India Squad Announced; Gambhir dropped. Dhawan, Dinda included...

The Indian selectors emerged from a dark room and announced the following squad for the first two test matches of the 2013 series against Australia;

Openers

Virender Sehwag - No surprise here. Gambhir has long since been for the chop and the dearth of openers in India has given Sehwag yet another chance to nick one to slip.

M Vijay - So here's what we think happened. Everyone in India had there name put in a (big) hat. Chief BCCI Selector Sandeep Patil was made to close his eyes and pick out two names to fill the 2nd and 3rd opener spots. The first name; Murali Vijay whose name was plucked from the same hat in November 2008 by Kris Srikkanth. Vijay has played 12 test matches for India with an average of 30.45. Although he turns 29 on April 1st, it seems we are the ones who have been made to look like fools here.

Shikhar Dhawan - The next name out of the hat and presumably the backup opener. Dhawan has 69 runs in his 5 ODI appearances. What I can't understand is - if you're going to throw someone in at the deep end, why not trial a youngster who can learn & develop? There are young and hungry openers out there - as we outlined in 'Our India Squad...' earlier in the day.

Middle Order

Cheteshwar Pujara - An indisputable choice at number 3. Will need to bat well and bat long given the temperamental batsmen around him.

Sachin Tendulkar - No surprise here. We touched yesterday on how it is now up to Sachin to decide when enough is enough. He is best positioned to say whether or not he can still perform. Until he says otherwise, Sachin walks out at 4.

Virat Kohli - Has had a love hate relationship with test cricket but is simply too good to be dropped. When SRT does call time, he will presumably move up to number 4 in the batting order.

MS Dhoni (c/wk) - Hands up, who really thought the Indian captain would be dropped and kicked to the curb? Shame on you. The captain usually bats at 7 but with no Yuvraj in the team, I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed to see him ahead of Jadeja at 6.

Ajinkya Rahane - The perennial backup. Any chance of India springing a surprise and opening with Rahane? One can only hope. For now, Rahane carries the drinks.

Spinners

Ravindra Jadeja - A busy cricketer who both MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher are high on, Jadeja will contribute in all 3 aspects of the game. His pedigree in the 5-day game is yet to be proven but his performances with the ball against England were more than enough to retain the no. 7 spot.

R Ashwin - Surely one of the first names on the team sheet. The leader of the spin attack. Ever impressive as a batsman. In at 8.

Pragyan Ojha - Has shown himself to be disciplined with the ball, as well as a legitimate wicket taker. In the absence of a test-caliber leg-spinner, SLA is called upon.

Harbhajan Singh - India took one of their biggest strides forward in recent memory when Harbhajan was dropped from all sides. He was persistent in bowling the Ashley Giles leg-stump line, bowled far too quick and didn't get wickets. Now, he's back - presumably as the backup off-spinner.

Seamers

B Kumar - Big questions remain over Kumar's ability to bowl in test cricket (he was most effective in ODIs when bowling his 10 overs first up). That said, he impressed in ODIs and so got called up to the test team. Logical selection!

Ishant Sharma - We have touched on Ishant's reported injury a couple of times of late. The fact remains, if he is fit to play he is India's best out-and-out bowler.

Ashok Dinda - Regular readers of the site know our views on Ashok Dinda. To say he is not my favourite player would be a massive understatement. To say his selection is a disgrace to Indian cricket is not. That said, and for my own sanity, I went looking for reasons for Dinda's inclusion. 

Was he selected based on ODI form a la Jadeja?  

No. We took a list of every bowler who has bowled in an ODI in the last 12 months. We filtered out players who had not played at least 5 matches and bowled 25 overs (anyone who bowls 5 overs per game qualifies as at least part time in our book). We then sorted by average giving us, in effect, a rundown of the 78 most effective ODI bowlers since this time last year. Ashok Dinda ranked 63rd. No Indian has bowled fewer maidens. Only Umesh Yadav has a higher economy rate.

Here are the Indian's represented on that list;

Indian bowlers in ODIs (11th Feb '12 - 10th Feb '13) 

Was he selected based on first class performance like the openers Dhawan & Vijay? 

No. This season, Dinda has 19 wickets @ 36.52 (ranking him 85th out of all the bowlers who have bowled 100 overs over 5 or more first class games). To put that further into context, tried/tested/discarded Vinay Kumar has 22 wickets @ 22.63. The promising Shami Ahmed has 28 @ 21.35. Exciting young swing bowler Sandeep Sharma has 41 @ 19.41. And yes, they all have better economy rates than Ashok Dinda.

Maybe his style is just more suited to International Test Cricket.

No. Dinda struggles to maintain his line and length for 2 overs, how will he bowl to plans and fields for sustained spells. Will he just continuously bang the ball in short on flat wickets?

Sanjay Bangar syndrome? aka Friends in High Places?

Quite possibly. My hope is that India go with the combination of Sharma & Kumar. 5 days of Dinda is too big a risk.

Likely Starting XI

For the first test at least, here is how we believe India will line up;

Virender Sehwag
M Vijay
Cheteshwar Pujara
Sachin Tendulkar
Virat Kohli
MS Dhoni
Ravindra Jadeja
R Ashwin
B Kumar
Pragyan Ojha
Ishant Sharma
---------------------
Shikhar Dhawan
Ajinkya Rahane 
Harbhajan Singh 
Ashok Dinda 

On paper it is a strong collection of individuals who have not functioned well as a team in test cricket of late. Almost every man in this 15 is under pressure; major question marks remain over M Vijay & B Kumar. There is the ever-present sub-plot of Sachin Tendulkar and whether or not he can still cut it. Sehwag too is playing for survival, whilst Virat Kohli has his fair share of doubters. Ishant Sharma's ankle will be under the spotlight, as will India's captain for whom this is simply a must win series. This series is also a final hurrah for Duncan Fletcher who will want at least one happy memory from his time as Indian coach.


It all kicks off on the 22nd February - we have even installed a little countdown clock! Leave your series predictions below and in the poll on the right hand side of the page. Bookmark us and check back regularly as we further build up the India/Australia series. 

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Indian Squad Announced!

India vs England, 5 ODI Series

The Indian squad for the first 3 ODIs of the upcoming 5 match series (startin Jan 11th) against England has been announced. Here is the breakdown;

Gautam Gambhir : Of the 1.2 billion people in India, this man must be among the luckiest. Gambhir average 11.33 in the recent series against Pakistan, managing to look more timid and tentative than ever in the process. When you factor in his mediocre fielding, you could be forgiven for thinking India would be best served looking at alternatives to the opener who himself will be 32 come the next World Cup. May I suggest U19 WC winning captain Unmukt Chand?

Cheteshwar Pujara : It may be unfashionable but the Indian side truly needs a Dravidesque figure to anchor the innings and prevent a repeat of recent top-order collapses. Pujara's call-up has cast major doubts over the future of the axed Virender Sehwag - his limited overs career in particular considering he will be 35 at the time of the 2015 World Cup.

Ajinkya Rahane : India's 3rd choice opener for the last couple of years, his time has at last come. With Sehwag dropped for at least the next 3 ODIs, Rahane has a huge opportunity to carve his name in at the top of the order. An excellent timer of the ball and a top fielder, is he the once to fill Viru's shoes?

Virat Kohli : I'm glad to see India stick with Kohli despite his form - though not surprised. Virat proved in the 3rd ODI vs. Pakistan that he can save runs on the field even when he fails with the bat. This man should be in the team for many years to come.

Rohit Sharma : What can be said about Rohit Sharma? The heart points out his vast potential, an ability to play every shot in the book and sheer fielding brilliance. The head look to the fact that in 2012 Sharma averaged 12.92 in 14 innings, with 3 ducks, 1 half-century and 0 centuries. Rohit averages 61.40 in 55 domestic first class matches (Tendulkar averages 57.98) yet he has never played a test match.

Yuvraj Singh : Yuvi is understandably short on fitness and not as explosive as he once was - that said, he has shown glimpses of still having his match winning instinct. Yuvraj got 6 wickets at 6.00 in the T20 series with England last month so it's not surprising that India stuck with his all-round ability.

Suresh Raina : After proving to be the only batsman willing to fight with Dhoni in the Pakistan series, it's no surprise to see the selectors stick with Raina. He's another for the brilliant fielders category too, as well as being one of the captains preferred part-time bowlers. My only concern in his similarity to Yuvraj Singh. Is there enough balance in the batting lineup with two big hitting left-handers at 4 and 5?

MS Dhoni (c/wk) : No surprise here. There had been calls for Dhoni to be dropped and replaced as captain following recent failures in the side, but his one-man-stand against Pakistan seems to have put an end to that for now. MSD is the guy in Indian limited overs cricket right now.

Ravindra Jadeja : An average of 20.00 with the bat and 15.00 with the ball made Jadeja one of the few bright lights of the Pakistan series for India. A contributor in all 3 departments, he is a crucial component of this Indian side.

R Ashwin : India's front-line spinner has been getting more praise for his batting of late failing to trouble top order batsmen with the ball. He relies heavily on his mystery variation - often to the detriment of his line. I'd strongly suggest dropping him below Jadeja in the batting order to remind him of his role.

B Kumar : A revelation for India, Kumar can swing the ball both ways at a useful pace. He also averages over with the bat in both first-class and List A cricket. Kumar made the Pakistan top order look amateurish and it is already difficult to imagine an Indian side without him.

Amit Mishra : Surely picked as the back-up spinner. It looks as if the selectors wanted to pick a leg-spinner for the sake of variation and based on history it was either going to be Mishra or Chawla. I'd much rather see a youngster get a chance but who really cares. Amit is the best leg-spinner in the country and can bat a bit. Let's just hope he doesn't need to.

Ishant Sharma : A must-pick bowler. Ishant is a genuine, test match caliber seamer - a rarity in India. The new leader of the attack, Ishant was the pick of the bowlers in the series against Pakistan (7 wickets for 109 @ 15.57).

Ashok Dinda : Many people know Dinda is not my favourite bowler. He took 7 wickets @ 41.28 and an economy rate of 6.25 in ODIs last year. His stock delivery is a the short ball and his standard line is down the leg side. He has short hair but wears a headband.

Shami Ahmed :  Picked on the strength of one the 3rd ODI against Pakistan where he took 1/23 from his 9 overs. Ahmed carries good pace and has a great understanding of where to bowl and when. It will be interesting to see how big a role he plays in the immediate future and if he can avoid the speed nose-dive which Indian bowlers are known for.