The Contenders

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

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