The selectors have decided to go back to veteran off spinner Harbhajan Singh again. It will be 100th match if he is part of the final eleven and a second come back in less than a year. The selectors are not to be blamed for this one as there are hardly any new spinners on the horizon. Mumbai won the Ranji trophy yet again but there were not many five-for achieved by the spinners during the course of the premier domestic tournament in the country.
The advent of T 20 cricket seems to have had an adverse effect on the mind-set of the spinners. They wait for the batsmen to commit an error in the limited overs cricket and the same mentality is affecting the way they bowl in the longer version of the game. How many times do we see them deceiving the batsmen in the air these days. It’s an art long forgotten. Look at the way Parvez Rassol has performed with the use of the flight. He grabbed the headlines by picking up 7 for 45 against the Aussies on the opening day of their match against Board President’s XI.
In a move that is bound to send strong message to the players that non performer will not be spared by the selectors. Gautam Gambhir has lost his place in the squad. He has failed to reach three figures in his last 26 matches. Wasim Jaffer has been overlooked again and it appears that the door will remain closed for him as he is not getting any younger at 34. It will be little surprising if Shikhar Dhawan makes it to the playing eleven as M Vijay was part of the squad that lost to England not too long ago. Virender Sehwag is also facing the heat because of the indifferent form he has shown right throughout the season. Ajinkya Rahane may not be a bad choice for the openers slot should any of the others fails.
As far as middle order is concerned, Pujara has cemented his place with superlative scores under his belt. It will be his first series after getting married and the fans will be hoping that he continues his run of good scores. Sachin Tendulkar will be raring to go after his exploits in the domestic tournaments. Virat Kohli will be looking to replicate his performances of 2011 and 2012. The skipper, M S Dhoni, appears to be a different batsman in the test matches. Bowlers don’t fear him in test matches as much as they do in shorter versions of the game. Perhaps, it is time for somebody like Duncan Fletcher to remind him about the kind of skills he possesses. It will not be a surprise if Fletcher’s contract is not renewed as he has failed to resurrect the techniques of the batsmen especially on overseas tours.
Coming back to the team selection, Ravindra Jadeja gets another opportunity to showcase his all-round abilities. Pragyan Ojha will be handling the responsibility of bowling the bulk of the overs along-side R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh. The fast bowling attack looks to be in shambles with the unavailability of the likes of Umesh Yadav & Varun Aaron. Ishant Sharma will share the new ball with Ashok Dinda most probably. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar gets rewarded for his good showing in the One dayers against Pakistan as well as England.
Both India and Australia are going through a transitional phase with quite a few of the players having retired. It will be interesting to see how the Aussies employ their fast bowling resources on this tour. It promises to be a great series. May the best team win.
No comments:
Post a Comment