ACC Asia Cup

[Sanjay]

Who is quota?

[prasen9]

Shubman Gill is a quota player. This quota is preserved for people like him who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. The selectors think that they will perform just because they look elegant, etc.

They also have a quota from a different format. For example, test captain's quota. Gill has performed the best among the younger lot in the middle order in tests and thus they think he will succeed in T20Is. We have possibly kicked a WC in India to the Aussies by having a reverse quota. From T20Is to ODIs, wherein an abject failure in ODIs like SkAY was foisted into the ODI squad while better performers like Samson were kept at bay. Consequently, when we needed the 7th bat on the day when our top order fizzled, he was not there and overall had a terrible WC.

These are the modern day manifestations of the zonal quotas we had and the quotas we have in jobs, etc.

There is no other way to explain why a player who has scored about 10 runs less per innings, and slower by about 20 points in the SR (approximately) in about the same number of matches is selected in the team while the other player who has the best record in tests among the younger generation with an average close to 50 is ignored.

There is no logical reason as to why Yashasvi is considered inferior to Gill in T20Is. This right-handed/left-handed combination business works when you are using a player with equal abilities. Jaiswal is way ahead of Gill in T20Is at this point. There is absolutely no reason to select Gill.

Gill has always been the selectors favorites. He has failed again and again in tests and has been persevered. The same courtesy was not given to Shreyas or Karun or Sarfaraz, etc.

He is the quintessential quota selection.

[prasen9]

Anyway since this is an Asia Cup thread I hope this was the last ever Asia Cup and we don't have to play these proxy bilateral series vs Pakistan. The earlier this tournament is banned and blacklisted the better it is for cricket.

How is this a proxy bilateral series? Sri Lanka has performed better than Pakistan in T20Is. If anything this is an India-SriLanka proxy bilateral series usually. This year it was an aberration. Also, Sri Lanka was the one who almost beat us this year although it was with our top players in Bumrah, etc. resting.

[Atithee]

^^Bumrah is not our top player anymore. In any format of the game despite his stellar numbers. This proves that numbers are not the be all end all. He has rarely come through in crunch times. He doesn’t bat well, and I have never seen him slide or dive while fielding. He takes breaks at will. These are not the hallmark of a top player.

[Sin Hombre]

^^Understood, but there are more countries involved. This is their best chance to compete against others in a short duration including India and Pakistan to grow and test their skills. Perhaps, India and Pakistan need to be put in opposite groups, and make playoffs a knockout, so they can at best play only once. Throwing baby out with the bath water is not the solution.

This tournament is a transfer of money from the Indian consumer to this terrorist country.

We are better off playing bilaterals with friendly countries.

[Atithee]

^^I think that’s an extreme view. There are a lot more countries including Associates that benefit too. Although many of the Middle East associates are largely made up of the terrorist nation discards.

[prasen9]

^^Bumrah is not our top player anymore. In any format of the game despite his stellar numbers. This proves that numbers are not the be all end all. He has rarely come through in crunch times. He doesn’t bat well, and I have never seen him slide or dive while fielding. He takes breaks at will. These are not the hallmark of a top player.

Whatever you say is not gospel. Bumrah is an all-time great player and has performed very well. This "proves" nothing except you do not know the meaning of the word. Your subjective opinion is not proof of anything. If you want to prove something, define a metric, justify the metric, and show me the evidence. The word top is numerically defined; it means #1, better than the others. A top player is defined by skill and not by fitness. He is smart that he does not dive or slide at the boundary. I have seen him dive at cover, etc. to take a catch. He manages his risk. His bowling style puts great stress on his body and he manages it well.

He is not *the* top player but he is our best pace bowler. He won us the T20I WC. It is not about just performing in crunch times. He performs day in and day out. Not like Siraj, who takes matches off and bowls crap. No other bowler has come through in crunch time repeatedly anyway. I would take a hard-worker who performs at a high level most matches than lazy bums who turn up only on the last day of a match.

[sameerph]

^^I think that’s an extreme view. There are a lot more countries including Associates that benefit too. Although many of the Middle East associates are largely made up of the terrorist nation discards.

India should not really be thinking if it gives opportunities to smaller Asian teams. We should be thinking what is good for us.

I think it came too close to Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor where general public perception is sharply against Pak. So, it would have better to cancel this instead of playing and than indulging in all this.

Also, cricketwise there is not much to gain for us by playing this event and beating everyone easily, We are better off playing better quality teams.

[prasen9]

Exactly.

In test cricket, we are #4, thanks to long over due rebuilding by carrying Kohli for 5 years, Rohit for a year or two and before that carrying Pujara and Rahane for a couple of years, etc. and not giving a reasonable run to candidates such as Sarfaraz, Karun, etc. So, we should play RSA, England, Australia at home and New Zealand abroad (having just played NZ at home and England abroad). Maybe Sri Lanka could also be interesting. Useless to play West Indies, Bangladesh, etc.

In ODI cricket, we are #1. We should play New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka abroad and not much with the other weaklings. I would play as many overseas tours as possible to gain experience in NZ, Australia, Sri Lanka (spin) etc.

In T20Is, we are #1. Again, play the SENA countries and WI abroad in this format.

I know series need to be planned in advance.

Withdraw from the ACC - Asian Council especially after Naqvi treats it as his personal fiefdom while advocating for Pakistan with the ICC. A leader for the ACC should be impartial at least in public.

[prasen9]

Let's have more Champions Trophy type things but invite only top-6 ODI teams and top-6 T20I teams and have some tournaments if you need more multi-nation tournaments. I think cricket needs divisions in tests and in white ball cricket too.

[Rajkumar Sharma]

India A’s squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup:


Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (VC), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (C) (WK), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Abhisek Porel (WK), Suyash Sharma.

Stand-by Players: Gurnoor Singh Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi, Shaik Rasheed.

[Rajkumar Sharma]

Rising stars have been demolished. Yash Thakur no controll, Suyash Sharma getting smashed in slow tracks. Ramandeep Singh again given chance gone failure. From 91/1 to 136 all out, careless batting. Jitesh Sharma can't be in that T20 WC Squad with such poor game reading ability

[prasen9]

Jitesh can hit 1-2 sixes and then gets out. He should not be in the team as a keeper in T20Is. In T20Is, our best keeper-bat is Samson and the second best is Rahul among those who have played. If you want someone at #4 or #5, go with Rahul if you do not trust Samson. The slowest are Ishan and Pant. And, the under-15 candidate is Jitesh (he averages at near 15 or will be soon under it).

[PKBasu]

Anyway since this is an Asia Cup thread I hope this was the last ever Asia Cup and we don't have to play these proxy bilateral series vs Pakistan. The earlier this tournament is banned and blacklisted the better it is for cricket.

How is this a proxy bilateral series? Sri Lanka has performed better than Pakistan in T20Is. If anything this is an India-SriLanka proxy bilateral series usually. This year it was an aberration. Also, Sri Lanka was the one who almost beat us this year although it was with our top players in Bumrah, etc. resting.

It was a proxy bilateral series because the format was contrived to ensure that India and Pakistan would play each other 3 times. There was no other reason for India and Pakistan to be in the same group in the pool stage -- except to have them play each other twice.

Now we have an Emerging Players' Cup also for India to play Pakistan?? Crazy!

[prasen9]

So, the government's stance is crazy! Ok.