Tag: Cricket

The selectors have provided the Indian captain MS Dhoni many options in the One Day squad

The selectors have provided the Indian captain MS Dhoni many options in the One Day squad that they have picked for the series against the visiting South African team.

There is a seam bowling all rounder in Stuart Binny and there is also a spin bowling all rounder in Gurkeerat Mann who is uncapped at the international level at the moment.

Apart from that, the squad also contains six specialist bowlers out of which there are three spinners and three quickies.

Now, it’s up to Dhoni to decide what combination he wants to go with.

Dhoni, in all likelihood, would bat at no. 4 himself and Raina would take the crucial no. 6 position.

But, who would be slotted at no. 5 and no. 7?

If Dhoni reckons Binny is a good enough bowler to bowl his full quota, then he might go with a specialist batsman in the form of Ambati Rayudu at no. 5.

But, if the Indian captain has doubts over the bowling credentials of Binny, it opens the door for Gurkeerat who is a hard hitting batsman capable of bowling a bit of off spin.

Gurkeerat can be slotted just below Dhoni in the batting order with Raina and Binny following him and then the tail would start.

Leaving out Rayudu, however, would not be easy. The Hyderabad batsman has made his limited opportunities count. Even in Bangladesh, a couple of games that he played, he stitched a match winning partnership with Dhoni in one of them. Continue reading The selectors have provided the Indian captain MS Dhoni many options in the One Day squad

Virat Kohli might have been given the test captaincy of India

Virat Kohli might have been given the test captaincy of India, but, the BCCI has kept him under consideration for his on and off field behaviour and any act of arrogance in future might cost him big.

According to the reports, the way the Delhi player abused a media person during the World Cup, it did not go well with some of the board officials and if India had any other solid option for Dhoni’s replacement in test matches, Virat might have been denied the captaincy.

But, the fact is that Virat is the only option at present.

He and Ajinkya Rahane are the only two players whose places in the test team are certain.

As far as Rahane is concerned, he does not have any experience of captaincy at all. He has not captained at any level and he is not a natural leader either.

Virat, on the other hand, has got that leadership quality. His enthusiasm on the field is fantastic and he can encourage anyone.

That’s why, he has always been seen as future captain, but, very often, he tends to cross the fine line between aggression and arrogance.

Virat led India in two test matches in the Border-Gavaskar series recently and he was alright with his field placements and bowling changes. Continue reading Virat Kohli might have been given the test captaincy of India

Indian team going through Batting Deficiency

The Indian team is lacking depth in batting at the moment. The tail is just too easy to be wiped out for the opposition bowlers.

Nobody there in the lower order seems to be good enough to make an impact.

In Australia, it’s very important that your tail contributes a little bit because batting against the new ball can be quite tough at times and you are bound to lose some early wickets.

In that scenario, the onus falls on your middle order players and the tail-enders as well to some extent. Continue reading Indian team going through Batting Deficiency