Bangladesh-A and South Africa in India

In preparation for the South Africans, BCCI has invited BD-A.

and banglas have reciprocated "the honor" of being invited to India finally, the only country where they have not played a test match.....by sending a full strength international side as their A side.


It is being reported Kohli and Dhoni will play the ODIs vs BD-A , which are likely to be serious games...
and we are likely to see most of India ODI and test players warm up in these 5 games vs, BD-A

also India plays 5 ODIs/ T20s vs SA before the tests start...so there will be ample of orientation time.
Good Move by BCCI



Bangladesh A in India 2015 September 8, 2015 Mominul to lead strong Bangladesh A squadMOHAMMAD ISAM 14  Facebook Twitter 34 shares
14

File photo: Mominul Haque will captain a 15-man Bangladesh A team, 14 of whom have played international cricket AFP
Mominul Haque will lead a strong Bangladesh A team for their tour to India later this month. The 15-member squad consists of 14 internationals including Al-Amin Hossain, who has been out of representative cricket since the World Cup.

"Its my first tour abroad as a captain so looking ahead to make it memorable," Mominul told ESPNcricinfo. "It wont be easy considering we will be playing against the Indians at their own backyard but I am confident that we can put up a good show considering our strength. I think we have got an experienced squad and it will be good for our preparation ahead of the series against Australia."

Saqlain Sajib, the left-arm spinner, is the only uncapped player in the squad and it is learned that he was picked as cover for Taijul Islam, who has been given two weeks' rest to recover from jaundice.

Bangladesh A tour of India
Sept 16 - 1st one-dayer v India A, Bangalore
Sept 18 - 2nd one-dayer v India A, Bangalore
Sept 20 - 3rd one-dayer v India A, Bangalore
Sept 22-24 - Three-day match v Karnataka, Mysore
Sept 27-29 - Three day match v India A, Bangalore
Al-Amin, who was sent home from Australia in February after a disciplinary breach, is one of four seamers in the team. Taskin Ahmed has been passed fit and will likely play multi-day cricket for the first time in over two years when Bangladesh A meet India A and Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka in Bangalore and Mysore. Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam complete the quartet.

Anamul Haque, who lost his place in the senior side after injuring his shoulder in the World Cup, has been included in the A team while Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das and Sabbir Rahman are some of the other upcoming batsmen who have played international cricket in this team.

Nasir Hossain and Mominul are the senior batsmen in the side, and Shuvagata Hom, who last played the solitary Test against India, is one of the batting allrounders in the side.

Bangladesh A squad: Anamul Haque, Rony Talukdar, Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarker, Mominul Hoque (capt), Nasir Hossain, Saqlain Sajib, Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shuvagata Hom, Jubair Hossain.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

More from the Web

Jadeja in 3 day squad and Raina in ODI squad...shows selectors are not venegful


Three-day squad Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Baba Aparajith, Naman Ojha, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Gopal, Abhimanyu Mithun, Varun Aaron, Ishwar Pandey, Sheldon Jackson

One-day squad: Unmukt Chand (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Kuldeep Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Karn Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, S Aravind, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rush Kalaria, Gurkeerat Singh Mann

Virat Kohli may replace MS Dhoni as skipper for South Africa ODIs: report
Cricketnext Staff | Sep 09, 2015 at 09:38am IST
@cricketnext
Dhoni has not played any match since the three ODIs in Dhaka in June and it is unclear whether the selectors have shared their captaincy plans with Dhoni or not. Dhoni has not played any match since the three ODIs in Dhaka in June and it is unclear whether the selectors have shared their captaincy plans with Dhoni or not. (Getty Images)
Ahead of the BCCI Selection Committee meeting to pick India squad for the South Africa series, talks are growing that limited-overs skipper MS Dhoni might make way for Test captain Virat Kohli in ODIs as well, according to a report in The Indian Express.
The selectors are expected to meet somewhere around September 15 to pick the squad for the series that involves three T20 internationals, five ODIs and four Tests. The energy-sapping 72-day tour will begin with the limited-overs leg from October 2.
ALSO SEE India will play better against SA
According to the newspaper, selectors think that different personalities and difference in captaincy styles between Kohli and Dhoni might affect the team in the long run and thus want Kohli to lead The in 50-overs format as well.
However, Dhoni might continue to lead India in T20s since India will be hosting the T20 World Cup next year and selectors think Dhoni is the right man in the shortest format of the game, especially so close to the pinnacle T20 tournament.
ALSO SEE India to get new coach
"Even in the previous selection meeting there were talks about Kohli being named captain for all formats. But it is also worth keeping in mind that Dhoni is the most successful India captain ever and Kohli is just finding his feet as far as captaincy goes. With India set to play mainly at home next year, it will only be an advantage for Kohli to take over the reins now rather than in an away series," a source told Indian Express. "Dhoni might continue to lead in T20s though."
Dhoni has not played any match since the three ODIs in Dhaka in June and it is unclear whether the selectors have shared their captaincy plans with Dhoni or not.
ALSO SEE Saha eyeing comeback
It's unknown if the selectors will announce all three squads together or wait for the T20s and ODIs to finish before announcing the Test squad.

Jadeja back in the longer format scheme of things is a very good news. Hope he would come in for Roger's son for the South Africa tests. Hopefully Jadeja's fitness issues are behind him. He had earned his test place, kept it through performances, but his strength, his bowling lost the edge after the shoulder operation he had before the world cup and the selectors rightly kept him out of the Lanka tour, though the replacement they picked was a hero of yesterday who clearly isn't good enough any more and has been suggesting the same for the last 4 years.
Perhaps they could have picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the 3 day games, and also Rishi Dhawan. Think Rishi's strength is the longer format, they keep picking him for the limited overs squad. He has done well in the limited opportunities he got there, but a promotion to the longer format isn't coming, they seem fixated on Vijay Shankar as the all-rounder, and again, he's not much of a bowler, more parttime military medium like Roger's son, they might not want Dhawan to emerge as competition for Binny at the big stage yet.

Think Kohli taking over from MSD in all formats wouldn't be a bad move at all. But if the selectors want MS to leed in the T-20 WC, think then he should keep the limited overs leadership. The best call would be to hand everything over to Kohli though.
But the condition for all that is Ravi Shastri should go. Kohli has proved that he isn't up to standing up to Shastri and the pressures of the Mumbai Lobby when it comes to selections, and Shastri is pretty much agenda driven. Besides, he gets bussy in between with all his media commitments, and he's best left there, unleashing all those stupid clichés of his up on us, better than unleashing Mr Tallented on the test team and wasting a place there.

In that context, it is good to hear that they still are looking for a coach. Perhaps Rahul Dravid's calming influence is what Kohli needs.

msp wrote:they might not want Dhawan to emerge as competition for Binny at the big stage yet.


Shastri and the pressures of the Mumbai Lobby when it comes to selections,

you are used to Dhoni / CSK/ Srni era template....where "things" had an agenda.

they want good of Indian cricket...they have demonstrated good selection, flexibility, fast moving decisions....revived A-tours SA, Aus and now BD came...giving our players to play themselves in-form.......testing the line of reserves.

they may not do everything like you may like to see....but startegy / vision/ positive intent all clearly visible in them.

PS* Binny has secured his place in overseas games as a seam bolwing allrounder based on his good show in last test.

Axar is already first in line if there is a 3 rd spinner opening......but they haven't closed the door on Jadeja

Jadeja must show he has same potentcy wiht the ball as he had when he bwoled vs Aus and Eng in India
and that he can bat at deliver 35ish average

It is not Shastri-Kohli who are reviving the A tours. These things were not planned and executed one fine morning when Shastri-Kohli had a revelation, it takes time to plan these things out, and the A team fixtures have been planned for many months at least. Kohli has been test captain for only a couple of months, Shastri worked more under Srini and was a choice of Srini when the side lost in England, so he's as much Srini's man....... Lets not get too delusional really!
To see Srini's back has been a blessing for Indian cricket, but if we have to give someone credit, then Anurag Thakur deserves a lot of it. Dalmiya is more of a legitimizing figure at this stage of his life though he did a lot of good for Indian cricket in the past. And again, Thakur alone couldn't have done it all the cricket committee, former players like Rahul Dravid who is currently the coach of the A team, they all deserve credit.
What Shastri got is some decent player management skills, particularly when there is a crisis. He has also been a decent strategist overall. Then there is a lot of chest thumping, a lot of rubbish clichés and a lot of high voltage talk that may or may not mean much. And then of course, there is some favoritism to add to the mix.

new BCCI regime
including Ganguly who is like a super selector and shastri's boss
and Dravid the coach of A sides
and the selectors
are all involved in selections and strategy / planning

shastri and kohli have done a geat job in operational matters...ie once the 15 are selected, then using them optimally and aggressively
as well as communicating with the selectors to get prompt replacements mid series such as Binny and Ojha

South Africa Test squad: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.

ODI squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn.

T20 squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, David Wiese, Khaya Zondo

all these are absolutely new names or me that I know nothing about

South Africa Test squad: Temba Bavuma, Simon Harmer, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.

Temba Bavuma: About 5'4, good on the back foot, but scored an important half century vs Bangladesh in Asian conditions, also scored a decent knock for the A team. Averaged about 70 last year in the Fc tournament, so in a bit of a green patch.

Harmer: Reasonable player. An Ashwin like spinner, not as tall, but pace and bounce.

Piedt: More of a Narine like tweaker , without the variation.

Rabada: Pretty much a Morne Morkel, but slightly shorter.

v. Zyl: Very elegant. Left handed, all the shots in the book. Possibly has the best cover drive in the game.

Vilas: WK, Seems reasonable. Poor man's Matt Prior type

A South Africa test squad with 3 spinners! How times have changed? Or is it? But I must say good selections for a long tour overall. Was a bit surprised that Quinton de Kock wasn't picked for the test side. I know he lost his place due to some terrible batting form, and Vilas didn't get an opportunity to bat in his first and only test so far. But de Kock is a special player, and he has found form in India for the A side. Perhaps he couldn't and shouldn't have walked back into the test side, but they could have picked him as an additional keeping/batting cover?
Not sure SA have still figured out as to how to make use of their best player in T-20s. He'll keep? open? Bat in the middle order as usual and as usual a position or too low? In my view, let de Kock keep and open, AB should bat 3 and that's it.

The Indians will have a pre-series camp to get them going all ready for the SA series. A 30 man squad will be participating.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/919361.html

The selectors still keeping Harbhajan Singh in the mix, not sure they are giving a veteran player like him the right message. Bhaji is not the bowler tht he ones was and it is way over time to move on. Rather than sitting down with him and tell him that, they are confusing him with these signals. Or perhaps they are looking at him as a limited overs option, specifically in T-20s.

More than politics, think de Kock's atrocious batting form that led to him losing his place in all formats eventually did him, as much as the washout in the Bangladesh test, Dane Vilas' debut test wherein he didn't even get to bat. He has a solid domestic record and significant First Class experience, so understandable why they are sticking with him, but again, de Kock could have been picked as an additional option. They could have used him as backup wicketkeeper, reserve middle order bat, and even the 3rd opener.......

dhoni in the prep squad.....as is Shami
India's top 30 cricketers for all formats

India squad for preparatory camp for SA series

Batsmen: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Karun Nair, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey

Wicketkeepers MS Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha

Allrounders: Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja

Spinners R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Karn Sharma

Seamers Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni

Always difficult to discuss politics to people who don't have a cooking clue. Quinton de Kock is a player of colour. He wasn't dropped for political reasons.

As for the spinners, I'm not saying they are as good as either, just that they are similar.

kingraf wrote:

As for the spinners, I'm not saying they are as good as either, just that they are similar.

we understood that...there was a winking simile at the end of that sentence.

re: Color politics....it's hard for an outsider to understand .........and most outsiders would acknowledge

is there color politics though ?

KP_fan wrote:

kingraf wrote:  

As for the spinners, I'm not saying they are as good as either, just that they are similar.

we understood that...there was a winking simile at the end of that sentence.

re: Color politics....it's hard for an outsider to understand .........and most outsiders would acknowledge

is there color politics though ?

Computer didn't show the smiley.

Colour politics is a little harder to discuss. Is there colour politics? Yes and no. CSA are under an "agreement" to play at least four players of colour at any one time. Are they legally obligated to? no, so if it doesn't happen, its one of those things. The easiest way to explain it is if there are two players, one of colour, one not, who are of similar ability, the player of colour will get preference. A guy like Rabada is very good, but he's doubtless been fast tracked because of his colour. This doesn't mean white players are automatically discarded if they are poor, though. A guy like AB only averaged 37 35 Tests in and he was persisted with. A guy like Rilee had a lot of ducks in his first 20 odd ODIs, and he was persisted with, even though the world cup was fast approaching.

kingraf wrote:  

CSA are under an "agreement" to play at least four players of colour at any one time.  

To me that makes it an unambiguous "yes"...there is politics.
I can understand the desire..for decades / centuries of injustice to be corrected through affirmative action.
To me this should not apply to sports though.
thanks for educating us on the SA systems

It's not really a yes though. Looking at the Test team, Quinny, a player of colour has been dropped for Dane Vilas. A very definitely white player. Simon Harmer is keeping Dane Piedt and Imran Tahir out of the side. There's a very big chance only three players in the first test will be of colour. This won't cause any consternation politically. The four player thing is an aim. One that had to be brought in because of the past. Now I know you don't understand SA politics, but in the late 90s, the South African rugby Union went all the way to court to prevent an inquiry into why black players weren't coming up the system. Partly because of that, the political feeling has been that if you try organically allow the process, there will be no progress.

Think SA instituting a system that would force the FC sides to bring in more players from the disadvantaged background is not a bad thing. Perhaps these players should be allowed to develop at the FC level though, if they are fasttracked, that might undermine the player, and and by extension the system itself.

http://www.ibnlive.com/cricketnext/news/ravi-shastri-to-continue-as-team-india-director-till-icc-world-t20-2016-550032-78.html
shastri will continue as team director until 2016 world cup

and i believe he will go beyond if he continues to deliver

http://www.bcci.tv/news/2015/features-and-interviews/10934/most-challenging-satisfying-job-ive-had-shastri

shastri interview...the guy knows what we are missing and what we want.

"acchey din" ahead atleast in cricket

--a great rearguard effort by India-A vs full strength BD.....samson finally plays an inning aligned with his deemed potential in a meaningful game.

--Gurkeerat continues his good show after the MoM effort vs Aus in the triangula final

--and watch out for Rush Kalaria....he is being played a part of the allrounder hunt....and has smashed 49 off 28 balls as I type with two overs to go.....and left arm seam is his primary trait.

and now Arvind Sreesanth runs throuhg the top order with 3 wickets for 10 runs.

his guy is a unique package......left arm seamer and a left arm slow orthodox spin.....

stellar match show by Gurkeerat.....MoM prolly

why Rush Kalaria didn't bowl is a surprise.......injured ?

I see.....CI first put Rush kalaria on the score card and then replaced him with Rishi dhawan

so it was dhawan who scored that 56.

and followed it with two wickets...although a bit expensive....but good show
good effort from the two bowling allrounders and the WK batsman

Good performances from Samson, Gurkirat and Rishi Dhawan.
Really glad for Rishi Dhawan, his Ranji performances are not counted just because he plays for a side that is unfancied though he has the best record for a seam bowling all-rounder. He doesn't have an influential father or the right connections in the BCCI, so all the more important to make the opportunities he gets really count. But he has to keep delivering, I wouldn't say deliver in the Ranji trophy because he has been doing it for at least 3 seasons very well without much rewards, so India A and even the IPL are the only real opportunities he has got to succeed and establish himself. He is better in the longer format, but they aren't pickin him for that yet for India A, so he has to make it count whenever he gets an opportunity in whatever format.
As for Sanju Samson, I just hope he'll be willing to take up the gloves for Kerala in the Ranji trophy. He's of course Kerala's best batsman, but his future for the national side is more as a wicketkeeper batsman, and that's what he should work towards.
Gurkirat has a good reputation as a hard hitting batsman, and his records in all formats are decent. His parttime offspin is an added benefit though we have a few spin bowling all-rounder options, Jadeja, Akshar, Rasool....... Both Ashwin and Mishra the first choice spinners can bat too. So think Gurkirat will have to keep performing regularly to jump up the queue.

msp....Gurkeerat will replace Raina if he doesn't perform.

he is not fighting for the Rasool / Jadeja slot...but rather the Raina, Rohit slot.

Gurkeerat, Pandey and Jadhav will challenge Raina and Rohit

the formal Indian ODI team will look like this:

1) Dhawan
2) Rohit ( replacable)
3) Kohli
4) Rahane
5) Rayadu ( replacable)
6) Raina ( replacable)
7) Ojha / Samson...assume Bhai is gone
8) Ashwin
9), 10, 11) seamers

replacables could be replaced by batsman or bowling alrounder or batting allrounder from the following pool from most likely to least:

--Binny
--Jadhav
--Pandey
--gurkeerat
--Rishi
--Jadeja
-axar
--May be Murali
--mayank agrawal

maybe I am forgetting one or two potentials here

from 82-5 they came back to get 252...nasis Hossain cracked a 100
and India crashed from 137-2 to 187 all out

BD is a good ODI side

Nasir Hossain is a brilliant young player. Bangladesh didn't quite manage him well when he hit his first rough patch as an impressive start to his international career, but he's fast returning to his best. And his bowling is coming along pretty well, Mortaza used him well as an ODI bowler, now Mominul doing the same with the A side. Hope Mushfiqur would also take not and rather than wasting a place with the likes of Shuvagoto Hom, they'll let Nasir settle back into test cricket too.

Rishi Dhawan delivering a fine performance with the ball, taking 3-44 in his 10, but the middle order failed with the bat, including Raina and the lower order of Samson and Dhawan himself couldn't rescue the situation like they did in the last game. Unmukt Chand with 56 making the only substantial contribution in the top and middle order.

Gurkirat gets a national call up and Srinath Aravind too. The former to the ODI squad and the latter to the T-20 side.
Think its a touch too early for Gurkirat and I don't think Aravind has the international class about him. No Manish Pandey who did well in the only opportunity he was given in Zimbabwe and the A team games against SA and Aus, and Roger's son continues to be picked over Rishi Dhawan. Must say I have less reservations about Stuart being picked for the limited overs sides, he can be OK some times with the ball and he can hit a few with the bat too at the end.

Meanwhile in the List A game against Bangladesh currently held up by Rain, India A finished with 297-6 in their 50 overs with Suresh Raina finding form with a ton and Sanju Samson, promoted up the order, making 90. Rishi Dhawan remained not out on 26 of 15 balls at the end, he was batted at 7 today......

ODI squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Mann, Amit Mishra

T20I squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Aravind, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishr

Gurkeerat in....good selection....he has looked a part...confident and on top of his game...rare to find batsmen who are comfortable at No.6 and that he is a handy spinner is a bonus....he comes in as an allrounder.

Aravind I haven't seen.....but since he has replaced Kulkarni...he cannot be worse

Raina is the one hanging by a thread.....

I don't think Pandey and Jadhav ( who scored a 100 vs Zim) are forgotten......only 15 can be fitted in the squad....but these two are breathing down Raina and Rohit's neck

msp wrote:The comparison between Ansari's and Binny's selection is rather pointless. Ansari is 23, Binny 31,

Ansari's father is not the reason he's selected unlike the case with Binny, England really don't have any other frontline spin option selectable at this stage other than Adil Rashid while India have Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja as viable all-rounders, both proven international bowlers, Kumar has proven to be a better bat than Binny at the top level, Jadeja's FC record playing in the top group is far superior to that of Roger's son. Then there is Rishi Dhawan, who has been consistently among the top domestic bowlers in the last 3 seasons and his batting record after playing a lot of his cricket on the demanding track at Dharamshala is better than that of Binny. Parwez Rasool, Akshar Patel and Baba Aparajith are all players with better credentials than that of Binny, they are at least good In one department with an additional 2nd string, and the new kid on the block, Vijay Shankar, while bowling Binny like military medium, seems to know at least to bat a bit!.

--comparison likes.....similar batting and bowling career stats and both have significantly better last two seasons...and both are limited breed in their respective countries.

--That Binny is 31.....doesn't mean fair chances should not be given.
contrary to Ansari.......Binny plays in A division and has performed in high intensity Ranji QF, SF, finals and Irani games,

--that he is in because of his father........you could say that is he had a batting average of 20 in last two Ranji seasons....but he near the top of  table for Ranji champions  for 2 or 3 consecutive seasons.
and its 5 selectors not Binny alone.....and on top of 5 selectors is and a very active BCCI with all these ex cricketers like Gavsakar, shatsri, ganguly, tendulkar watching the selectors.....its ridiculous to even think any one can make it because he is related to selectors.

--On Rishi Dhwan......two factors don't allow him to be taken seriously

1) He plays for C division.......there is A, then B and then C divison...where you have Tripura, Assam, Services type of teams
club cricket in Mumbai and Bangalore is much higher than C Division

2) and he gets his C division wickets on a seaming paradise with his home pitch being ultra seaming / swinging Dharamshala

Raina and Rohit are hanging by a thread in ODIs? :lol: If there is anyone hanging by a thread in ODIs, its Rahane. Raina and Rohit were among BCCI's better batsmen in the WC and have been consistent.

Raina and Rohit are pretty much, and the latter's case, as well documented, even performances do not matter, but he's even performing OK to hold on to his place. In for the next 5 years is Rohit! As for Raina, he has just scored a ton in the A team game against Bangladesh A.

Raina's ton will probably get him in the playing 11, else he might have sat out of the playing 11, althouhg he would have made it inot the squad
Rohit, Raina and even Rahane and Dhwan have to all score else there are about 3 to 4 guys waiting in the wings

S aravind with his 42 wickets was the 3rd highets wicket taker and above him was a lower group guy and Vinay Kumar.

selectros are clearly rewarding Ranji performances to award A berths and taking cognizance of which group the Ranji performances cam against


Samson had an impressive series...its a matter of time before he replaces Dhoni...whose captaincy will be under a scanner

a good article in Hindustan times from Pradeep Magazine who has observed Indian cricket for long and closely

Time right for Kohli to be ODI captain, but Dhoni's legacy strong
Pradeep Magazine | Updated: Sep 20, 2015 18:01 IST

Pragmatism demands that Kohli be given enough time and space to mature as a skipper and be allowed to build his own team for the future. (Representative Photo: AP)

28 11Share2
There is often a ritualistic value attached to the selection of a national cricket team. Most of the players select themselves and it is just one or two places that are up for grabs and generate discussion.

The first thing the Indian selectors did today was to scotch all rumours that they are thinking of replacing Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India’s ODI captain for the time being. There is a school of thought, and that includes this writer as well, that Virat Kohli should now be made captain across all formats. It does not make much sense to delay the inevitable, as Dhoni is unlikely to be around when the 2019 World Cup comes. Pragmatism demands that Kohli be given enough time and space to mature as a skipper and be allowed to build his own team for the future.

Read | MS Dhoni to lead India in T20s and ODIs against South Africa

South Africa is going to pose a major challenge even though India are playing at home, hence it would have been the right time to let Kohli impose his thought and philosophy on the one-day squad as well. One can understand that the selectors will find it difficult to remove Dhoni from the captaincy, given the wicketkeeper batsman’s outstanding contribution to Indian cricket. Possibly, the T-20 World Cup being held in India next year, would be a fitting swan song for a man who probably will go down in cricket history as one of its finest one-day player and captain.

As far as the team goes, there are not any surprises, as most of the names chosen select themselves. The wisest thing they have done is not to have Ishant Sharma, prone to injuries, in the squad. Though he will miss the first Test against South Africa, that too in conditions that are helpful for seam bowlers in Mohali, Ishant needs to be preserved for the Tests, so that he can unleash his match-winning spells more often than he has done in the past. As it is, most of the Indian pacers, given the kind of work-load they have to take, are prone to injuries and the selectors will have to be careful and rotate among the pool of pacers India has at the moment.

Any newcomer, especially one who has brilliant performances to his credit, is a welcome addition and who knows, in Punjab’s Gurkeerat Singh, India may discover a genuine spinning all-rounder. Amit Mishra, the leg-spinner, whose bowling against Sri Lanka in the Test matches was noteworthy, is back. There is always a temptation to include a leg-spinner in the squad, especially if the tracks are spin friendly and the batsmen more often than not always struggle against a quality wrist spinner.

I find it a bit surprising that the Indian selectors are still pinning their faith on Harbhajan Singh. It was obvious to most while watching him bowl in Sri Lanka, that he is a ghost of his former self. Mercifully, he is not in the one-day squad and probably his experience and the hope that he will be miserly, has got him a nod for the T-20 squad.

Shikhar Dhawan is pretty safe in the limited overs side, while his test record has been rather inconsistent, his ODI record has been as good as that of any international opener in the last 2 years.
Now that they picked Gurkirat, I hope they give him a run at 6. Not sure Rayudu is the man for the job, and have a strong feeling MSD will have to come up to order to make an optimum contribution, he's not 24 but 34, and the body takes just that little bit longer to get going, so perhaps he can leave the finish's role to youngsters like Gurkirat and himself build an innings.
Shikhar Dhawan
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Suresh Raina
Gurkirat Singh Man
Stuart Binny
Ravichandran Ashwin
Amit Mishra
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Umesh Yadav
Since Mishra is there to back Ashwin up, don't think there will be place for Akshar, considering his batting hasn't been up to mark at the top as yet. Binny gets in a head of him because his batting is better, and he can combine with Gurkirat and Raina for the 5th bowler's overs so that he won't be too exposed with the ball. With the new regulations, there is just that little bit more space for the captain, and MSD has never been a fan of the previous regulations, not that they have fully been reversed.

RIP Dalmiya

A man who changed the landscape of cricket....... RIP Jagmohan Dalmiya.......

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/video_audio/922071.html

refreshingly transparent for the chairman of selectors to come and explain some of their rationale.

The selectors had indicated that Jadeja is in the scheme of things when he was picked for the camp and the A side. But I think they are right in not bringing him back yet, as he needs to get the mojo back, particularly with the ball. Since his shoulder surgery, his bowling lacked the cutting edge, think he has to bowl some overs in the Ranji Trophy, get some long spells under his belt and be ready for test selection by the time the SA series is done. Hopefully he'll play in the A team game and start the process of earning his place back in the national side. At his best, he's among the top spinners in the country, and think he'll be the best bet for the 3rd spinner for the SA series if his bowling gets back on track. And scoring some runs can't be bad at all for Jadeja.......

Jadeja's problem is his batting....absolutely pathetic...came in as a batsman who could bowl....and has been both found out as well as regressed to the extent that ....clearly Ashwin & Mishra are better batters...and if survival only was a criteria, even Ishant stands a better chance at survival.

I have a feeling thouhg he must go back to Ranji , picket bucketful of wickets and if he comes back under Kohli......he will perform better....if asked to play more aggressively and naturally.

Though risk is if the Unknown Gurkeerat performs in ODIs