Showing posts with label munaf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label munaf. Show all posts

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Why Again?

I thought Pujara would be there in the test series against England....But the luck was not with him....

I told my self then "Don't worry...he will surely be there in the test squad against New Zeland"..... I am once again disappointed as he was left out once again....

What the hell are the selectors thinking?....He has been very unlucky not to be selected even when he is scoring heavily in almost every match...

Pujara should have been selected in place of M Vijay...Dinesh Karthik can open the innings in the absence of one of the regular openers....So I think M Vijay as the reserve opener is not a good choice...

And also Sreesanth in place Munaf Patel should have been the right choice...And the team has only one left arm seamer(Zaheer)...There should have been another left arm bowler...May be RP Singh is the right choice...

Coming to the ODI team, Uthappa would have been a right choice ahead of Dinesh Karthik..

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Was the selection good?

Indian selectors, on Jan 18th, announced the squad that tours Sri Lanka in Jan-Feb 09. Out of Ravindra Jadeja, Pujara, Rahane and D Kulakarni who performed well in recently concluded Ranji Trophy, only Jadeja earned a place in the 15-member Indian squad. Dhoni, Sehwag, Sachin, Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj, Zaheer and Ishant are sure selections.

It's a little unfortunate that Kohli wasn't selected despite his good performance. Badrinath is another unlucky one. He lacks the support to perform..Although he had given chances, he did not get a chance to bat most of the times.

Pathan brothers, Raina, Ojha and Munaf have retained their place. Praveen Kumar, who was left out for ODI series against England, has been recalled. A hamstring injury had ruled out Harbhajan Singh's selection.

I am eagerly waiting to see Uthappa back in the team who has been in good form..

The lineup is good but there are some questions to be answered.

Harbhajan was fit during the 2nd test against England and he hasn't played a match after that test. How and when was he injured?

Why are there two left-arm spinners in the squad? There is no right arm spinner in the squad. Either Piyush Chawla or Amit Mishra should have been selected.

Dhaval kulkarni could have been given a chance. He was the highest wicket taker along with Jadeja in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy. He should have been selected ahead of Irfan Pathan/Praveen.

Why is Praveen selected as extra seamer? Why wasn't he selected for ODI series against England if he is considered a quality bowler?

Jadeja has been awesome at domestic level..let's see how he performs at international level....

Friday, October 17, 2008

India Vs Australia 2nd Test Preview

It's a bit disappointing that the first test match did not produce a result where the result was definitely possible. Both captains will now make sure that they won't repeat the mistakes of the first test.

The biggest question now is 'What will be the India's team composition for Mohali test?'. Will India stick to 2 spinners on a pitch that assists pacers or will India play 3 seamers and a spinner?

Though Kumble said he is fit to play in the second test, the suspence over Kumble's appearance in the 2nd test continues. We have to wait for the decision till the match starts. If India wants to play 3 seamers and a spinner, it would be a better choice to rest Kumble and bring in Munaf. Kumble can be dangerous if the pitch supports him. But on a pitch that assists seamers, it's better Kumble takes rest. Harbhajan has a good record against Australia. He performed with the bat also in the first test. Munaf Patel is a talented bowler who can swing and cut his deliveries. This promising right arm fast bowler is known for his pace reverse swing and deadly yorkers. He bowled well in the match against Delhi in the Irani Cup. Munaf took 7 wickets against England on his Test debut here at Mohali in 2006. Munaf's inclusion will definitely boost the Indian pace strength.

The other possibilities for India would be
1. Unchanged playing XI
2. Drop Ghambir, bring in Munaf, let Dravid and Sehwag open. If the pitch assists the spinners on the last 2 days this will be a better option to play 3 seamers and 2 spinners.


Coming to Australian side, Stuart Clark is ruled of the the second test because of an elbow injury.
It opens the test doors for Peter Siddle's debut. His consistent performance earned him a place in the test squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008/09. This might be the only change in the Australian team for the second test.