Will this Asia Cup do more harm than good to India?

[Kohli The King of Chase]

I don't want to sound pessimist. But, our middle order hasn't been tested.

Players like Jaddu(in LOIs), Jadhav, Rayudu and Karthik are becoming members of playing 11.

We have few good matches in testing conditions (in NZ and AUS).

But, what I see is. These(above mentioned players will become bradmans against WIN) and, when they fail in NZ and AUS, you can't drop after just one series.

Then the biggest problem, IPL being just before WC, all these domestic bullies will again regain the so called "form".

Straight this team will fly to UK and,...

Rohit
Shikhar
Kohli *
???
???
???
Pandya
Bhuvi
Yadav K
Chahal
Bumrah

Pandya is not good to to bowl 10 overs every match. But, we don't have good batsmen who can bowl either. Jadhav bowls really well but, his batting is unreliable.

Our middle order is really messed up.

 

[DRsohail]

YEs it will defintely harm india.they have many passengers in their team which will be exposed once they face good opposition ,but the problem is that kohli and the two openers seldom fail .From pakistani point of view it will do few good things to us.

 

[Pakhs]

Dont think it can do more harm than good, but I agree India has not learned anything new so far but thats only due to how good Dhawan and Rohit has batted in the series so far. Lets face it India only chance for tough matches was if Pakistan can some how turn up against them and not lose by themselves under pressure which has not happened so far so its been a walk in the park.

 

[the_outsider]

I don't want to sound pessimist. But, our middle order hasn't been tested.

Players like Jaddu(in LOIs), Jadhav, Rayudu and Karthik are becoming members of playing 11.

We have few good matches in testing conditions (in NZ and AUS).

But, what I see is. These(above mentioned players will become bradmans against WIN) and, when they fail in NZ and AUS, you can't drop after just one series.

Then the biggest problem, IPL being just before WC, all these domestic bullies will again regain the so called "form".

Straight this team will fly to UK and,...

Rohit
Shikhar
Kohli *
???
???
???
Pandya
Bhuvi
Yadav K
Chahal
Bumrah

Pandya is not good to to bowl 10 overs every match. But, we don't have good batsmen who can bowl either. Jadhav bowls really well but, his batting is unreliable.

Our middle order is really messed up.

You are seriously overstating the problems we face. Our only real problem is the no 4 slot. We have plenty of time to sort that out in the 8 ODIs down under later this year.

If you are drawing this conclusion from the Eng LOI series don't forget that we were not only without Bhuvi but also Bumrah - the best bowler LOI bowler in the world right now. So take that scoreline in that context.

PS: As far as WK is concerned, let's just accept that Dhoni is here to stay till 2019. So point complaining about it every other day. It's not going to change anything.

 

[Shandarchowka]

Mark my words. It will. All Rayudus, Dhonis, Kartiks will drown India come next workd cup.

 

[Virat_Kohli_fan]

Rohit
Shikhar
Kohli *
???
???
???
Pandya
Bhuvi
Yadav K
Chahal
Bumrah

Pandya is not good to to bowl 10 overs every match. But, we don't have good batsmen who can bowl either. Jadhav bowls really well but, his batting is unreliable.

Our middle order is really messed up.

No point discussing Dhoni, he will play. That's one spot.

Jadhav will have to play as well, a 6th bowler is absolutely needed in England. The other options are Raina and Krunal, one is a has been while there is probably not enough time to get Krunal ready. That's 5 and 6 sorted.

Our real question is only #4, IMO once Kohli is back the choice will be between Rahul and Karthik with an outside shot for Manish/Rayudu.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

India will sink in a longer tournament like WC. Dhawan/Rohit/Kohli will inevitably fail in one of the elimination rounds and India's middle order will fold like a deck of cards.

Unlike UAE, England pitches are super flat and any of the top teams batting first can get 350+ very easily. India won't be able to chase that score even if just 1 of top 3 falls cheaply.

 

[navin]

Is it possible that we'll play Rahul in the next ODI against Afg now that we have reached in final?

 

[RamLakhan]

Is it possible that we'll play Rahul in the next ODI against Afg now that we have reached in final?

Rahul cannot bat at No.4. It will spoil both his ODI & Test game! In my opinion he should be there as a reserve opener (and probably even as keeper! He should also be utilized as slip fielder as substitute even when he is not playing!) So India should go with only Dhoni, Pant & Rahul as keepers (and so DK should stay away from it! DK will be soon found out in Australia & NZ I am sure, as he got kicked out from Test Side already!)

And yes Rahul can be given chance in one game against Afghanistan as opener and see what he can do in these conditions! (in place of Dhawan! Dhawan needs some rest after the hectic English tour & the heat of playing all these matches in UAE! He can come back for finals!)

Rahul can be seen in this term! (One of the two openers can get injured just before World Cup! Especially with IPL before it! Then somebody should be ready to take up that job! There is no better person than Rahul to grab that opportunity! That can be a huge luck from his personal perspective and a bad luck/good luck from team's/fan's perspective depending on how better he can perform! Definitely DK or Jadhav or Rayudu cannot do that job! Hence, even Rahul should not be forced to bat an No.4!)

Remember Overseas Test is also an important priority along with World Cup for India! So Rahul's establishment as opener is very important!

We need to find other alternatives for Rayudu/DK/Jadhav if they are not good!

 

[JattMaula]

Jadhav has not failed yet with bat. He is doing his job most of the time. I have given up on Dhoni retiring before WC.
We don't have better pace all rounder than Pandya. He plays cause our both spinners don't bat.

Just need a good No. 4 ASAP.

 

[Messiah]

Yes. Rayudu jadhav jadeja and co will be exposed against quality opposition. They will be hard to drop now with Asia cup win. Also bhuvi doesnt look too good either. Spinners wont carry the burden in england

 

[austerlitz]

Iyer and shaw scoring century after century in domestic meanwhile.

For me this is the team -

Rohit
Dhawan
Rahul/Kohli
Rahul/Kohli(if wkt falls within 10 overs send in rahul the opener instead of exposing kohli early,if after 10 overs send kohli)
Dhoni
Pant(we need a smasher type lower order bat to convert good starts into 350 when batting first)
Pandya

If rahul experiment doesnt work i would try Iyer.Let Rayudu get destroyed in australia,but also take iyer there.If not i would even play shaw at 4.
I have given up hope of replacing dhoni.

 

[WengerOut]

You are seriously overstating the problems we face. Our only real problem is the no 4 slot. We have plenty of time to sort that out in the 8 ODIs down under later this year.

If you are drawing this conclusion from the Eng LOI series don't forget that we were not only without Bhuvi but also Bumrah - the best bowler LOI bowler in the world right now. So take that scoreline in that context.

PS: As far as WK is concerned, let's just accept that Dhoni is here to stay till 2019. So point complaining about it every other day. It's not going to change anything.

If we are to accept Dhoni just like that, we might as well accept every other position. What is the difference?

 

[the_outsider]

If we are to accept Dhoni just like that, we might as well accept every other position. What is the difference?

Maybe because we don't have a say on the matter? Whether you can live with it or not is a different matter.

 

[troodon]

This will surely hurt India's chances in Worldcup.

Duds like Rayadu, DK, Jadav and Manish(though not playing) are being carried by Dhawan and Rohit. Same like in CT. We were winning when the Top 3 were scoring all the runs. Once the situaiton arrived when the Top 3 failed, the duds got exposed.

Same here in Asia cup. Rayadu, DK are just coming to bat to score the winning runs. This gives selectors wrong sense of comfort that this is a Champion team.

For a better Idea, Rohit and Dhawan should sit out of Afghanistan match. Lets see how the so called experienced middle order will play.

 

[Dingolfy]

This will surely hurt India's chances in Worldcup.

Duds like Rayadu, DK, Jadav and Manish(though not playing) are being carried by Dhawan and Rohit. Same like in CT. We were winning when the Top 3 were scoring all the runs. Once the situaiton arrived when the Top 3 failed, the duds got exposed.

Same here in Asia cup. Rayadu, DK are just coming to bat to score the winning runs. This gives selectors wrong sense of comfort that this is a Champion team.

For a better Idea, Rohit and Dhawan should sit out of Afghanistan match. Lets see how the so called experienced middle order will play.

We have NZ and Australia series coming up which should test our middle order.

 

[WengerOut]

We have NZ and Australia series coming up which should test our middle order.

They will be tested surely and will most certainly fail. But then, selectors will bring the Ultimate trick out of the hat ; "We need experience and can't take chances with youngsters with WC around the corner". They might even persuade Nehra to come out of retirement.

 

[TeamPak95]

With the way India's openers are always in sublime form, you almost would want them to fail to see where the rest are at... not that I'm complaining .

 

[jnaveen1980]

NO Harm. Win or loss Indian fans already know the inadequacies of the team. A top heavy team. Unsettled middle order, poor lower order, past by sell date keeper. These things have been around for a while. Had the same issue in CT. Only progress we have made since CT is identifying two wicket taking wristies. Middle order conundrum still stays. Blame goes to Kohli and co. Yuvraj, Raina, Rayudu, Karthik, Rahane these guys should have never been in the picture to start with. Rahul also didn't get proper run. Also guys like Pandey should have been phased out.

 

[light]

Considering the middle order has not been tested, more harm than good.

 

[Balthazar]

I agree. Same problems still persist as with the team that played CT. That was more than a year ago and we have yet to find the answers. The team management has failed here.

 

[BaankeJi]

If you think about it, Dhoni is not so bad with Kohli as captain. Kohli does not have tactical ability - so Dhoni has to be there to help.

 

[giri26]

we all know this is not India's best X1 and no best X1 will have Jadhav, Karthik and Rayudu in it. The selectors need to experiment with the squad at least in the home games against West Indies. Even if India win the Asia Cup, I don't think the Indian fans will be going gaga over the current squad. There will be huge hue and cry of people like KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer etc, continue to get ignored. This not our best X1 and all Indian fans know it.

 

[WengerOut]

If you think about it, Dhoni is not so bad with Kohli as captain. Kohli does not have tactical ability - so Dhoni has to be there to help.

Yeah, when we are batting, Dhoni s tactical analysis will certainly help.