India

FacebookTwitterFacebook MessengerPinterestEmailprintThe importance of an allrounder in cricket cannot be overstated. From India's standpoint, it is about finding a seam-bowling allrounder. Finding batsmen who can bowl a little bit of spin, or spinners who can bat reasonably well, hasn't been that difficult. But while that sort of allrounder works all right in subcontinental conditions, they force you to compromise on either the batting department (by playing only five batsmen), or make you go in with only four bowling options overseas. You can't possibly play three spinners outside Asia (in red- or white-ball cricket) and that's why you desperately need a medium-pacer who can bat. … [Read more...] about India have missed a trick with their allrounder strategy

Given that India will tour the West Indies soon after, the India A squad includes a number of players who are likely to be part of the senior team, such as Test batsmen Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari. Shaw and Agarwal, along with KL Rahul, have established themselves as the three first-choice Test openers in recent months, with the more established pair of M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan falling out of favour. … [Read more...] about Wriddhiman Saha gets India A chance in bid to regain Test spot

"Under pressure, we have seen Dinesh Karthik finishing matches. That scored for him" MSK PRASAD "After that Champions Trophy [in 2017] we have tried quite a few middle-order batsmen, which also includes Dinesh Karthik; we also tried Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey. We did give a few more chances to Rayudu, but what Vijay Shankar offers is three dimensions. Apart from his batting, he can bowl; if the conditions are suitable, overcast, which we might encounter in England, he might bowl a bit and he's a fantastic fielder. That's the thing that went in favour of Vijay Shankar. … [Read more...] about Rahul and Karthik in, Pant and Rayudu out of India’s World Cup squad

As per the ICC's Future Tours Programme, India were scheduled to tour the West Indies after the World Cup for a full tour comprising two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. Although no dates had been finalised, it is believed that India were meant to reach the Caribbean immediately after the World Cup final on July 14. However, the BCCI might have wanted the India players to have a break before the tour, which the CWI was happy to entertain. … [Read more...] about India tour of West Indies to start in early August

Still, I feel there are a few areas he needs to work on, including keeping against the fast bowlers. I have observed he takes small steps towards the inside (towards his left for a right-hand batsman). Some wicketkeepers get into that habit naturally of going inside as a trigger movement before the ball is pitched. At times that could lead to missing edges that go mostly in the pocket between the wickeetkeeper and first slip. And those are mostly the keeper's catches. … [Read more...] about The Rishabh Pant question: In or out of India’s World Cup squad?