Indian domestic cricket/ players

[Atithee]

I highlighted this guy about a year ago. Was very impressed by his work ethics (I think it was his dad who was responsible for that though). I’d posted a link about it. Will dig it up and repost. I’ve followed him since then. He has done ok but had some ordinary performances too very recently. Not sure he’s that clearly ahead of Rahul.

[prasen9]

It is a matter of principle. If you have been given 35 tests or whatever and fail, then you deserve to go back to the drawing board and show us that you can play the long innings. If Easwaran is not there yet or not good enough, I would do with a stopgap Dhawan as I said. Or Panchal. If you go on giving chances to failures, then the system will get corrupt, youngsters will get disheartened, etc. Rahul should, of course, play in T20Is. I am talking about test cricket here.

[PKBasu]

I highlighted this guy about a year ago. Was very impressed by his work ethics (I think it was his dad who was responsible for that though). I’d posted a link about it. Will dig it up and repost. I’ve followed him since then. He has done ok but had some ordinary performances too very recently. Not sure he’s that clearly ahead of Rahul.

Yes I remember that well. I had been writing about him too, but didn't know the family background and details until you posted that great write-up. He hasn't stood out the way Mayank Agarwal did in the two years before he made his test debut. So Easwaran is not yet a shoo-in for a test squad call-up, but getting closer. Mayank and Prithwi made their case loud and clear, but Prithwi's drug suspension is a massive setback.

[Sin Hombre]

Agree with the sentiment prasen but Dhawan is a proven failure.

[PKBasu]

Easwaran averages just below 50 in first class cricket. He has been inconsistent in recent times, either making a big score or getting out early (a bit like Rahul at the start of his test career). His scores for India A: 233 (against SL A); 0 & 3 (also vs SL A); vs WI A: 28 & 27; 0 and 59*; 0 and 6. In the Duleep Trophy too, he failed in the first two matches, but shone in the final (making 153, in a match in which nobody else from either side got even a 50).

Priyank Panchal, the other candidate for opening batsman, has also been somewhat inconsistent (and averages 47+ in FC cricket). He did a bit better than Easwaran in the West Indies, but less well against SL A, and in the Duleep Trophy. Also Panchal is 29 and a half years old, whereas Easwaran is 23+. I would say that the latter has nudged ahead in recent times.

[Sin Hombre]

What would be the more ballsy option would be to give Gill a chance as the test opener against SA and BD.

[prasen9]

Agree with the sentiment prasen but Dhawan is a proven failure.

Abroad, yes. My idea is to use Dhawan for the home tests until Prithvi gets back and then reinstate him. However, I suppose Prithvi may not be able to be back at his best right away, etc. So, we may want to get a third opener who is young. Given that we have no other option but have pretty much honed in on Panchal and Easwaran, I would go with Easwaran because he is young. I am not against putting in Gill either but do not see the selectors take a flyer on him given that he has not opened much in FC that much. I think they will rather go with Rohit who is thought of highly by Shastri and Kohli is friends with him too.

[Atithee]

What about Sanju Samson for the wicket-keeper slot? Has Pant done enough to be the #1 choice keeper across all formats after Dhoni is done? I’ve always liked Samson though I like Pant as well.

[PKBasu]

Murali Vijay signed for Somerset in their bid to win the County Championship, but he has had a very poor start, making 36 runs in his first four innings, including a couple of ducks. So he is averaging 9, but the next match against Essex is crucial and he'd better score some runs to salvage his reputation.

[prasen9]

Vijay's contributions were to blunt the new ball assisted with Pujara. Unfortunately, his time is over. I wish he had played thus *before* our trip to England but maybe they were very busy with IPL, etc.

[PKBasu]

He actually did very well in the county matches he played last year after being dropped from the test side during the England tour. That's what got him a ticket to Australia.

[prasen9]

India (and England) suffer from having too many domestic teams that dilutes the quality of the matches. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, after 2-3 matches, here are the leaders:

Batting (qual: 105 runs, by average: Purakayastha, Karthik, Ravi Teja, Pawan, Pundir, Roy, Rahul

which means Rahul is back in form in List-A matches. But, I would not bring him back for the test series. Let him work hard in the domestics and show some hunger. Pundir is a young chap and the rest are above 30. Meaning forget them. This is based on 2-3 innings at max any way.

Ravi Teja, who played India U-19 and India-A has a fantastic List-A record. But, he is too old now to be given a shot. Karthik is very good in T20s and if we do not find a player to take the keeping or lower-order batting in our T20I team, for the WC only, we should consider him. At least among the non-regulars, he has the best T20I record.

Among the bowlers (qual: 5 wickets, by average): Prithvi Raj, BP Sandeep, Sagar Trivedi, IC Pandey, AS Sarkar (aka ass), M Mohammed.

I have no clue who these dudes are except the icy one, who played India-A

[jayakris]

So, what the hell is going on with this Sanju Samson fellow? Why are the Malayalam newspapers making such a big deal of him suddenly? Double century or whatever... I don't follow cricket that often, so I wondered if I should pay attention to this Malayali dude. Is he any good?

[Atithee]

In my opinion, yes. Pant has leapfrogged him but I think he should have been the first choice after Dhoni fades away.

[PKBasu]

Sanju Sansom is an often exciting, but inconsistent, batsman and a pretty mediocre wicket-keeper. With a first class batting average of 36+ and a List A batting average of 27+, he isn't exactly banging down the door demanding to be included in the Indian team (in any format). He got one chance to play a T20I four years ago, but didn't make the best of the opportunity. Of course it is very unfair to discard a player after just a single chance!