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16th November 2008, 09:04 AM
#1
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
••• Young Guns Of Indian Cricket •••
Indian Test Batting Middle Order Replacement Race...
Discuss..
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...1800&AppName=1
THE RACE BEGINS
Sourav Ganguly’s exit has created a vacancy in the Indian middle order. The next Test might still be a few weeks away, but the fight has already begun among the many contenders. Yuvraj Singh has made a strong statement in the first One-dayer itself. TOI looks at the looming battle
K Shriniwas Rao I TNN
Let us assume that it will be a waste of time for India to wait for another afternoon at Lord’s, when a batsman brushing aside rumours of his being a political selection, will thump a glorious hundred. We’ll also take into account that perhaps no cricketer will manage to rile the Aussies and English in such a manner that they’ll end up dedicating chapters on him. Let us even say this: maybe there won’t be another time ever when a captain, the most successful one at that, will some day get sacked, and will return to make the comeback of a lifetime. All of this was a script meant for Sourav Ganguly and let’s not bother finding who wrote it.
Instead, we’ll focus on the present. Now that Ganguly’s gone and the batting order vacant with a spot so luminously held, it is time for a replacement.
And, as mentioned above, as filling Ganguly’s shoes, per se, wouldn’t be possible, let’s just take a look at the fiercely competing younger lot and try and find a few names who can take guard.
Consider the One-day line-up first. Ganguly at the top of the order, after he first opened in 1996, became a force to reckon with. At an average of 73.59, 19 of his 22 centuries and 58 of his 72 half-centuries came as No. 1 or 2 — a total of 9,146 runs from 236 innings. India may now have Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag manning those positions, and with Sachin Tendulkar around, there could be little to worry. But as much as we ought not to worry, it’s pretty much exciting to look around.
Virat Kohli, the Delhi opener and India’s Under-19 captain, comes to mind and so does Tanmay Shrivastav, who opens for Uttar Pradesh. There’s Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay too, whose recent exploits including a double in the Ranji opener, saw him win the Test cap. Among other names, Mumbai’s Ajinkya Rahane and Hyderabad’s Ravi Teja too stand out.
“Let’s not compare somebody starting now with Ganguly. It will be unfair to the youngster and unfair to Ganguly. He’s one of India’s all-time greats,’’ says former batsman and selector Gundappa Viswanath, who picked the left-hander again in 1996 when he was 24 years old.
Fine, it’s blasphemous to compare Ganguly. But it is fair enough if we’re looking at the batting order to settle, considering that in the Test scheme of things, a replacement is being sought too. Among the many names that come to mind immediately, a couple of them have already won their India caps and are doing fine — Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina easily being the front-runners.
When Raina batted the way he did in the Asia Cup recently held at Karachi’s National Stadium, it was Zaheer Abbas who urgently took note of his style and temperament. The hundred against Hong Kong may have been swept aside as an innings against an opposition of particularly weak quality but Abbas remembers it for particular reasons.
“The confidence with which he stepped out of the crease and lofted the ball over longon and mid-wicket reminded me of Ganguly in full-flow. The opposition might have been weak but still, it was a One-day International. In fact, that innings helped
him gain a lot moreconfidence for
the rest of the series,’’ says Abbas. Raina ended as the second highest scorer of the
tournament after
Sanath Jayasuriya.
Raina’s showing in Pakistan came post an impressive Ranji season, when after being dropped from India’s One-day squad, the 22-year-old managed to finish as the fifthhighest run-getter at an average of 49. “When he’s in form, he gives a lot of confidence to the batting order,’’ says his Uttar Pradesh skipper Mohammad Kaif.
Right behind Raina, maybe richer in style quotient, is Mumbai youngster Sharma. The less said the better about this right-hander who, from Vengsarkar to Srikkanth and all those who’ve been in that chief selector’s chair, has drawn constant praise. “He’s in a different league,’’ says Kiran More, the man first responsible for dropping Ganguly.
Lastly, there’s Cheteshwar Pujara, the 20-year-old, who is threatening to make his way in with three triple-hundreds in a span of 24 days. Says Srikkanth, “Pujara’s shown his ability to stay at the wicket for long and that’s the most important ingredient to a Test prospect.’’ More, who has seen the young boy at various stages of his budding career, feels it’s the right time to give him a go.
These names stand tall for a Test opportunity too, perhaps in the near future too. But before them there are the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Subramanium Badrinath who have been in the queue for a longer time. Ganguly’s Test figures (he played 100 matches, captained in 49, won 21) are mammoth, even if you don’t look at his 7,712 runs. So it’s important to remind ourselves again that they’ll never beeasy shoes to fill. However, to simply underline what we’ve said, it’s tough to ignore that there’s talent in abundance too.
YUVRAJ SINGH
Off the radar for the past six months, Friday’s blast in Rajkot that pulverised England no end, brought back to mind the kind of talent he possesses. Yuvraj lost his ODI vice-captaincy to Virender Sehwag recently and is still hungry for a Test berth. Just a little more consistency in his contributions could settle it all for him. THE CONTENDERS
By the look of it, there are as many as eight batsmen who can fill into Sourav Ganguly’s big shoes in the middle-order. All of them are in great form, and possess oustanding talent. The ‘battle for a berth’ has just begun...
M VIJAY
The Tamil Nadu opener impressed one and all with his fine performances in the Challengers,
where he scored 164
runs in three games,
at an average of
54.66. He followed
that up with a double hundred against Maharashtra in Nashik that led to his Test debut in Nagpur. With Virender Sehwag, he gave solid starts in both the innings, scoring 33 and 41. What has impressed the experts is his attitude. His fielding too is very good.
SURESH RAINA
The talented Uttar Pradesh lefthander was a favourite of former India coach Greg Chappell. His
strong performances
against England in
the 5-1 ODI series
triumph at home in
2006 even made the English media compare him with Aussie ODI great Michael Bevan. His terrific fielding adds to his utility. A knee injury and lack of form then sent him into oblivion, before the IPL, where he scored 421 runs at a strike-rate of 142.71 for Chennai, got him back into the team.
VIRAT KOHLI
Was surprisingly picked up by then chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar for the ODIs in Sri Lanka, and the Delhi
lad did nothing to
ridicule that decision,
opening the innings
in place of Virender
Sehwag and scoring 159 runs in five games as India won the series 3-2. A 197 in the Nissar Trophy and 105 in the tour game against the Aussies means he’s in great touch. Add to it the other feather in his cap — he captained the side that won the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year.
S BADRINATH
Thanks to the new selection committee, the Tamil Nadu batsman, who was being ignored as
consistently as he
was scoring, finally
found himself in the
Test squad. By sheer
logic, he should be the first to fill Ganguly’s berth, but such is the competition that Badrinath would have to again come up with big scores to push his case. In the last three Ranji seasons, he’s been one of the most consistent scorers.
CHETESHWAR PUJARA
The Saurashtra batsman has turned into somewhat of a run machine this year, having rustled up three triple-hundreds within a span of a month. Two of them came in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy for his state Under-22 team (308 against Mumbai and 386 against Maharashtra), and the last one (302 not out) came against Orissa in Ranji Trophy. Was highest run-getter of the 2007-08 Ranji season, with 807 runs from eight matches.
ROBIN UTHAPPA
Rose to stardom after the T20 World Cup, but Uthappa has managed to do little since. Mahendra Singh
Dhoni persisted with
him for a long while,
till it became evident
that Uthappa had lost
his touch and gained too much weight. This season, it seems Uthappa is looking for redemption. He was the Man of the Tournament in Challengers (216 runs at an average of 72 in three games), and slammed 131 in the first Ranji game this season.
ROHIT SHARMA
Rose to stardom at the Under-19 level, three years ago, and has steadily progressed ever since.
During the tri-series in
Australia earlier this
year, Sharma played
many crucial knocks
and his stock further rose with the stint at Deccan Chargers in IPL. Though his team flopped big time, Sharma’s knocks stood out. Began with a ton in the Ranji this season. Considering his talent and hearing what selectors usually say, he’s definitely India’s next big bet.
"Sehwag is the most destructive modern cricketer, There is no doubt abt it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless"-Viv Richards
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16th November 2008 09:04 AM
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16th November 2008, 09:07 AM
#2
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
CHETESHWAR PUJARA
The Saurashtra batsman has turned into somewhat of a run machine this year, having rustled up
three triple-hundreds within a span of a month. Two of them came in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy for his state Under-22 team (308 against Mumbai and 386 against Maharashtra), and the last one (302 not out) came against Orissa in Ranji Trophy. Was highest run-getter of the 2007-08 Ranji season, with 807 runs from eight matches.
"Sehwag is the most destructive modern cricketer, There is no doubt abt it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless"-Viv Richards
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16th November 2008, 10:08 AM
#3
Senior Member
Platinum Hubber
Of what I have seen Rohit Sharma is technically the Best. No two thinkings about it. If he proves his consistency like Gambhir he will be the best replacement for Ganguly.
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16th November 2008, 11:27 AM
#4
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
Originally Posted by
ajithfederer
Of what I have seen Rohit Sharma is technically the Best. No two thinkings about it. If he proves his consistency like Gambhir he will be the best replacement for Ganguly.
Yeah, but he is bit lethargic.
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16th November 2008, 11:44 AM
#5
suresh raina would be the right choice.he has been consistent in all forms of game he has been played till now and most importantly he is commited to whatever he does which is very important in test cricket.
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17th November 2008, 08:11 AM
#6
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
I think dravid is going to be rested (? ) for the eng test series.... Dravid is playing ranji matches...he was out for 39 against A.P.. His captain Utthappa scored a ton 133...
If dravid is not going play then two of the above players wil get chance in the team....
"Sehwag is the most destructive modern cricketer, There is no doubt abt it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless"-Viv Richards
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19th November 2008, 06:45 AM
#7
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...2201&AppName=1
Pujara is scoring heavily in every match...Selectors should consider him...
"Sehwag is the most destructive modern cricketer, There is no doubt abt it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless"-Viv Richards
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19th November 2008, 07:58 AM
#8
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
டெஸ்ட் அணியில் கங்குலி இடத்தில் யுவராஜ்சிங்
ஸ்ரீகாந்த் சூசக தகவல்
இந்திய டெஸ்ட் அணியில் கங்குலி இடத்திற்கு யுவராஜ்சிங் தேர்வு செய்யப்படுவார் என்று தேர்வு குழு தலைவர் ஸ்ரீகாந்த் மறைமுகமாக தெரிவித்தார்.
கங்குலி ஓய்வு
இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் அணியின் முன்னாள் கேப்டன் சவுரவ் கங்குலி ஆஸ்திரேலியாவுக்கு எதிரான டெஸ்ட் தொடருடன் சமீபத்தில் ஓய்வு பெற்றார். இதையடுத்து அவரது இடத்தை பிடிக்க பல வீரர்கள் மத்தியில் போட்டா போட்டி காணப்படுகிறது. யுவராஜ்சிங், சுரேஷ் ரெய்னா, ரோகித் ஷர்மா, பத்ரிநாத் என ஒரு பட்டியல் நீண்டு கொண்டே போகிறது. அவருக்கு பதிலாக யார் தேர்வு செய்யப்படுவார் என்ற எதிர்பார்ப்பு நிலவி வந்த நிலையில் இந்திய அணியின் தேர்வு குழு தலைவர் ஸ்ரீகாந்த் முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைத்து விட்டார். யுவராஜ்சிங் அந்த இடத்திற்கு பொருத்தமானவர் என்பதை சூசகமாக குறிப்பிட்டு உள்ளார்.
டெஸ்டில் நிலையான இடத்தை பிடிக்க போராடி வரும் அதிரடி மன்னன் யுவராஜ்சிங் இங்கிலாந்துக்கு எதிரான முதல் 2 ஒரு நாள் போட்டிகளில் முறையே 138 மற்றும் 118 ரன்கள் குவித்து தேர்வு குழுவினரின் கவனத்தை தன்பக்கம் திருப்பி இருக்கிறார். இங்கிலாந்துக்கு எதிரான 2 டெஸ்ட் கொண்ட தொடரில் விளையாடும் இந்திய அணி விரைவில் தேர்வு செய்யப்பட உள்ள நிலையில் தேர்வு குழு தலைவர் ஸ்ரீகாந்த் கொல்கத்தா பத்திரிகை ஒன்றுக்கு அளித்த பேட்டியில் கூறியிருப்பதாவது:&
யுவராஜ் Ôமேட்ச் வின்னர்Õ
ஒரு நாள் போட்டிகளில் இந்தியாவை வெற்றிக்கு அழைத்து செல்லும் Ôமேட்ச் வின்னராகÕ யுவராஜ்சிங் விளங்கி வருகிறார். அதே போல் டெஸ்ட் போட்டியிலும் அவர் மேட்ச் வின்னராக ஜொலிக்க முடியும் என்று நான் எப்போதிலிருந்தே நம்பி வருகிறேன். அதற்குரிய திறமை அவரிடம் இருக்கிறது.
கங்குலி இடத்துக்கு நிறைய பேர் போட்டியிட்டாலும், அதில் யுவராஜ்சிங் தான் முன்னணியில் இருக்கிறார் என்பதை நிச்சயமாக சொல்ல முடியும்.
யுவராஜ்சிங் திறமை வாய்ந்த வீரர். இங்கிலாந்துடன் முதல் ஆட்டத்தில் சதம் அடித்த ராஜ்கோட் மைதானம் பேட்டிங்குக்கு சாதகமானது. ஆனால் இந்தூர் பிட்ச் அப்படியில்லை. அது மெதுவாக காணப்பட்டது. அப்படிப்பட்ட மைதானத்திலும் அவர் நிலைத்து நின்று ஆடி ரன்கள் குவித்தார். இதன் மூலம் எந்த சூழலிலும் தன்னால் அணியை வெற்றிக்கு அழைத்து செல்ல முடியும் என்பதை நிரூபித்து இருக்கிறார்.
வெங்சர்க்கார் கருத்து பற்றி...
யுவராஜ்சிங் சிறந்த வீரர் தான். ஆனால் அவரால் டெஸ்டில் தொடர்ந்து பிரகாசிக்க முடியவில்லை என்று முந்தைய தேர்வு குழு தலைவர் வெங்சர்க்கார் கூறியது பற்றி கேட்கிறீர்கள். ஆனால் நான் அப்படி நினைக்கவில்லை. யுவராஜ்சிங் போன்ற வீரர்கள் ஏதாவது இரண்டொரு இன்னிங்சில் சிறப்பாக ஆடிவிட்டால் அதன் பிறகு டெஸ்டில் ரன் குவிக்க தொடங்கி விடுவார்கள்.
இவ்வாறு ஸ்ரீகாந்த் கூறியுள்ளார்.
26 வயதான யுவராஜ்சிங் இதுவரை 23 டெஸ்ட் போட்டிகளில் விளையாடி 3 சதம் உள்பட 1050 ரன்களும் (சராசரி 32.81), 219 ஒரு நாள் போட்டிகளில் 6397 ரன்களும் (சராசரி 37.19) சேர்த்து இருக்கிறார்.
"Sehwag is the most destructive modern cricketer, There is no doubt abt it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless"-Viv Richards
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25th November 2008, 06:50 AM
#9
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
Pujara scored a big hundred again... 176..
He is in supreme form...
He deserves a place in Indian test team...
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...2102&AppName=1
"Sehwag is the most destructive modern cricketer, There is no doubt abt it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless"-Viv Richards
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25th November 2008, 08:02 AM
#10
Senior Member
Veteran Hubber
"Sehwag is the most destructive modern cricketer, There is no doubt abt it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless"-Viv Richards
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