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It came up the other day, in the bored meeting, that who'd be taking up the middle order slots once Sachin, Rahul and VVS retire from tests.
i kept trying to think of three names who could be the replacements but no one is an automatic replacement.
The Contenders:
Rohit Sharma : The Mumbai kid who seems to be favored a lot by the selectors. looks 27 at least, but says he is 22. Looks good when he gets going. Has a lot of time when playing his shots. Rameez says so. flashes a lot outside the off stump though.
has the shots, but does he have the temperament to make it at the biggest level? has flattered to deceive on a lot of occasions. Might as well turn out to be a t20 specialist.
S Badrinath : Has been a consistent performer for TN over the past few years. Has a sound technique. Could well be the next RD. Surely, deserves to be given a few chances to prove what he's got. Admittedly hasn't been too flash for chennai in the IPL, but he looks like someone for the long run. But, he's 29 now, is it too late already?
Cheteshwar Pujara : BCC!'s beloved Che has been scoring runs in truckloads in the domestic circuit. His scores in crucial stages of last years ranji and deodhar trophy prove that he can cope with big match pressures. Also, has a good technique and can be difficult to get out. Being only 21, he has age on his side too. hope that knee injury he got, doesn't hamper him too much, like yuvi. Che for one, looks like he can walk in to replace one the big guns.
Manoj Tiwary : Watched him bat against Mumbai, in the ranji trophy. Looks like he belongs at the highest stage. Is an aggressive batsman who doesn't mind using his feet against the spinners. injured his shoulder before his debut against bangladesh, wasn't given enough chances in the Aus tour. Definitely deserves a go.
Suresh Raina : Has had a fairly successful run in the limited overs format. But a flaw in technique has been exposed against the short ball. But Ganguly played quite a few years without ever improving his play against the short ball, While Sehwag looks to have improved on the leg side play with the addition of the pull. No reason why Raina can't make a change. Again, has the shots, but is there enough temperament?
there might also be a few wild cards in Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Y Venugopal Rao.
Mohammad Kaif anyone??
Prafs also blogs at Right Arm Fast
The Contenders
Hats off to Sehwag. Caps on to Viru.
by Naked Cricket
Look over your shoulder, it’s Sehwag.
Not in the flesh, but in the pulp.
Sehwag has made every Delhi paper I’ve seen today.
It’s not his birthday. If it were, you’d have pics of Yuvraj wishing him.
It’s not Ishant’s 20th. If it were, you’d have Sehwag giving him cake shots.
Nor is it about Sehwag’s recent cakewalk in cricket. He prefers not to go there.
There’s some general health talk, stuff on Symonds that is.
And of course the, I hate to say it, that repugnant term, so I’ll say something else instead –there’s a lot about the famous four. That feels better, fab in fact.
But the hook isn’t the famous four either. See how it becomes a buzz word.
The hook is Sehwag’s future stars: Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwari, Virat Kohli.
Great, two guys from Delhi. But why leave Gautam Gambhir, Amit Mishra, Shikhar Dhawan, Glenn McGrath…hell, if they’re the best going, why not say it like it is? If KP can play for England, then Pigeon should fly to India.
And talking of flying, why not talk super heroes. They have costumes, right? And Sehwag has one now – he wears a cap. Day, night, asleep, awake, outdoors, indoors, he has his cap on. Plus a shower cap in the bath.
Viru - you may not be the famous four, but you are the fab one.
On Bored Cricket Crazy Indians' first month Bir’day we wish you, like we wish ourselves – Many girlfriends to you. And of course, many boyfriends too! We are a mixed up bunch after all.
