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India'sonedayselectionneedsarethink

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@karachikhatmal He played for the country in MHSA, defended it in #Waar and offended the people in Yeh Jawani Ab Nahin Aani. #Thinklikehamza

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VRamnarayanAnoffspinnerwhorepresentedHyderabadandSouthZoneinthe1970s,VRamnarayanisacolumnist/bloggeroncricketandothersubjects.HeteachesattheAsianCollegeofJournalismandeditsSruti,aleadingIndianmonthlyontheperformingarts.HisworksincludehistoriesofTamilNaducricketandtheMadrasCricketClub,andbiographies.ThirdMan,RecollectionsfromaLifeinCricket,publishedbyWestland,ishislatestbook.

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ADhawanRahaneopeningcombinationwouldhavebeenworthtryingintheWorldCup,

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Players/Officials:RohitSharma|MuraliVijay|SureshRaina|RavindraJadeja|AxarPatel|RavichandranAshwinSeries/Tournaments:ICCCricketWorldCupTeams:India

Nothingsucceedslikesuccess,weknow.Sometimesnothingmisleadslikesuccess.India'sdreamrunintothelastfouroftheWorldCupservedtomaskanumberofgreyareasintheteam'slineup.AseriesofsuccessesmeantthatthegiftedRohitSharmacouldcontinuetogetawaywithsoftdismissals,ashasbeenhiswontallalong.Wekeptwaitingforhimtoputhisheaddownandstartcontributingtotheteam'scauseinameasurematchinghisability.Thatwasnottobe,andIndiadidnotchangetheiropeningpairthroughthetournament.

Inhistime,goldenboyMarkWaughhadanextendedrunintheAustralianteam,despitealongbadpatch.Formistemporary,classispermanent,theexpertsliketosaythoughthesentimentisrarelysharedbythehonesttogoodnessworkmenofcricketthatthesestylistskeepout.Waughdidprovehisclass,butithasbeenalong,agonisingwaitforRohittoexplodeontothebigstageandIamnotmakinglightofhissuperhumanfeatswhentherehasbeenlessatstake.

SomeonelikeMuraliVijaymustwonderattheunfairnessofitall.AfterhissterlingdisplaysontheEnglandandAustraliatours,heshouldhavebeenanautomaticchoicefortheWorldCup,especiallyashehastheflexibilityandskillsforallthreeformatsofthegame.

TherefusaloftheteammanagementtotryAjinkyaRahaneoutasShikharDhawan'sopeningpartnerwasinexplicable,too.NotthatDhawanhimselfhasdoneenoughtocementhisplacestronglyenough.

SureshRainaistheotherenigmaoftheteamperhapsnotsomuchanenigmaassomeoneunabletomakethetechnicaladjustmentstotranslatehisimmensetalentsandselflessnessintocapacitytodeliveragainstthefast,furiousandshortpitched.Hisbrilliantfieldingandhisreasonablebattingformintheearlyroundsmadehimafixtureintheside,butinhindsight,retaining

India'sonedayselectionneedsarethink

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CantherebemoreonedaytournamentsinIndia,sothatT20doesnotbecomethemainproviderofrawmaterial?

himforthesemifinalwassurelyanotherselectionlapse?Judgingbythewayhegotouttoarelativelyinnocuousdelivery,heseemedtosuccumbtothepressureofselfdoubt,despiteallhishardworktolearntoplaytheshortballbetter.

RavindraJadejawasanotherregularintheXIwhodidnotreallypullhisweightasanallrounder,thoughitmustalsobesaidthathispreWorldCupformwhenhewasfithadnotbeenmuchtowritehomeaboutforawhile.Hereisanotherplayerwhohasnotliveduptohispromise,exceptinthefieldingdepartment,buthasenjoyedtheselectors'confidenceforfartoolong.Unfortunately,hisprospectivereplacementintheIndiansquadwasarookieleftarmspinnerpickedonthestrengthoffouroverspellsintheIPL.

India(andRAshwin)missedanotherchancetodevelopAshwinastheallrounderhecanbe.ThoughAshwinbowledbeautifullyinanoldfashioned,disciplinedstyle,hisbattingdisappointed.Here'salowerorderbatsmanofunusualmerit,withplentyoftimetoplayandanimpressiveinternationalrecord,whobattedtoolowintheorder,andrarelymadeanimpressionintheWorldCup.IndiacouldhavebenefitedbypromotinghimaheadofJadeja,anddemandinggreaterresponsibilityfromhim.

Theconsistentlygoodshowingbytheteamuptotheknockoutstagealsomeantthatitcarriedafewnonplayingtourists.ThechoiceoftheinexperiencedAxarPatelasreservespinner,theinjurytoBhuvneshwarKumar(whydidhecontinueasamemberoftheteamdespiteit?),andStuartBinny'slackofopportunityweresymptomsofcloudedthinkingorlackofapplicationbytheselectors.

TestcricketisnodoubtIndia'smajorproblemarea,anditwillneedmuchpatientrebuildingbeforeIndiacandreamofregainingtheNo.1spot.Whiletherecentallroundimprovementinthepacebowlingisanencouragingsign,spinandbattingremainworrisome.Theteamneedstodeviseappropriateshortandlongtermstrategiestoimproveintheseareas.

03/04/2015 Blogs:VRamnarayan:India'sonedayselectionneedsarethink|CricketBlogs|ESPNCricinfo

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Inthemeantime,theyshouldtryandenhancetheirchancesofsuccessintheshorterformats,atwhichtheyalreadyareprettygood.AsinTestcricket,teamselectionwillplayakeyrole.Whilemostplayersselectthemselves,itisthetwoorthreeproblemchoicesthattendtoletIndiadownwhentheheatisturnedonbythetopopponents.Theseplayersmaynotwinapopularvote,buttheytendtoenjoytheconfidenceoftheteammanagementorcaptainforreasonsnodoubtperfectlyvalidinthejudgementofthosemen.

Istheappointmentofanindependentselectionpanelofprovenlimitedoversspecialistswhowatchdomesticonedaymatches,andbroadbasingthescopeofthetalentsearch,thewayforward?CantherebemoreonedaytournamentsinIndia,sothatT20doesnotbecomethemainproviderofrawmaterial?Shouldthecaptainbetakenoutoftheselectionprocess,notbecausehemaybeabiasedparticipantinit,butbecausehedoesnotgettowatchplayersotherthanthoseheencountersasteammatesandopponents?Surelythatelusiveallrounderislurkingaroundthecorner,ifonlywewouldextendourgazebeyondtheobvious.

ForIndiatofieldthebestonedaycombinationavailable,coldreasonmustprevailoversentimentality.Replacementshavetobefoundforotherwiseconsistentplayerswhotendtofailatcrucialjuncturesowingtoweaknessestechnicalortemperamentalagainstthebestteamsoronthebiggestoccasions.Otherwise,forallthepromiseIndiahold,theymaycontinuetosucceedonlyathome.

VRamnarayanbowledoffspinforHyderabadandSouthZoneinthe1970s.HislatestbookisThirdMan,RecollectionsfromaLifeinCricket

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PostedbyGURURAJKASHYAPon(April3,2015,11:17GMT)

Ientirelyagreewiththeviewsexpressedbyveteranofspinner.Notbestoftheplayerswereselectedfortheworldcup.Asrightlypointedout,playerswhohadpotentialdidnotperformtotheexpectationandneverweretheyconsistentanddependable.ThefinalXIforthesemi

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03/04/2015 Blogs:VRamnarayan:India'sonedayselectionneedsarethink|CricketBlogs|ESPNCricinfo

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finalagainstAustraliawasperhapsthelaststrawastheteammanagementneverrealisedthattwoorthreeplayersdidnotdeservetheirplaces.IamtalkingaboutRainaandJadeja,TheirplacesshouldhavebeentakenbyeitherRayuduorBinnyorPatel,anytwoofthem.Dhoni'scaptaincywasalsoatitslowestebbinthematchwhichgaveAustraliatopileupahugetotal.IthasbeenthebaneofIndiancricketthatemotionandattachmentruletheselectionoftheplayers.IhavelittlehopethatIndiawillemergeasastrongcricketingnation.

Postedbyon(April3,2015,11:13GMT)

thereareonly12pointswhichareexplicithere...Rohitdidn'tperformagainstthebigguysandjadejaisnotaqualityallrounder(batting/bowlingallrounder,godknows)....weneededAshwinuptheorderbutIthinksendinghimaheadofjadejawouldn'thavemademuchdifferencetothefinalresults...rainahadaqualitytournamentthroughoutanditwouldbeunfairtoblamehimfortheloss...dhawanhasn'tdoneenoughtocementaplacereally?!IthinkhesprobablythemostprolificodiopenerinOdisoverthelast2yrs....nthenthebowlerswerevirtuallyspotlesstillthesemis...onthewholewehaveagreatteamwhichcanbeevenbetterwithguyslikeyuvraj,ishant,gambhiretc.

Postedbyengi45on(April3,2015,10:19GMT)

ithinkindiacannevrbecometestno1indiansplayerorfansdontliketestcricketandhavenointerestthatswhyplayersalsodontliketogiveimportancetotestcricket.Indianscanwinfutureworldcupbutneverwilllbecometestno1.Nobodyiscomplainingalso.

PostedbyCoolcapricornon(April3,2015,9:29GMT)

OurbatsmensimplyneedtobemoreconsistentlikeSangakkaraorStevenSmithnopointscoringagoodcenturyinterspersedamongstarunofverylowscores.Our4thor5thbowlersarearealproblemaswesawinthesemifinaloftheWC.IfyouhavesomeoneasweakasJadejacomingonafterthefirst10overs,itsimplyallowstheoppositiontorebuildtheirinningswithouttakinganyriskseveniftheymayhavelostanearlywicketortwo.Theoppositionareallowedtolaydownaplatformforabigscore&thisiswherethematcheffectivelygetslostbyus!

PostedbyRajeshjon(April3,2015,8:44GMT)

Ithinkitsareasonablearticlegiventhefactthatitwaswrittenwithafairamountofhonesty..Consistencyisessentialwiththetop4batsmenanditoneareawherewewentwrongattimes..Kohliwasmiserablewiththebat..RohitandDhawanscoredacenturyeachbeforesemis,butfailedtomakeabiggerimpactinsemifinal..Wewereabletocomethisfarwasmainlyduetothefactthatweplayedourleaguematchesinflattrackswithlesserbounce..Andinthesemis,wecrumbledtohighqualitypaceoftheAussies..ThetechniquesofDhawan,Kohli,Rohit,Dhonietc.onfast,pacytracksarenottoogreat..Theirtechniquesonswingingconditionsareevenmiserable..Weneedtogroomanewteamwhocanbatinallconditionsandnotjustflattracks..DhoniplayedhispreferredguysinWorldcup..Jadejaneverdeservedtobeinteam,butstillluckytoplayall..samewithlimitedtalentofMohitsharma..Nowonderwelostinsemis..

PostedbyCoolcapricornon(April3,2015,8:34GMT)

OurbatsmensimplyneedtobemoreconsistentlikeSangakkaraorStevenSmithnopointscoringagoodcenturyinterspersedamongstarunofverylowscores.Our4thor5thbowlersarearealproblemaswesawinthesemifinaloftheWC.IfyouhavesomeoneasweakasJadejacomingonafterthefirst10overs,itsimplyallowstheoppositiontorebuildtheirinningswithouttakinganyriskseveniftheymayhavelostanearlywicketortwo.Theoppositionareallowedtolaydownaplatformforabigscore&thisiswherethematcheffectivelygetslostbyus!

PostedbyMalapropismon(April3,2015,8:04GMT)

OKwhycriticalofaunitwhichperformedwell.MurliinplaceofRohitislaughable.

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Postedbycheguramanaon(April3,2015,7:24GMT)

IthinkaverymatureandbalancedcommentaryontheIndianteam.Nodoubt,someoftheplayersenjoythebackingofthecaptain.Again,theintentionisnottoascribemaliciousintenttoDhoni,butwehavetounderstandthatitishisnature/styleofcaptaincy.Ifsomethingappearstowork,heislothtomakechangesintheteam.Thatswherethecoach/teamdirector/selectionpanelseniorsneedtostepuptohimandcoachthecaptainintoamoreproductivecaptaincystyle.

IfwewanttowintheWCin2019,itsnottooearlytostartplanning.ThereisonlyoneaspectoftheIndianteamthatisworldclass:fielding.Pacebowlersbenchstrengthneedstobebetterdittoforspinnersallrounderstherearetoofewbattingallthetalentintheworldisthereitstherightselectionalonethatsneeded.

HopeBCCIgetscracking.

AbtTests:istheBCCIevenseriousabtthatformat?Theyneedtomakeuptheirminds!!

PostedbyVishal_07on(April3,2015,6:34GMT)

Idon'tthinkIndianfanshavemuchtocomplainaboutteam'sWCperformance.NotsureifwriteristargetingTestorODI,astheyarecompletelyseparate.Idon'tthinkRainaplayedthatbadinthesemis,consideringhowpoorlyRahaneplayedandsodidKohli.

Jadeja,however,didplaypoorlyandIagreewiththewriterhere.Heisneitherherenorthere,anotherBinnykindofplayer,goodinthesubcontinentbutnotmuchofuseoutside.

Postedbypiyo_thanda_jiyo_thandaon(April3,2015,6:11GMT)

Excellentarticle.AsIpostedbeforetheworldcupalso,India'sbiggestproblemisthebatting.Batsmenaresimplyhypeduptoomuchandmadetoappearassupermen.WejustdonothaveanygoodqualityhittersanymoreDhoniisjustapaleshadowofhispastselfandRainaistooinconsistent.LesswetalkaboutbattingprowessofRohitSharma,thebetter.Dhawanisquiteinconsistenttoo,althoughIhopethisWCwouldhavedonehisconfidencegood.MurliVijayneedstobetriedoutforsure.ManojTiwari,YusufPathan,Uthappaetc.needtobegivenchancestodevelopaspowerhitters.Aus,SA,NZ,WIetc.havesimplyawesomebatsmenandpowerhittersandourteamwillstandnochanceagainsttheminmajortournamentsunlesswemadeselectionsbasedonmeritandnotpastperformances.

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