England Home T20s - India win 2-1

Another series for him - not one with youngsters like Kedar but with veterans like Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni winding the clock back - vintage performance that one can go miles to see. Bumrah, Nehra and Chahal shared the spoils with the ball to complete a 2-1 of the T20 series, reflecting the closeness of the teams.

England Home tests - Interesting high-scoring draw to end first test

The first test saw scores of 500+ being scored and predictably ended in a draw. But, it was interesting too. No one expected the English spinners to collect so many wickets, though the Indians also bowled decently. All in all, it is a four test series remaining now. My prediction is 2-2.Can India go one better and win the series? Wait and watch this space!

Image Courtesy:Cricinfo.com website

NZ Home ODIs - India seal series with crushing win

190 runs. That was the difference between the two teams in Vizag. Without major contributions with the bat by Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni. No Ashwin or Jadeja as well ( enjoying a rest in the midst of a hectic home season). Amit Mishra it was, who became the nemesis with his guile and turn. The Black Caps tried their best but chasing a difficult targat against the Indian spinners was beyond their reach. SIMPLE AS that. But, well tried Kane and team!

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo website

NZ Home ODIs - easy chase after bowlers trick

The bowlers restricted NZ to a target that was easily chased down. With Kohli's good form, it was just a formality. But, MSD should be happy with his bowlers trick to restrict the Black Caps in the morning.

NZ Home Series - Indian team selected

Image Courtesy: espncricinfo.com Website

After easily winning the overseas tour in West Indies, India come back home to host the Black Caps later this month. The Indian team was announced by the selection committee.The last day of the Duleep Trophy is still to be played as the squad was announced. Also, the India A team has to come back from Down Under - the selection could have been timed slightly better is the view. From the Duleep Trophy, what did we learn?

1. Cheteshwara Pujara has no rival in domestic cricket. But why is he given the second-hand treatment?Check what the coach thinks of him.
2. There is a big chasm of difference between Ashwin and his near competitor ( Pervez Rasool).
3. Similarly, Amit Mishra is not being pushed hard enough by Karn Sharma or Shreyas Gopal
4. Though there are options like Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, the selectors wished to retain Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma based on potential and performances.
5. Anil Kumble will continue with Virat Kohli the same plan that MSD had successfully pursued at home soil earlier - look at the squad for an indication of the pitches we can see.But, how will Kohli as captain fare versus the master tactician MSD?Tough question and challenge!
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2016 USA Tour - West Indies win series 1-0

Despite conceding more than 100 runs less thanks to good bowling performances by Amit Mishra, Ashwin, India lost the series as wet outfield resulted in abandonment of play. By virtue of win in the first match, Windies won the series 1-0.

Image Courtesy: espncricinfo site

Sri Lanka series - amazing turnaround for hosts

The Indians started the test well - winning probably five of the first six sessions of the day. But, over the next five, they probably shared one session - overpowered by the performances of Chandimal and Herath with the bat and ball.

The match should have put the Indian management under dilemma regarding its five-bowler theory, especially when they have batsmen out of form (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to an extent) and bowlers out of touch (Harbhajan Singh and Varun Aaron). When the rest of the batsmen and bowlers do not put their hands up to backup the others, the performance was not good enough.

Ashwin and Mishra were the architects of the bowling performance in the first innings (Ishant and Aaron had provided the support in the beginning) while Dhawan and Kohli scored centuries to take India to a big lead. The middle and latter order batsmen did not contribute much to take the lead to an unbeatable one (except Saha to an extent).

The umpiring was also to be blamed for India's decline - two decisions went against them (those of Thirumanne and more importantly Chandimal) that could have finished the match on Day 3. The saga of poor umpiring in Lanka against India is not a recent trend - despite independent umpires, the tragedy continues.

What should the Indians do next? Return back to four good bowlers instead of five decent ones - Ishant, Ashwin and Mishra should continue while the fourth bowler should be Bhuvi - despite his lack of pace, the bowler can hod his line and length and restrain the scoring rate. This was something the bowlers failed to do in the second innings.

The fourth innings was the most tragic one - the Indians could not face the Lankan bowling spearheaded by Rangana Herath. The Indians showed that their performance in the first innings was an exception thanks to the heroics of Dhawan and Kohli.

What should standout from this match was the catching of both teams - it was tremendous to see the catches and Rahane was exceptional to catch eight in the match.

WI 2014 ODIs - India equalize series with amazing turnaround

It was indeed an amazing turnaround at Delhi. India were close to another loss in the ODI series despite putting a decent score on the board.

On the batting front, India would have been happy to see Kohli's return of form (of course he was helped by the demotion in the batting order to a certain extent - he didnt have to play the new ball much here). Suresh Raina sparkled like he has been doing recently - his recent consistency has been amazing. Here, he continued the scoring when Kohli was settling down at the crease. The foundation laid was good for MSD to launch the final assault (71 in the last 10 overs). Virat, on the other hand, scored the same number of runs as Raina but needed a higher number of deliveries to do so. One cannot say that he was back to his form but he did all the right things to stay at the wicket and score a fifty. Dhoni did what he usually does - rotate the strike to keep the scorecard ticking and then launching into the bowling at the death.

Those who knew the Kotla wicket were aware of the low bounce that the pitch would offer for the chasing team. Dhoni knew it and the Windies were aware of the same. A good start by their openers meant that the Indian bowlers were on the backfoot. Amit Mishra was taken to the cleaners in the first ODI but here he came back with a vengeance. Despite conceding four sixes of his bowling, Mishra gave 16 more runs in his full quota but importantly scalping the important wicket of Pollard and Ramdin. Two maidens to Marlon Samuels meant that the Windies were strangled and the asking run-rate was growing. This led to Dwayne Smith's dismissal and then the wickets tumbled one after the other (eight wickets fell for 45 runs in less than 11 overs). Shami and Jadeja then came into the match, claiming regular wickets to hasten the end.

One-all and three matches to play. India will be expected to win now with the Windies tasting defeat and still hurting from the pay-issues. Let us see what happens next.

T20 World Cup - India maintain a clean record

India maintained a clean slate in the league phase of the T20 World Cup thanks to an overwhelming victory over fancied Australia. Despite being in a precarious situation when they batted first, the Indians recovered mainly through Yuvraj Singh and posted a target that was much beyond the Aussies reach. The final margin of victory should give you an idea of the Indian's dominance.

India achieved multiple things as part of this victory - they batted first and managed to defend it easily on these conditions (as against the previous matches when they chased down targets). Their middle order got valuable practice against quality opposition in match-scenario. Their only out-of-form batsman, Yuvraj Singh, came back roaring with a score that put the Indians in dominance. The other replacement, Ajinkya Rahane, did well in his stint but personally I dont think he will be in the playing eleven in the next match.

The bowlers continued their dominance with Ashwin and Amit Mishra leading the way. Mohit Sharma came in for Shami and did a great job in restricting runs scored while taking the dangerous wicket of Shane Watson. Bhuvi continued his good job with the ball and overall, it was a perfect job for the bowlers. The match also saw some good catches in the deep by the Indians - the fielding coach has been doing some good work in the background that ensured that the fielders did not drop any during the Aussie chase.

T20 World Cup - India maintain clean slate against Pakistan

India won the first match of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan, maintaining its clean record in the World Cup. Thanks to its spinners, India got into the fifth gear early in the match and did not take its foot off the pedal at all. The pace bowlers also did a good job, except the last over of the match when Shami got clobbered. Overall, Dhoni didnt have any complaints against his bowlers, especially when the opposition got to a total of 130 only.

Fielding was aggressive as was the catching. The Pakistan team was at loss against the Indians and the recent Asia Cup win was a thing of the past. Batsmen came and went back quickly, without being able to gauge the pitch nor the bowling. Amit Mishra was under fire coming into the match but quickly recovered to bowl a great spell with his mix of deliveries. Ashwin was miserly but Jadeja (not unusual in the recent days) was slightly more expensive than his wont. Dhoni provided Yuvraj the option to roll his arm over than Raina - proved to be a wrong option. Yuvraj didnt do well in the match - surely signs are that his best days are behind him. Might be a good option to pick Stuart Binny (for the additional bowling option) but Dhoni is known to continue with his team for few more matches.

The batsmen were never under pressure, especially the openers. The target being a smallish one, they had the luxury of settling down before going for the big shots. Rohit hit a four and six to ease the pressure while Dhawan upset Ajmal in his first over by thrashing him for three fours in an over. Dhawan was never settled in his innings but managed to score a 30. Rohit was also not sure about his batting but managed to score when required to keep his strike rate more than 100.

Kohli and Raina got together and managed to achieve the target without any pressure. Look at the way the chart keeps moving down and down during the partnership. Raina has been looking good after his dropping from the national team - this format seems to be bringing the best out of him. Kohli was his usual, chasing down targets at ease. Overall, an easy victory over a dangerous opponent.

Next up is West Indies. Once again, the focus will be on spinners with Ashwin expected to open against Gayle. Dhoni knows them well enough to plot their downfall. Let us hope the run continues longer.

Asia Cup - Bronze for India

If it was an Olympic games, India would have won the bronze medal but alas! It is the Asia Cup and only the winner matters. India is not even in contention for the Cup and that is a fact for the last two editions, not just this one alone.

Once Dhoni pulled out of the competition due to a side strain (no one minded it as he needed good rest before the IPL, sorry the World T20). It was a good chance for all of us to look at Virat Kohli as captain. No one was surprised that the team's performance continued on similar vein despite the change in captaincy.  Of course, the captain can do wonders if his team can also put in the relevant efforts, right?

The Indian team did good in bits and parts but that was not enough against the efficient Lankans or the maverick Pakis. Even with the last wicket standing, India dropped the catch in the Sri Lanka match. Afridi showed that one cannot write him off - not sure if he himself knew what would be the result of the two sixes he hit finally.

One good point for India was that of Amit Mishra. How many times Amit has to prove himself? He showed that he had the tools to make anyone dance to his tune. With couple of hat-tricks to his name in IPL, he must be hoping to be in the playing eleven for the World T20. Definitely, it is a chance for Ashwin to be rested for the shortest version and give chances to Amit.

The fast bowlers continued to bowl and get thrashed - there were signs that the yorkers were coming back into fashion and it was good to see Bhuvi get it consistently right. Shami has to be rested so that he can regain his consistency and accuracy for the English tour.

Raina and Yuvraj will be back for the World T20 and so will Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron. How many players will actually play in one match of the 15 selected? My guess will be 12 - three will be just by-standers (Binny, Mohit and Varun). Lets hope India gets a bronze in the T20 atleast.

IPL4 Match 62 - Pune lose to Deccan's bowlers

The bowling lineup of Deccan Chargers is impressive - Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha. A supporting cast of Daniel Christian and JP Duminy were more than a handful for Pune Warriors. The target was easy for the Chargers batsmen to chase down.

IPL4 Match 2 - Rajasthan Royals start with a win

Rajasthan Royals defeated the Deccan Chargers comfortably. Their batting carried too many punches for the good bowling of Deccan. The Chargers have Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra in their arsenal - handful for any team on any wicket. But, even such a unit needs runs on the board, that was not put up by their batsmen. Rajasthan was led well in the bowling department by Siddharth Trivedi (a bowler who seems to display his best under Shane Warne).

The chart to the right, shows the ups and downs in the chase till the 16th onwards when it became easy. Ross Taylor and Johan Botha give the top-order  a solid look for Rajasthan. Interesting times ahead!

India's lineup for SriLanka - still unsure about bowling

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India finished their only warm-up match against a Sri Lankan team today, before their first test match.

The batting attack seems to be settled with Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman & Yuvraj occupying the first six slots. Yuvraj made his case count with a half-century in the match even as others (excluding Gambhir) disappointed.

The bowling line-up, though, is a different issue - the main strike bowlers are missing, thanks to injuries to Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth. The opening bowlers will be Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel. Mithun being too inexperienced, will be left out from the playing eleven. Ishant had match-practice in the warm-up match while Munaf could not make it to the match in time. Whether the bowlers will make an impact - in fact, it is quite challenging for the bowlers to take early wickets also. The performance in the match was not anything to evince any confidence in the attack.

In the spin department, Harbhajan was down with fever this week and hence didnt play in the lone match - SriLanka is his favorite venue in general - hopefully, he will be able to make a mark. The Indian team is looking at him to take the lead role for taking 20 wickets. Pragyan Ojha seems to have edged out Amit Mishra for the supporting role, having taken more number of wickets. Of course, most of them might have come at a time when the Lankans were trying to score quickly but nevertheless, the attack looks weak.

Both teams would struggle to take 20 wickets and therein lies the Argentina-like strategy that India should take (for lack of other choices). You score-We score more. What happened to Argentina was visible in the World Cup 2010. Will the Indians succeed? Time will tell.

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Yuvraj back for Sri Lanka test matches - Why?

Image by Dhammika Heenpella / Images of Sri Lanka via Flickr

In the test squad announced for the Sri Lanka series, Yuvraj Singh makes a comeback. Is it because of a lack of choice or was it based on a century he scored for his company in a minor match earlier this week (to show his return to form)?

Whatever it might be, test cricket is definitely not his cup of tea, even when he is usually in good form. Now, with the series being played in Sri Lanka against the likes of Murali, Mendis and Herath, he will definitely be uncomfortable with the thought. Further, there is a doubt whether Yuvraj thinks of himself as a test player. Doubtful. Of course, if the selectors had not selected him, there would have been a furore but that fact should not have influenced the selection in anyway.

With the Fab-Three (Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman) in the middle-order and MSD at No.7, there is one slot available for selection.

What were the other choices available to the selectors? Suresh Raina is present in the squad. Murali Vijay is also available as a backup to the openers (he has also shown how comfortable he is at No.3). Looking forward, the selectors might have selected Badrinath in the squad in place of W.Saha (as they did in the ODI series, they could have gone without a reserve keeper and asked for one only when required).

Did the selectors fear that the selection of Karthik (as reserve keeper) or Badrinath (as reserve middle-order batsmen) will cause everyone to accuse selection committee head, Srikkanth, of bias towards his home state? Rohit Sharma could have been given a chance in the squad in place of Raina for he is definitely the better suited in terms of technique in the longer version. 

In the bowling department, the first three selections in the spin department - Harbhajan, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha - pick themselves. The new ball options is taken care by Zaheer, Sreesanth and Ishant. Yes, there is consistency in the attack from the previous test series but what have the latter two done in the meanwhile. Only IPL matches!!! Could they have not been sent to the A tour to England? What were the other choices then? Ashish Nehra - why not? The team does not seem to be inclined to choose Nehra for the longer version of the game. He would have been handful for the Lankans with his pace and bounce.

Anyway, the team leaves the shore this time with the best option to win a test series in Sri Lanka - hopefully the batsmen and bowlers fire together to bring the series win. All the Best, India.

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Bench strength - did anyone say?

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The No.2 team in ODI cricket was supposed to be so strong that everyone considered them the team in form and expected them to have a strong bench as well. Earlier, everyone (including me) used to think that the average Ranji team (Mumbai or Tamil Nadu) would easily beat a Zimbabwe team in ODI. No longer.

All myths have been broken, thanks to a spirited effort from the Zimbabwe team, determined to prove their mark.

The first match of the Tri-series saw a team that was woeful in running between the wickets, nervous in their stroke-play, tentative in bowling and average overall. Whether the young guns were interested to make their mark is a question. The Indian cap was given to them a bit sooner and hence, one feels that they did not want it so much as the others. Suresh Raina did not have the Power Presence of a MSD and his limited bowling options did not offer him any respite.

Among the bowlers, only Vinay Kumar showed some glimpses of his talent, thanks to his slower ball (that got Coventry). The others are not in the same league as the other also-rans (Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh). Of course, it is not to say that they should not be given a chance - but, quite evidently the debutants did not grab the chances. Rohit Sharma and to an extent, Ravinder Jadeja did well in the batting department while Amit Mishra shone in the bowling.

The Indian team would do well to settle their nerves (if any) for the next match since they are against the much more powerful Lankans in the next match. Of course, there will be no complacency (for they are the underdogs now). There needs to be more determination in the batting and desperation on the field. Bowling will remain the weak link, that can be worked around by electing to chase.

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IPL3's contribution towards World T20

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IPL3 is over but the T20 season has not finished yet. The World T20 is all set to start and one can see the frenzy once again. This year, it is in the Caribbean islands where spin is expected to play a big role.

Let us see who are the players from IPL3 who can benefit from BCCI's adventure. There are quite a few Indian players who did well in IPL3 but they are not in the XV selected for the World Cup - the biggest name of them all, Sachin Tendulkar. The others who might feel unlucky will be 3 of the 4 active international players who have picked 20, 17, 12 wickets respectively - Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, R Ashwin. All 3 spinners and everyone who have played a major role in their IPL team's journey.

Dale Steyn, Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan, Muralitharan, Vinay Kumar are the others who have performed well (12, 13, 14, 13, 15 wickets respectively) with the ball - they will be turning out for their national team. South Africa, Sri Lanka and India will benefit by these bowlers as these bowlers will be in high confidence after their performance at the IPL.

Similarly, with the bat, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan played well and scored runs (by fours and sixes) at a very good strike-rate. These players might be feeling the heat of the IPL3 as well as the travel but high on confidence. Jayawardene will provide Sri Lanka with a good option for opening the batting while Jacques Kallis might tempt South Africa to follow the RCB model of opening the batting.

The other countries did not have their players contribute much to their IPL teams - maybe they might regain their intensity when they play for their nation. Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard did decently in the tournament, especially the latter. Australian national players mostly boycotted the tournament but ones like Warner, Watson and the Hussey brothers gained match practice (in fact, surprised to see Bollinger not in the squad). England's Collingwood, KP and Lumb must have gained invaluable experience from the Indian tournament. Of course, Pakistan, Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe did not benefit any iota from IPL - will they not do well? Let us see.

Hence, looking at these players and their performance, I would consider India, Sri Lanka, South Africa to get to the semi-finals. Of course, South Africa should work on their mental block of not getting to the finals of international tournaments. India and Sri Lanka both have good chances to win the tournament with their superior spinners (who are decent batsmen as well).

Let us see how the tournament pans out. Who is your favorite then?

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India look forward to the Eden for revenge

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Eden Gardens - the first memory of this ground was the 1987 World Cup Final that was held at this very ground - a brand new stadium was released to the public who occupied every inch of it during the final even when the match did not feature the host country.

The next memory of course, is the 281 of VVS Laxman - no Indian would probably forget this match for the determination, guts of the Indian fightback. VVS has made this ground his second home - his stats at this ground better than any other in India. Harbhajan will also like coming to the ground where he made magic against the visiting Aussies during the same 281-series.

Thanks to the politics that is common-place within BCCI, the test matches have been a very rare occurrence at this ground. One-day matches have returned and one is happy to see that a test match is played after 3 years. The last match was played recently between India and who else, Sri Lanka - Gambhir and Kohli scoring centuries each as India chased down a 310+ score successfully.

So, what can one expect to see in the 2nd (and strangely, the final test) match of the series? Ex-coach John Wright suggests that VVS be pushed to the No.3 slot - a good move which will have the best batsmen of the team occupying the first four spots in the lineup. With MS Dhoni coming in at No.7, the 2 relatively younger players (most probably Vijay and Badrinath) will occupy 5 and 6. So far, so good but what India will hope is for the players to fire all guns blazing. Win the toss, bat first and chalk up a big score in the first innings to put pressure on the Proteans.

Then, the bowlers need to come to the party. Zaheer and Sreesanth will have to swing the ball in conditions that might help them (the wind in the afternoon thanks to the Hooghly river might make things interesting for both sides). But, it is Harbhajan who has to come to the party in this test. He has to make a difference to the team with incisive spin - Pragyan Ojha seems set to make another replacement of Amit Mishra.

Last year matches at this ground saw huge scores being put up in the Ranji matches with no result at the end - Bengal playing against Saurashtra and Baroda. Will this test go that way as well? Do not think so. Spin will come to play during the 3rd and 4th day of the match - hopefully, India will take the steps required (as suggests their No.1 spot) to win the match and draw the series. Then, only can they claim to be rightfully No.1 team.

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Nagpur Post-mortem

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An interesting link on the day when India lost the first test at Nagpur against South Africa, while browsing hit my attention - especially this block of text

Winners become sinners when confidence turns into complacency and arrogance. They over-estimate their own invincibility and under-value mundane disciplines. Whenever someone feels on top over a long period of time, they are tempted to neglect the very fundamentals that helped them succeed in the first place. They might even start to feel that the rules don't apply to them.

The article was about Toyota's current issues but I felt that the Indian team would do well to read this article as well as introspect. If anyone thought that the Indians could face the No.2 ranked side in the world (having the No.1 ranked bowler), they needed to check their head first. The Indian think-tank also probably under-estimated the strength of the South African team (did they not remember the fact that India was all out for 76 in the last series in 2008) - If they did not forget, why did they not prepare for Steyn? One cannot plan against such a bowler - agreed. But, did they think they could get away with the practice they had prior to the test series?

Not to say that this was the only reason for the loss against South Africa. There were plenty of others as well.

• Luck - VVS being added to the team was not luck - it was bad planning. How come a player who was 50-60% fit on the eve of the match added to the fifteen?  Rohit Sharma getting injured on the morning of the match was purely bad luck. No one can dispute that!!! Saha must be thanking his stars that he was lucky to play one test match - something that many players in the yesteryears were not so fortunate.
• Injuries - The injury to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman obviously played a big role in the test match. The middle-order had no or minimal experience. Badri played a good innings in the first innings but gave it away in the second. Vijay had played well in the opportunities he had received so far - this was his first failure. This lad deserves another one or two chances.
• Bowling - Because of the attention Steyn received, the Indian bowlers might not face the heat but the truth was that the bowling was downright bad. Harbhajan and Amit Mishra bowled well in patches but not well together to take wickets. Ishant could not get any wickets at all - surely Sreesanth must be back in the next test match.

Will the Indians prepare a track for the South Africans like last time? Will we see the pitch of Eden Gardens take turn from the first session? Time will tell if the Indians draw the series to retain No.1 or go down to No.2.

So far, the selectors have changed their team by calling up Raina, Sreesanth and Dinesh Karthik - the best option to shore up the batting would be to hope VVS is fit again.

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India select their team - what could have been

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Indian selectors announced their squad today for the first test against South Africa at Nagpur. The injuries to Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth made the selectors choose other outsiders to the fifteen.

The team looks balanced with 4 pacers (Zaheer, Ishant, Tyagi, Mithun), 3 spinners (Harbhajan, Ojha, Amit Mishra), 2 keepers (Dhoni, Saha), 2 reserve batsmen (Vijay, Badrinath) and the other legends (Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Laxman).

A good selection in the given situation but what could have been better was to try out a pace-bowling allrounder. A Irfan Pathan, given his exploits in the domestic season, could have provided a better value to the team rather than a Badrinath or a Vijay alone. This position will become critical once India start travelling overseas. The players who can contribute with the ball, bowl slow and hence there is a need to have 3 pacers always. If only an Irfan Pathan can be added to the squad, he could give the team better balance like what Kallis or Flintoff for their sides. Of course, I am not trying to compare the players here but that is what can be possible. The option could have been tried out in the Bangladesh series but now the situation warrants a change and why not try this one.

Now, it looks like Laxman will come in place of Yuvraj and Dravid's place will be taken by Badrinath - reward for some good performances on the domestic circuit for a long period. If he performs, India would have found a good batsman. If not, it is time to move on to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey.

Vinay Kumar must have felt bad that he was not given a chance in the test team earlier than Mithun. If a pacer has to be given a chance (which the Nagpur pitch seems to suggest), Tyagi might be the first option for the think-tank as he has been in the 15 for some time now.

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