bad call, this one.. And here is why :-
VVS, while a brilliant test batsman, does not quite cut it in the ODI arena. I am aware of him scoring back to back centuries in Australia and a century in the 5th ODI at Lahore, but those innings were played on wickets where the bounce was true and the ball was coming onto the bat.
Given the conditions in the West Indies, where the bounce is low and the ball does not come onto the bat, Laxman's inability to work the ball off the square and force the pace are negatives. Plus, his fielding is not upto scratch.And so,Laxman will not make it to WI.
Given that, why include him for 1 ODI in SA? By the time he gets to SA, the ODI series will be done and dusted.
If Wasim Jaffer and KKD Karthiks selections are contentious, dont the same arguments apply to VVS also? Or are we clutching at straws to turn around a season that has gone pear-shaped pretty quickly?
Monday, November 27, 2006
VVS Laxman called up...
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6 comments:
i dont think laxman has trouble scoring runs in WI.If the pitches are going to be the way they wer in last series then the targets arent going to be something like 225-275 in most matches and that means a return to cricket of last decade and not power hitting of this era.Surely Laxman's experience will come handy on pitches like that and what more he averages 47.52 in 13 tests he played in WI. Certainly that is a good enough record and that included a series even before he scored his first test hundred.
besides tell me a single player who played with distinction for india at no.3 other than dravid. you have none and dont think about Ganguly for there are too many politics and politicians involved.Laxman has performed consistently at no.3 and no other player in this team has done that. so getting laxman back is not a bad choice and as for laxman steady play i agree that he might not blaze but at the moment the team is not lasting fifty overs when its an even contest between bat and ball. surely he is similar to kallis in that sense that he might not give you the acceleration in the end buthe would atleast make sure that we played our full quota of overs.he made sure of that when india toured australia in 2004.he can certainly do that again.
Firstly, thanks for your comments chandu.
Secondly, no dispute at all with Laxman's record. But as you yourself have stated, it is his test record. He is a definate shoo-in in any test team India fields, but his one day credentials are suspect.
Running between the wickets is not upto scratch, cannot field in the deep, unable to force the pace in the slog overs.
As regards India not lasting 50 overs,I think the problem is more in the way India goes about structuring its innings rather than the addition or omission of a particular player.
My team for the WC will be ( in batting order) Tendulkar, Sehwag, Kaif, Yuvraj, Dravid, Dhoni, Pathan, harbhajan, Agarkar, Kumble, Munaf with Raina, Sreesanth, Mongia and Powar making up the XV. The only wild card in this is if Karthik plays a blinder in the next two ODIs. Then he comes into contention in lieu of Raina or Mongia. The other player, if he is in form can be Gambhir. But thats again at the expense of Raina or Mongia.
As regards Saurav, his presence in the dressing room will be a major polarizer, and a polarized dressing room is the last thing you want during the WC. So, whether he performs in the domestic scene or not, he will not get back into the team, never mind the rest of the politics involved.
as for forcing the pace when did raina and mongia force pace in oneday match.india doesnt have a proper no.3 and they are persisting with pathan at 3 for long.with 20 overs of field restriction it should not be a problem and as for running between wickets u check out dravid's record and also that of sehwag. sehwag is no brilliant runner and rahul gets run out far too many times and also yuvraj might not play world cup and for kaif at no.3 when did he score runs ar a strike rate of 80+ in odi's.kaif is certainly not my bet atno.3
check his record at no.3 if you have any doubts. besides india has players like dhoni,pathan,sachin,sehwag ,yuvraj and even rahul dravid who can force the pace.its not going to make a big negative if laxman is in team. he might give them few extra runsbut he certainly doesnt drop catches,infact he took blindrers and who said he cannot improve his fielding.excluding him on fielding count is rubbish.
chandu, if laxman had to improve his fielding, he should have started a while ago.. in the west indies, it will be a stetch to see laxman scoring at a strike rate of 80+. For my money, i will still go with a team without laxman only because his liabilities, in my opinion outway his assets.
as regards fielding, laxman does not have the arm strength to field in the deep nor the mobility to field close in
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