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[VIDEOS] Ajinkya Rahane - Is he worth the guaranteed middle order spot?

stevewittry

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Series after series since 2014-15 where he otherwise had a great year in international cricket, this Rahane guy has been a symbol of failure. He can be labeled as the Afridi of test cricket with once in a bluemoon performance. At least Afridi contributed with the ball.

It is a surprise how did he maintain a test career average of about 40 despite the modest career he has had overall.

Pak fans were critical of Asad Shafiq for similar reasons but that guy played one of the ATG innings in test cricket and almost won them a historical run chase.

But it pains to see that for a side such as India that has abundance of batting reserves to the extent that a third choice team managed to beat Australia in Australia, this guy gets picked up series after series with nothing to show in terms of performances.

What is it that he does assures him a number 5 spot in test cricket for number 1 ranked test side?
 
Pujara and Rahane have not matched up to the players they replaced - Dravid and Laxman.

Rahane - his captaincy in Australia aside - has a success rate of 1 good game in 6 or 7 outings, and that ain't good enough.

Trouble is, anytime we introduce somebody new they have their best game within their first 5 matches, and then proceed to fade away: Vihari, Agarwal, Shaw, Gill....etc. Which is why we are sticking with Rahane, Pujara to a lesser extent, and the tried and tested failure Rohit.
 
Pujara and Rahane have not matched up to the players they replaced - Dravid and Laxman.

Rahane - his captaincy in Australia aside - has a success rate of 1 good game in 6 or 7 outings, and that ain't good enough.

Trouble is, anytime we introduce somebody new they have their best game within their first 5 matches, and then proceed to fade away: Vihari, Agarwal, Shaw, Gill....etc. Which is why we are sticking with Rahane, Pujara to a lesser extent, and the tried and tested failure Rohit.

This is exactly what happening.
Fact is we don't have quality reserves for tests but plenty T20 hacks.
 
He has scored more runs than Kohli in this WTC cycle with equal or better average. We could have lost a match in the Windies without him and drawn that series. Needless to say we wouldn't have won Melbourne either. Even in the WTC final, he was the top scorer for India and people still want his head on the pike :facepalm
 
Rahane has played far better than Pujara. Pujara can't score runs to save his life, just block balls.
 
Rahane is in the team due to his overseas performance. Home performances don't really matter much because our bowling at home is miles ahead of rest.
 
Rahane is in the team due to his overseas performance. Home performances don't really matter much because our bowling at home is miles ahead of rest.

apart from MCG,hes done nothing in SENA too for a long time
 
The worst thing we can do right now is JUST throw out Rahane.

The only competition for Kohli eliminated.

Ideally Rahane and Pujara should be dropped and Kohli stripped from captaincy. But that is not realistic.

Next best is to give Rahane the captaincy while making Pujara sit out.

Gosh our team is a mess when every combo creates a new problem. :))
 
Gosh our team is a mess when every combo creates a new problem. :))
That's because our test team's problems have been allowed to fester on for years! Quite akin to what happened with our ODI team in runup to WC '19.

Why no fresh batting talent (except for Gill & Mayank) was being nurtured for both teams? Why tried and tested failures are being played in games and games?

Guess, who are the culprits in both the cases?
 
The worst player India has been carrying for a while is Pujara at least rahane when he does score his runs are match winning. Pujara is basically a dead bat player and when you really need someone to dead bat and give you runs like in difficult conditions his record is poor.

He has amassed his runs by dead batting on flat tracks of Australia and also in home conditions. Its puzzling how with India's batting riches he has managed to play as long as he has.
 
That's because our test team's problems have been allowed to fester on for years! Quite akin to what happened with our ODI team in runup to WC '19.

Why no fresh batting talent (except for Gill & Mayank) was being nurtured for both teams? Why tried and tested failures are being played in games and games?

Guess, who are the culprits in both the cases?

Yes with India bench strength they should have sorted out Pujara situation which is clear he can only dead bat in flat tracks they should have played mayank instead of him no excuses.

They obviously should have played Siraj instead of Jadeja that was the worst decision ever by any team in the last few years and one big reason why India lost. How can you take out an inform swing bowler in overcast conditions for a spinner? And some Indian fans talk about Kohli promoting fast bowling culture.
 
Indian batting and bowling both are mediocre for swing and seam conditions. Hence, we struggle in England and New Zealand.

For other conditions, there is enough talent to pick XI players.
 
Rahane is a timid and mentally weak player. I can only laugh at those who think he is a better captain/leader than Kohli and India would have won even more with him at the helm.

Serving as a vice-captain and an interim captain every now and then while hiding behind Shastri is completely different from being the front man.

Captaining the Indian team is the hardest job in the game. A cowardly player like Rahane with no personality and no charisma would have been overwhelmed by the pressure of the job long ago.

India is the most batting rich country in the world. It is time for them to move on from Rahane who has not fulfilled his potential because of his mental weakness.

Ability and technique wise, he should have become one of India’s greatest ever and right up there with the likes of Dravid. Unfortunately, he could not live up to his potential because his mental game is not there.
 
Shows the lack of batting depth in India that such an average player has already played 70+ test matches. Seeing replacements like Vihari makes me think Rahane will be there for some more years to torture indian fans.
 
Shows the lack of batting depth in India that such an average player has already played 70+ test matches. Seeing replacements like Vihari makes me think Rahane will be there for some more years to torture indian fans.

TBH quality test batting depth is low across all teams. This is due to the over exposure to white ball cricket and the invention of t20 leagues. A young player growing up never aspires to be a red ball cricketer as its not as lucrative as the white ball cricket.
 
Shows the lack of batting depth in India that such an average player has already played 70+ test matches. Seeing replacements like Vihari makes me think Rahane will be there for some more years to torture indian fans.

He is there only because he looks talented and blessed enough to perform in overseas conditions. The Indian TM hasn't given away any hope on him because he performs better overseas than other batsmen in our team except Kohli.
 
Yes with India bench strength they should have sorted out Pujara situation which is clear he can only dead bat in flat tracks they should have played mayank instead of him no excuses.

They obviously should have played Siraj instead of Jadeja that was the worst decision ever by any team in the last few years and one big reason why India lost. How can you take out an inform swing bowler in overcast conditions for a spinner? And some Indian fans talk about Kohli promoting fast bowling culture.

Everyone wanted Siraj in the team but having Siraj instead of Jadeja means you would have 4 no.11s with the bat.

The biggest weakness in the Indian team is its lower order. While the quality of fast bowling has increased greatly from the past decades, all of the good fast bowlers are Chris Martins with the bat. Even Pakistan has Hasan Ali who is a decent bat and Amir could also bat well when he was in the team. Heck, Abbas is a better bat than all of our quicks combined and I say that with full seriousness.

While the batting collapse has been a weakness, one important difference when we have lost overseas is because our quicks cannot bat for their lives. Happened in 2018 England tour when England's lower order in Curran and Woakes bailed them out time and again while ours contributed next to nothing. Even in the final, the quick cameo from Jamieson and Southee added vital runs for NZ while for us, 210/7 means 217 all out. No wonder the one time our lower order made the opposite team pay for once was at the Gabba when Sundar and Thakur put on a great partnership after India looked like conceding a huge lead.
 
TBH quality test batting depth is low across all teams. This is due to the over exposure to white ball cricket and the invention of t20 leagues. A young player growing up never aspires to be a red ball cricketer as its not as lucrative as the white ball cricket.

True. The number of good test batsmen per team we had in 00's compared to now....
 
The reason why he makes it to the team is every time he clicks he usually ends up making a difference in the match result. He was dropped for Rohit a few years back and India ended up losing that series so he had to be recalled.
 
He is there only because he looks talented and blessed enough to perform in overseas conditions. The Indian TM hasn't given away any hope on him because he performs better overseas than other batsmen in our team except Kohli.

Are you still living in 2014?

He's as bad as the rest of them overseas and worse than them at home, if you take that single year out of his statistics.
 
Everyone wanted Siraj in the team but having Siraj instead of Jadeja means you would have 4 no.11s with the bat.

<B>The biggest weakness in the Indian team is its lower order. While the quality of fast bowling has increased greatly from the past decades, all of the good fast bowlers are Chris Martins with the bat</B>. Even Pakistan has Hasan Ali who is a decent bat and Amir could also bat well when he was in the team. Heck, Abbas is a better bat than all of our quicks combined and I say that with full seriousness.

While the batting collapse has been a weakness, one important difference when we have lost overseas is because our quicks cannot bat for their lives. Happened in 2018 England tour when England's lower order in Curran and Woakes bailed them out time and again while ours contributed next to nothing. Even in the final, the quick cameo from Jamieson and Southee added vital runs for NZ while for us, 210/7 means 217 all out. No wonder the one time our lower order made the opposite team pay for once was at the Gabba when Sundar and Thakur put on a great partnership after India looked like conceding a huge lead.

Or in other words, the biggest difference is our fast bowlers inability to clean the tail and not let them score 80-85 runs for final 4 wickets every time in SENA conditions.
 
Are you still living in 2014?

He's as bad as the rest of them overseas and worse than them at home, if you take that single year out of his statistics.

I said, he 'looks' blessed and talented in those conditions even though performance is lacking. Also, Windies bashing and captaincy performance has ensured he retained his place.
 
Everyone wanted Siraj in the team but having Siraj instead of Jadeja means you would have 4 no.11s with the bat.

The biggest weakness in the Indian team is its lower order. While the quality of fast bowling has increased greatly from the past decades, all of the good fast bowlers are Chris Martins with the bat. Even Pakistan has Hasan Ali who is a decent bat and Amir could also bat well when he was in the team. Heck, Abbas is a better bat than all of our quicks combined and I say that with full seriousness.

While the batting collapse has been a weakness, one important difference when we have lost overseas is because our quicks cannot bat for their lives. Happened in 2018 England tour when England's lower order in Curran and Woakes bailed them out time and again while ours contributed next to nothing. Even in the final, the quick cameo from Jamieson and Southee added vital runs for NZ while for us, 210/7 means 217 all out. No wonder the one time our lower order made the opposite team pay for once was at the Gabba when Sundar and Thakur put on a great partnership after India looked like conceding a huge lead.

But the wicket and conditions demanded four fast bowlers and if you got Siraj he would have done more than Jadeja could do. It just never made sense.
 
But the wicket and conditions demanded four fast bowlers and if you got Siraj he would have done more than Jadeja could do. It just never made sense.

Siraj also would have done more than what Bumrah did.Its all hindsight

At 7 you need a batsman or a batting AR and Jadeja and Vihari were options.Jadeja had done better in the WTC.

Siraj could only have come in for one of 3 pacers and Thakur could have replaced Ashwin
 
Rahane does not deserve a spot in the team. Pujara is even worse. He is completely done.

India should give youngsters more chances and be prepared to lose some matches with them. Rahane and Pujara will not be there 1 year from now.
 
No way Rahane deserves a place in the Test squad. I'm sick of watching him lay eggs time and again.
 
Siraj also would have done more than what Bumrah did.Its all hindsight

At 7 you need a batsman or a batting AR and Jadeja and Vihari were options.Jadeja had done better in the WTC.

Siraj could only have come in for one of 3 pacers and Thakur could have replaced Ashwin

Bumrah didnt have a good game but it was the right thing to pick him and similarly Siraj over Jadeja was a no brainer regardless to how he would have actually performed on that wicket and overhead conditions.

India did not have a stokes or even Pandiya available but that should not have stopped them from playing 4 fast bowlers on the wicket that was screaming for it like NZ did.
 
Bumrah didnt have a good game but it was the right thing to pick him and similarly Siraj over Jadeja was a no brainer regardless to how he would have actually performed on that wicket and overhead conditions.

India did not have a stokes or even Pandiya available but that should not have stopped them from playing 4 fast bowlers on the wicket that was screaming for it like NZ did.

NZ played 5 seamers as both Grandhome and Jamieson are allrounders.Heck even Southee is better than our tail.We do not have that luxury.

Ashwin at 7 and Ishant at 8 was never going to happen.And it wont happen in Eng series either
 
both Rahane and Pujara work on 'broken clock is right twice a day' mantra.

Both have not performed even at home where even Ashwin does better
 
NZ played 5 seamers as both Grandhome and Jamieson are allrounders.Heck even Southee is better than our tail.We do not have that luxury.

Ashwin at 7 and Ishant at 8 was never going to happen.And it wont happen in Eng series either

Ashwin is a proper all rounder better than both Jamieson and Grandhome. There was no justification of playing jadeja! cricket justification that is. Obviously Kohli and maybe shastri got scared and fear of big game and wanted extra protection which was actually not a protection.
 
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India simply don't have the batting depth for test cricket like they have for white ball cricket
 
Ashwin is a proper all rounder better than both Jamieson and Grandhome. There was no justification of playing jadeja! cricket justification that is. Obviously Kholi and maybe shastri got scared and fear of big game and wanted extra protection which was actually not a protection.

Jadeja is far better than AR than Ashwin who is primarily a bowler.Jadeja has done well with both bat and ball in SENA in last 5 years.Ashwin only with the ball until recent Aus series.
 
Ashwin is a proper all rounder better than both Jamieson and Grandhome. There was no justification of playing jadeja! cricket justification that is. Obviously Kholi and maybe shastri got scared and fear of big game and wanted extra protection which was actually not a protection.

Ashwin was a decent batsman in the past, but nowadays he barely scores runs. Yes, that century in Chennai notwithstanding.

No side would go to any test match, no less a final, with a 6 out all out kinda scenario as after Pant at 6, Ashwin would come at 7 who himself would only score 20 at max, and everyone beyond him would barely chalk together 10 runs combined.

India had 3 options:

1. Have Pandya at 7, Ashwin at 8 followed by the three quicks. But Pandya's crocked back made his test selection impossible.

2. Or India could have played 4 quicks provided at least one of them could bat to a decent level like Starc. Bhuvi could've done that but he lacks fitness to play 5 day cricket now. Thakur can bat but the management probably felt he isn't dependable with both bat and ball to warrant selection in the XI.

3. With the two above options ruled out, India had to go down the route of including Jadeja definitely because firstly he was in better batting form than his competition for the extra batsman spot that is Vihari, and secondly, he can contribute with both ball and in the field too.

I do think Thakur will feature in the XI at some stage to balance the squad and Siraj should definitely be a starter in the England series.
 
Jadeja is far better than AR than Ashwin who is primarily a bowler.Jadeja has done well with both bat and ball in SENA in last 5 years.Ashwin only with the ball until recent Aus series.

Ashwin with 4 test match 100s?
 
Ashwin was a decent batsman in the past, but nowadays he barely scores runs. Yes, that century in Chennai notwithstanding.

No side would go to any test match, no less a final, with a 6 out all out kinda scenario as after Pant at 6, Ashwin would come at 7 who himself would only score 20 at max, and everyone beyond him would barely chalk together 10 runs combined.

India had 3 options:

1. Have Pandya at 7, Ashwin at 8 followed by the three quicks. But Pandya's crocked back made his test selection impossible.

2. Or India could have played 4 quicks provided at least one of them could bat to a decent level like Starc. Bhuvi could've done that but he lacks fitness to play 5 day cricket now. Thakur can bat but the management probably felt he isn't dependable with both bat and ball to warrant selection in the XI.

3. With the two above options ruled out, India had to go down the route of including Jadeja definitely because firstly he was in better batting form than his competition for the extra batsman spot that is Vihari, and secondly, he can contribute with both ball and in the field too.

I do think Thakur will feature in the XI at some stage to balance the squad and Siraj should definitely be a starter in the England series.

Your getting it all wrong, If they were so worried they should have not played any spinner and played with 4 fast bowlers as on that wickets and conditions above you start with 4 fast bowlers and sort out the rest. But I would have played Ashwin whose got 4 100s and played so well in Australia as my number 7.

If Ashwin cant score more than 20 than I wont expect Jadeja to score much more either. Jadeja selection in any case (2 spinners) was a blunder! You would never need two spinners on that wicket whatever the case and scenario if you are worried about your batting so much you may as well play extra batter because you will never need 2 spinners on that wicket.

This is where captain has to earn his respect! And in that first morning under pressure he got it wrong. He gave the justification that jadeja selection covers all pitch conditions but it was clear to even blind eye that we were always going to get one condition in the game.
 

You cant look at these isolated stats Jadeja have played 6 matches? Reality is that Aswhin is more than good enough batter at 7. And beside thats not the point, why would you pick Jadeja anyway? for what? You may as well pick a proper batsman if you are so worried.

If you are worried about Ashwin not going to give you any runs in certain conditions than Jadeja is not going to do much better. And you should pick an extra seamer as that also means its going to be seaming conditions! that's only where Ashwin is bit suspect.
 
You cant look at these isolated stats Jadeja have played 6 matches? Reality is that Aswhin is more than good enough batter at 7. And beside thats not the point, why would you pick Jadeja anyway? for what? You may as well pick a proper batsman if you are so worried.

If you are worried about Ashwin not going to give you any runs in certain conditions than Jadeja is not going to do much better. And you should pick an extra seamer as that also means its going to be seaming conditions! that's only where Ashwin is bit suspect.

Who?Jadeja has done better than the other option Vihari.Even in recent Aus series where he scored 57 at MCG and was involved in series changing partnership with Rahane.

Extra seamer could only have been Thakur.No team picks 4 no. 11s even if they are legendary bowlers
 
Your getting it all wrong, If they were so worried they should have not played any spinner and played with 4 fast bowlers as on that wickets and conditions above you start with 4 fast bowlers and sort out the rest. But I would have played Ashwin whose got 4 100s and played so well in Australia as my number 7.

If Ashwin cant score more than 20 than I wont expect Jadeja to score much more either. Jadeja selection in any case (2 spinners) was a blunder! You would never need two spinners on that wicket whatever the case and scenario if you are worried about your batting so much you may as well play extra batter because you will never need 2 spinners on that wicket.

This is where captain has to earn his respect! And in that first morning under pressure he got it wrong. He gave the justification that jadeja selection covers all pitch conditions but it was clear to even blind eye that we were always going to get one condition in the game.

You're getting the rationale wrong.

1. On a green bowling friendly wicket, you don't pick 4 quicks. 3 quicks are enough in a bowling friendly surface. You need extra bowling support on a flat surface, not a bowling friendly surface. If 3 pacers don't do the job on a greentop, the 4th pacer won't either. When conditions are difficult for batting, you need the extra batsman to bolster your batting, not the extra bowler.

2. And when it comes to the extra batsman, you have two options - Vihari, Jadeja. I think the only reason you feel Jadeja was a wrong selection is because he is also a spinner. If he was simply a batsman, nobody would have raised an eyebrow. Simply as a batsman, Jadeja is a better pick than Vihari. His bowling is only a bonus.

Jadeja was picked primarily in the team for his batting, not for his bowling which he didn't do much anyway.

3. Jadeja is a much better batsman than Ashwin. There's no doubts about that. There can be debates about who's the better spinner but Jadeja is hands down the better batsman.

Finally no team will ever pick 4 Chris Martins in the team no matter how good they're with the ball. So no, your team selection would've had 4 no.11s in the team plus Ashwin who himself isn't that dependable a batsman.

On hindsight, Siraj probably needed to be picked ahead of Bumrah but Bumrah is hard to drop also. Shami was the best bowler and only Ishant gets any genuine swing in the team. Moving forward, Ishant will probably have to make way for Siraj I think in the England series.
 
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You're getting the rationale wrong.

1. On a green bowling friendly wicket, you don't pick 4 quicks. 3 quicks are enough in a bowling friendly surface. You need extra bowling support on a flat surface, not a bowling friendly surface. If 3 pacers don't do the job on a greentop, the 4th pacer won't either. When conditions are difficult for batting, you need the extra batsman to bolster your batting, not the extra bowler.

2. And when it comes to the extra batsman, you have two options - Vihari, Jadeja. I think the only reason you feel Jadeja was a wrong selection is because he is also a spinner. If he was simply a batsman, nobody would have raised an eyebrow. Simply as a batsman, Jadeja is a better pick than Vihari. His bowling is only a bonus.

Jadeja was picked primarily in the team for his batting, not for his bowling which he didn't do much anyway.

3. Jadeja is a much better batsman than Ashwin. There's no doubts about that. There can be debates about who's the better spinner but Jadeja is hands down the better batsman.

Finally no team will ever pick 4 Chris Martins in the team no matter how good they're with the ball. So no, your team selection would've had 4 no.11s in the team plus Ashwin who himself isn't that dependable a batsman.

On hindsight, Siraj probably needed to be picked ahead of Bumrah but Bumrah is hard to drop also. Shami was the best bowler and only Ishant gets any genuine swing in the team. Moving forward, Ishant will probably have to make way for Siraj I think in the England series.

IMO they should rotate Shami and Ishant,both on wrong side of 30s and not super fit.

Bumrah and Siraj should get full series with Thakur in if there is a green mamba
 
Who?Jadeja has done better than the other option Vihari.Even in recent Aus series where he scored 57 at MCG and was involved in series changing partnership with Rahane.

Extra seamer could only have been Thakur.No team picks 4 no. 11s even if they are legendary bowlers

Vihari is a proper bat and will eventfully score his runs as a proper batsman. If he doesn't then that just means he is not good enough for international cricket but you should pick him and find out if extra batsman is required.

Thakur was another option who as a minimum could have played but I would have played Siraj looking at Indian squad he was a must in English conditions.
 
You're getting the rationale wrong.

1. On a green bowling friendly wicket, you don't pick 4 quicks. 3 quicks are enough in a bowling friendly surface. You need extra bowling support on a flat surface, not a bowling friendly surface. If 3 pacers don't do the job on a greentop, the 4th pacer won't either. When conditions are difficult for batting, you need the extra batsman to bolster your batting, not the extra bowler.

2. And when it comes to the extra batsman, you have two options - Vihari, Jadeja. I think the only reason you feel Jadeja was a wrong selection is because he is also a spinner. If he was simply a batsman, nobody would have raised an eyebrow. Simply as a batsman, Jadeja is a better pick than Vihari. His bowling is only a bonus.

Jadeja was picked primarily in the team for his batting, not for his bowling which he didn't do much anyway.

3. Jadeja is a much better batsman than Ashwin. There's no doubts about that. There can be debates about who's the better spinner but Jadeja is hands down the better batsman.

Finally no team will ever pick 4 Chris Martins in the team no matter how good they're with the ball. So no, your team selection would've had 4 no.11s in the team plus Ashwin who himself isn't that dependable a batsman.

On hindsight, Siraj probably needed to be picked ahead of Bumrah but Bumrah is hard to drop also. Shami was the best bowler and only Ishant gets any genuine swing in the team. Moving forward, Ishant will probably have to make way for Siraj I think in the England series.

No I disagree on that wicket and condition you play 4 seam bowling options as 3 wont be enough as they will tire and start leaking some runs you play 4 options so the pressure never gets released. Some teams can afford to play 3 if they have stokes or stokes like player. However if not you play 4 seamers once you know spinners are not gonna come into it. NZ played 5 they could have played a proper batsman instead of degrandhome but they didnt. Thats where Kane was brave and Virat was not.

India actually got a bit lucky with how Ashwin bowled to left handers and actually tied the batsmen up otherwise the blunder would have been even more exposed with just 3 seam options.

I dont know how an internation captain can decide to go in with just 3 seam bowling options on that wicket and conditions.
 
Vihari is comfortably a better test batsman than Jadeja. Give him some home matches too, he will show what he is capable of with bat. But at home, he will not get a slot because Jadeja is an exceptional A/R at home.

Away from home, Jadeja doesn't have many great knocks to his name. He just has 20s and 30s not outs which doesn't help his team much because tail is so awful. Jadeja becomes more lethal if you get a proper 4.5-5 day match and his bowling becomes more vital there like in SCG 2020 where he can turn the game with his all-round performance.
 
Vihari is comfortably a better test batsman than Jadeja. Give him some home matches too, he will show what he is capable of with bat. But at home, he will not get a slot because Jadeja is an exceptional A/R at home.

Away from home, Jadeja doesn't have many great knocks to his name. He just has 20s and 30s not outs which doesn't help his team much because tail is so awful. Jadeja becomes more lethal if you get a proper 4.5-5 day match and his bowling becomes more vital there like in SCG 2020 where he can turn the game with his all-round performance.

Why can't he replace Rahane or Pujara?Both havent made a home ton in years
 
No I disagree on that wicket and condition you play 4 seam bowling options as 3 wont be enough as they will tire and start leaking some runs you play 4 options so the pressure never gets released. Some teams can afford to play 3 if they have stokes or stokes like player. However if not you play 4 seamers once you know spinners are not gonna come into it. NZ played 5 they could have played a proper batsman instead of degrandhome but they didnt. Thats where Kane was brave and Virat was not.

India actually got a bit lucky with how Ashwin bowled to left handers and actually tied the batsmen up otherwise the blunder would have been even more exposed with just 3 seam options.

I dont know how an internation captain can decide to go in with just 3 seam bowling options on that wicket and conditions.

You're just not getting it. Leave it buddy. 3 quicks will tire out on a flat track and not on a green track when things will keep happening and you are bound to bowl the opposition out in less overs. On a flat track, you need your seam bowling AR to give your main quicks a rest because you will have to bowl more overs to get the opposition out.

There is a very simple rule in cricket.

When the conditions are heavily tilted in favour of bowlers, you need to bolster your batting because there are more chances of a batting collapse on a green top or a rank turner and so you have to cover for that happening. When the conditions are heavily in favour of the batter, you need an extra bowler to help out because the penetration of your bowlers decrease on a flat track. This is the basic rationale behind getting your team balance right for the conditions.

NZ picked 5 seamers because 2 out of those 5 are solid batsmen (CDG and Jamieson) while all 5 are better batsmen than any of our quicks (yes even Boult is better than our quicks with the bat). And they felt the wicket wouldn't break up much to warrant the selection a spinner, who wasn't good enough in the first place and he'll anyway be played with ease by India.

In the absence of a seam bowling AR, what Kohli picked was the right team given the resources we had. Ideally you would want a seam bowling all rounder who can bat like Pandya or Stokes or Jamieson or CDG to replace one of the spinners. But since we didn't have one, we had two options left - pick an extra batsman or an extra bowler. Jadeja ticked both boxes, he's a better bat than Vihari currently and he's also the extra bowler. If Jadeja hadn't improved his batting ability, his selection would've been a very questionable one, but he fully warranted selection.

I keep saying that Jadeja was not selected for his spin bowling but for his batting and you keep saying India didn't need two spinners on that track. Yes, everyone knows it was not a 2 spinner track, but picking an extra pacer was simply not possible because none could bat and would leave a very long tail and secondly Jadeja was the best batsman out of the options available in the squad (Mayank and KL are openers who don't bowl at all, Vihari can roll his arms over but Jadeja is the better bat).

I'll still play both Ashwin and Jadeja together for the England series unless Jadeja starts contributing nothing with the bat. Even for a proper greentop (which the final wasn't), I would still pick Jadeja, drop Ashwin and pick Thakur as the 4th pacer. I criticise Kohli a lot for his team selection but he got it right for the final. I wanted Siraj instead of Shami before the final but Shami fully proved his selection right in the final.
 
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India DID NOT lose the final because they picked Jadeja in the XI.

They lost because their batting collapsed on a sunny day in relatively easier batting conditions when getting a result was unlikely due to weather interruptions. All they had to do was bat out two sessions and the match is drawn. But they couldn't and they paid the price in the end.
 
Why can't he replace Rahane or Pujara?Both havent made a home ton in years

Seniority culture. In WTC Final, neither would have been dropped because they played a part in winning the Aus series. However, Pujara can be dropped if he continues failing in England in first test.

Rahane with his middling figures will not lose his place.
 
Yeah, Rahane isn't going anywhere especially since he is also a stop gap captain, plus he is a great slip catcher. Whether he scores runs or not is immaterial.
 
Seniority culture. In WTC Final, neither would have been dropped because they played a part in winning the Aus series. However, Pujara can be dropped if he continues failing in England in first test.

Rahane with his middling figures will not lose his place.

no I am asking for home series.We need to use home series to groom players for when these guys leave.Vihari if he played and performed in home series could have been considered for Jadeja

but was never given a chance
 
Bumrah didnt have a good game but it was the right thing to pick him and similarly Siraj over Jadeja was a no brainer regardless to how he would have actually performed on that wicket and overhead conditions.

India did not have a stokes or even Pandiya available but that should not have stopped them from playing 4 fast bowlers on the wicket that was screaming for it like NZ did.

Pandya is available but not selected because not good enough to play this format according to indian selectors.
 
Pandya is available but not selected because not good enough to play this format according to indian selectors.

He is not selected because he cannot bowl. And selectors said he can't make the test squad as a batsman alone.

If he starts bowling regularly, he wil definitely be considered for test selection.
 
A Whispering Campaign Has Been Started Against Ajinkya Rahane – Sunil Gavaskar
Ajinkya Rahane is seen as a threat and not an asset

Former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar feels the outside noise being created against the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane is unwarranted. He reckons they’ve been India’s most consistent batsmen in the last 6-8 months and deserve their respective spots on the Indian team.

The two are currently part of India’s Test squad that’s touring Englandfor a 5-match Test series. It will signal the start of the 2021-23 cycle of the WorldTest Championship (WTC) as well. Prior to the first match, Sunil Gavaskar spoke in length to TOI about Pujara and Rahane’s form, the latter’s in particular.

“It’s unfair on these two players. They have put their bodies and hearts on the line for Indian cricket for years and particularly the last six months. In my view, a whispering campaign has been started against Rahane and Pujara. Tell me who else has scored consistently in the last 6-8 months,” Gavaskar expressed.

“The real target is Rahane. I would tell all these people to think of Rahane as an asset and not a threat. It’s happening the other way around. He scored a 100 right after India was all-out for 36 (against Australia). He gave the momentum at Gabba chase as well. He got a half-century on pitches where the ball was turning. In WTC Final, he was our top scorer. But suddenly questions are being raised about these two.”

https://cricket.yahoo.net/news/whispering-campaign-started-against-rahane-072804972
 
This Mumbai lobby gets activated whenever there's criticism around Mumbai players!! :shhh
 
The worst batsman to play 70 tests for India.
I remember the hype and hoopla created about him when Tendulkar was playing his last few tests. As if Tendulkar was blocking the path of an upcoming ATG.

And when Rahane eventually played his debut test, he was expectedly a bundle of nerves and was brutally trolled for the forgettable shot he played during that test.
 
Lol at whispering campaign. Performing in 1 match out of 5 is not good enough for a team like India. This could be his last tour. :inti
 
Poor from Sunny! Rahane has been an utter failure except for a meaningful innings here and there. Same goes for Pujara.
 
Everyone wanted Siraj in the team but having Siraj instead of Jadeja means you would have 4 no.11s with the bat.

The biggest weakness in the Indian team is its lower order. While the quality of fast bowling has increased greatly from the past decades, all of the good fast bowlers are Chris Martins with the bat. Even Pakistan has Hasan Ali who is a decent bat and Amir could also bat well when he was in the team. Heck, Abbas is a better bat than all of our quicks combined and I say that with full seriousness.

While the batting collapse has been a weakness, one important difference when we have lost overseas is because our quicks cannot bat for their lives. Happened in 2018 England tour when England's lower order in Curran and Woakes bailed them out time and again while ours contributed next to nothing. Even in the final, the quick cameo from Jamieson and Southee added vital runs for NZ while for us, 210/7 means 217 all out. No wonder the one time our lower order made the opposite team pay for once was at the Gabba when Sundar and Thakur put on a great partnership after India looked like conceding a huge lead.

Once again, I dont agree with this logic. Playing 4 fast bowlers is what helped us bundle out England for 183. The quicks could be rotated. Its s bit much to expect the lower order to score runs when even the top 6 haven't scored a lot of runs since Jan 2020 in the first place. If anything , what yesterday's innings proved is that 4 quicks in SENA is non-negotiable.
 
As for this thread, Rahane hasnt been all that since 2016. He has been the biggest liability in that lineup. Pujara has dropped off in the last 2 years or so but he has single-handedly won series for us both at home and in Australia 2018/19 etc. Rahane has not doe anything close to that .
 
Once again, I dont agree with this logic. Playing 4 fast bowlers is what helped us bundle out England for 183. The quicks could be rotated. Its s bit much to expect the lower order to score runs when even the top 6 haven't scored a lot of runs since Jan 2020 in the first place. If anything , what yesterday's innings proved is that 4 quicks in SENA is non-negotiable.

Well there's a reason they went with Shardul as the 4th seamer and not Ishant or Umesh. That's because Shardul is the best batsman of all the Indian quicks and they're trying him to play the bowling all rounder's role.

I don't mind the 4 seamer attack, in fact, I said the team picked was the right one as soon as the team XI was announced. What I don't like is a 4 seamer attack where all 4 seamers are mugs with the bat.

Ideally, the best bowling combination for SENA conditions is a 4 seamer attack where one of them is a bowling all rounder.
 
My personal preference is 3 pacers plus 2 spinners.

Gives us the best balance with the bat and ball imho.

However, 4 pacers do give us a LOT of flexibility.

Even if 1 of them has an off-day, we can easily manage.

If we go with 3+2 combo.....a pacer having an off-day disrupts the team more in the first innings.

Issue however is this:

1. Currently Jaddu's bowling is weird. And Ashwin's batting is weird. So if we have to pick one of them.....there is a compromise no matter what choice we make.

2. If you pick 2 spinners and NEVER bowl them in tandem in any situation...that defeats the purpose. Heck, WTC....had Kohli started with the spin twins, NZ would have found it 2X harder to chase down the target.

3. It can be tricky playing 4 pacers on flatter tracks that might turn later on. Spinners played a crucial role in both Melbourne and Sydney. The reason being one of the spinners having an off-day won't mess up the test. India would have probably won the 2018 Edgbaston test and maybe even won the 2018 Southampton test had 2 spinners played.

Time will tell where the balance lies.
 
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Rahane and Pujara are living on reputation and experience. But their performances have been very poor. Time to show both of them the door. They are nothing but burden on the team.
 
Rahane managed to survive a run out scare a couple of overs before, but Bairstow made sure he didn't get away with it a second time. Run out for 5:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/03olk5" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Ajinkya Rahane in Test cricket:

In 2nd match of a series:
Inns 35
Ave 57.10*
100s 6
50s 12

In all other matches of a series:
Inns 93
Ave 35.27
100s 6
50s 12
 
"I am not bothered about criticism. As I said, people criticise only important people"

India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane

lol, what the hell was that, Rahane?
 
"I am not bothered about criticism. As I said, people criticise only important people"

India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane

lol, what the hell was that, Rahane?
Yeah, you are very important person. What a fool besides being a talentless batsman!
 
Rahane, along with Kohli and Pujara have made complete mockery of Indian cricket.
 
His average is about to dip below 40. Not good enough for a no.5 batter for India I think. Vihari should get a look in once this series is over.
 
The worst thing we can do right now is JUST throw out Rahane.

The only competition for Kohli eliminated.

Ideally Rahane and Pujara should be dropped and Kohli stripped from captaincy. But that is not realistic.

Next best is to give Rahane the captaincy while making Pujara sit out.

Gosh our team is a mess when every combo creates a new problem. :))

This guy has summed it up well even before the test series had started. :P
 
Since India is one of the top 3 teams, Rahane shouldn't get a guaranteed position.

I think he should be dropped.
 
Career saving knock coming up for the specialist vice-captain in Oval.
 
This guy has summed it up well even before the test series had started. :P

I actually disagree with you on below lines,


<I>"The worst thing we can do right now is JUST throw out Rahane.

The only competition for Kohli eliminated."</I>


The reason behind it is that having Rahane as vice-captain is actually the best thing a captain like Kohli can ask for. The chances of replacing an aggressive captain, who also is one of the best batsman of his generation with a bloke who is a cool minded shy but a timid cricketer and barely warrants his spot in the test team is negligible. It is actually a best place for a captain to be at.

You guarantee his spot in your test team as vice captain and there is no pressure on you because a personality like Rahane can only captain his team when Kohli is not available or away from the game. Once Kohli is back, he can take the captaincy back and even claim, it is his team that won the series. This is not easy to do with other captains like Rohit Sharma.
 
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