers who were average!) Hence bowlers today need such X-factor today! So-called tight bowling of Ashwin/Jadeja can be handled at ease (unless the matches are played on rank turners), same thing applies to medium-pacers! Hence Ashwin/Jadeja kind of bowlers are valid only for Test matches, this reality has to be understood. If Ashwin/Jadeja kind of bowlers have to remain in LOI teams, then LOI should go back to old format/rules, one ball, only day matches, liberal field restrictions, etc. This also means that T20 should be banned. In that case these bowlers can become more effective than Kuldeep/Chahal, because then patience/experience/perseverance comes into play!

Once batsmen figure out that there is 1-2 bad balls every over they will play defensively and wait for the bad balls to attack. In fast bowling, you can effort to miss line and length and still be okay because of the pace, but in spin bowling its disastrous.