Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Sanity Prevails

Some sanity has been restored to India's cricket selection with the announcement of the side picked for the Test series with Australia in October.

Cheteshwar Pujara is perhaps the most promising Test batsman to have emerged on the scene in a long while, and I believe that he is destined for greatness if he stays fit. I expect that he will be the mainstay of the Indian Test batting line up after the departure of the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar. It is ironic that Pujara won selection after some decent performances in the IPL last year. He is a batsman in the classical Test cricket mould - he is willing to stay at the wicket for long periods of time, has excellent technique and a good range of scoring shots all around the wicket. It is astonishing that Yuvraj Singh was persisted with for so long, while Puraja cooled his heels.

Zaheer, Ishant and Sreesanth are our best pace bowling options in Test cricket. Ishant and Sreesanth are aggressive, wicket taking bowlers who will risk occassional punishment in chasing wickets. Sreesanth is not afraid to pitch the ball up, and is willing to be driven straight or through the covers, a huge virtue for a swing bowler. The Indian selectors frequently pick Sreesanth and Ishant for the 50-over format, and these guys promptly lose their confidence after one or two 0-for-55 or 2-for-65 performances. Please, please give these two guys some stability in the Test team, while keeping them away from the shorter formats. Zaheer Khan, if fit, is a perfect foil for either one of these guys, with his hit-the-deck, left-arm style.

Unfortunately our spin bowling department is the weakest we have seen in decades. We are no longer producing attacking, wicket-taking spinners due to an overdose of the shorter forms of the game. The name of the game is to keep runs down. It is quite sad that England and New Zealand have better spinners than India! Under the circumstances we seem to have picked the best available talent for the Test side.

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