10 players of the Indian test squad more or less pick themselves . These 10 players are the Top 5 batsmen+Yuvraj (:) ) + MSD+ Zak+ Ishant + Bhajji. (just for the moment, leave the fact that Ishant was dropped for Sreesanth in the home series v SL)
That leaves us with 1 slot. This goes to a seamer in overseas games and typically a 2nd spinner in sub-continental conditions. And this is the slot we ping-pong with. Sreesanth's ok-ok form off late means he is probably the 3rd seamer (to be used overseas). But in the subcontinent games, its (as of now) between Mishra & Ojha (&how). Check the below trail of our last few series:
Ind v Aus (in India in Oct08)- Mishra made debut & was awesome
Ind v Eng (in India in late08)- Mishra continued & was good , if not spectacular
Ind v NZ (in NZ in early 09)- No spinner needed
Ind v SL (in Ind in late 09)- Suddenly, Mishra is dropped after an ordinary 1st test on a batting beauty & Ojha is in. Ojha does a good job
Ind v Bangla (in Bangla in 2010)-
1st test- Mishra is in & Ojha is out. Mishra doesnt bowl too well, but takes a 7-for in the match & we win the match (apparently, captain Sehwag's call)
2nd test- Ojha is in & Mishra is out !!! (back to captain MSD & his call)
I cant fathom why we play around with that marginal 4th bowler instead of giving 1 person a good run and loads of confidence. It usually shows also when we struggle to pick up the last 3-4 wickets.
No comments:
Post a Comment