The general feeling seems to be that India's fortunes in the remainder of the series may well depend on how Sehwag fares on return from his shoulder injury.
His return has been met with a wave of optimism; the star opener with his aggressive instincts who brings a whole new dynamic to the Indian team. The game-changer who will provide India with something they've lacked so far at the top and who allows other to bat around him unnoticed. His return will allow Dravid to drop to his preferred no3 and Laxman to 5 bringing an order to the batting and he will freshen things up around the dressing room, he is after all India's Mr positive.
However is this too much to ask? Unrealistic or in fact a possibilty? Here's a couple of points...
1) He hasn't played in his whites since around January and hasn't picked up a bat in anger since May. A two day tour game in which he might bat once (unless Northants win the toss and bat for two days! Or it rains) is not in the slightest enough time to prepare for a Test, even more so when returning from an injury that has plagued him for a long time. Will his shoulder even hold up? Simply undercooked for such an occasion.
2) His record in seaming conditions isn't impressive and his lack of footwork can get him in a lot of bother when its darting around although I personally believe he has the ability to score on such wickets if he is more patient against the new ball and respects good deliveries (asking a lot I suppose). He can take the pitch out of the equation on his day and has in the past ( NZ ODI'S 03) but against this attack in this form with his approach it's a very big ask for an undercooked Sehwag to seize the initiative. He is just as likely to nick off first ball playing an expansive cover drive as he is to carving it over third man for six.
I'm a huge fan of his, he is a modern great and for the sake of the series I would love to see a typical Sehwag whirlwind to propel a big total and create some scoreboard pressure but I can't see it happening. Too much is expected off his bat to suddenly help turn a lackluster, underprepared and at times hapless Indian team in all disciplines around and compete with this England side in this form.
If he has added an unplayable doosra in his spare time to his decent off-spinners or has overnight became an 85-90mph speedster (to aid the struggling and tired seamers) then maybe just maybe... As India will not take 20 wickets the way things look without Zaheer and an in-form spinner or without having to chase an impossible total and thats their biggest concern.
I understand the cause of optimism in his return as he is a key cog in the machine and has that x-factor about him. However I don't see him coming off for varying reasons and he alone isn't the answer to India's numerous issues.
Your thoughts?
Virender or Surrender?
posted on 4/8/11
whereis denigrating?its just an opinion punk.if you dont agree,,dont,,give a reason,why should you be emotional?
posted on 4/8/11
galloping.he had a bad series against westindies ,,correct...but that doesnt reflect his true self..the pitch was very hard for any batsman..a very low score game..and again a 2 test match run is not a long chance enough to the batsman...
i have likened virat kohli to ricky ponting.esp.that pull shot..although not as attractive as the masters shot,,but nevertheless very attractive indeed.
posted on 4/8/11
Kohli does look an excellent talent
posted on 4/8/11
indiasox,
I like Kohli and think he has a bright future. Looks very classy and he has himself said he will take lessons from the WI tour which can only be a good thing, he has a bit of an ego and the working over he received will only benefit him long term.
Interesting times ahead for your youngsters but I do believe Yuvraj will struggle now to make anything of his Test career.
posted on 4/8/11
yubraj is just limited over wonder..while he has a great techniques ,,he doesnt have temperament to play test matches..but he is a big match player like kevin pietersen of england,,but he will not get such a long run like kp as he should cement his place first.
in test cricket ,yuvraj singh is just "waterboy" .a great entertainer and fighter nevertheles...a bit unlucky also i should say coz the middle order was always settled for india.
posted on 4/8/11
I see Indiasox is far happier talking about the future for India than dealing with the present.
I wonder why that is.
posted on 4/8/11
But in that same middle order he couldn't get a look in was a certain Sourav Ganguly who had similar problems against the short ball but found a method to make a long and pretty succesful Test career... Yuvraj just doesn't seem to find a way of combating it and doesn't have Ganguly's grit. Can't see a way back for him TBH.
posted on 4/8/11
agree mate.
posted on 4/8/11
I think the main stumbling block is that most young Indian batsmen are gearing up for an IPL contract, and play too much 50 over and T20 cricket.
In the shorter format you are restricted to 1 short delivery per over, whereas in tests you are not. They try too hard to get on the front foot, and their technique vs short bowling is not good, hence them being easy to intimidate and dismiss with short stuff.
This is one of the reasons that there appears to be a massive gulf between the outgoing batsmen and their perceived replacements.
posted on 4/8/11
HM,
I'd agree to a large extent with that. Although the BCCI has a lot to answer for as they prioritize the IPL over A-tours to SA/Eng/Aus which should be regular calender events for the youngsters to play first class cricket over here and play in different conditions.
The desire has to be questioned as well to an extent. Some of them with Test aspirations should be trying to play a bit of county cricket like a young Tendulkar or Dravid...
They are still learning the game however so we can only see how they develop... Lets not forget players of the ilk of the outgoing batsmen don't come along much as many previous Indian batsmen before the limited overs overload also struggled over here and so on.