So the 15-man squad was decided for the ICCT20 campaign a while ago.
And the usual suspects are there with a few new faces added and a few old ones dropped.
To me the biggest miss is a spare wkt-keeper considering how Dhoni kept using Parthiv as a spare tyre in the IPL.
Or maybe he was aware that Kartik or Parthiv would not be selected and so he was doing that on purpose. Who knows?
Anyway.
Uthappa is missing from the lineup and based on people's responses to his IPL campaign, no one will, well, miss him.
I am happy that Jadeja (or JJ as Warne used to call him) has been selected. The kid has gumption and maturity.
Here is the squad:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and Irfan Pathan.
So who will make the final XI?
I for one don't want Lambu to play. Really I don't. And at some level I would prefer Ojha to Bhajji.
So my final XI would be:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan/JJ, Rohit Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar/Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha.
So, as you can see, confusion between YP and JJ, and PK and IP.
Hmm.
Taking Stock
1 hour ago
35 Maidens bowled!!:
A lotta people wud want to see Ojha instead of Bhajji...
Maybe after today's warm up game uve changed ur mind abt lambu?
Q,
Yeah, a lot of people wud regdg Bhajji.
I did not see the warm up game. Just got back. Plus my Willow Tv thinggy has some issues.
Did he bowl well? I'll check CI.
:-)
4-25 in 4 :-)
Cheers Q! That was quick.
:)
Wanted to get u b4 u hopped on to CI ;-)
Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir
Suresh Raina
Yuvraj Singh
MS Dhoni
Yusuf Pathan
Ravindra Jadeja
Irfan Pathan (Begrudgingly)
Praveen Kumar
Rudra Pratap Singh
Pragyan Ojha
Nohit Sharma has wasted way too many chances and I think Jadeja should be given a go. No Harbhajan for me too, he's better off playing darts.
Of course our bowlers have decided to not bowl in the block hole today.
Q,
Yay! My WillowTv feed is fixed.
Watching live!
:-)
No one can obviously read too much into the warm ups. Yeah, for me NZ are the dark horses for the tournament - in fact I would fancy them more than S Af should a pressure situation turn up.
As to the Indian composition - ideal team - GG/VS/SR/YS/RS/YP/MSD/IP (or RJ)/PO/PK/IS :)
Was too lazy to type out the names.. :)
Just watching on Sky and I hope like hell during the main tournament that guys like Gaurav Bhimani doesn't do the commentary - he's such a dork !
Mahek,
Yup Bhajji shd go play with dart boards.
I am also always reluctant to drop IP. He always shines on the big stage.
Mahek,
Missed the bowling.
:(
TG,
Bhimani is a dork.
:-)
NZ always punch above their weight as the cliche goes. Yeah they are better than the Saffers in pressure situations. Agreed.
Nohit Sharma wastes another good start with a soft dismissal. When will he learn???
Having listened to Benaud/Chappell/Greig/Atherton/Gavaskar et al, to listen to Bhimani is like having a heart surgery with no anaesthesia!
Mahek,
Just when I was thinking he carried his DC form into the match, he decides to get out.
TG,
LOL! That painful aa?
Can't imagine how Gavaskar and Greig can be mentioned in the same sentence as the others. The only difference between Gautam and Sunny is the latter has 10122 test runs to his name.
Mahek
Sure Gavaskar has his moments, but honestly he along with Bhogle are at the moment the only two Indian comms I can listen to.
Leela, yes it was THAT painful. If he and Ranjit Fernando ever do a stint together, then it's torture like nothing anyone can ever experience !
It might be something armies might need to look into during interrogations !!!
Age has caught up with senile sunny. He's like one of those old hags who can only bitch about stuff. Oh well, he does have his moments of appreciation when Tendulkar is playing.
TG,
LOL!!!
Ranjit and Bhimani! Hah Hah.
Someday I'll grow a beard like Daniel Vettori.
BTW TG,
Are you going to any of the matches to watch live?
In the words of Shastri,"I have a feeling something has got to give" when Gautam and Ranjith are in the commentary box.
Leela
Nope :( The damn tickets whistled past me even before I could think T20 WC..
It was akin to the time I tried to get tickets to a U2 concert - damn thing sold out in couple of minutes.. eventually via ebay one lucky bloke in Germany made hay on my behalf..
Might try the same - should an Ind - Aus final transpire.. Would my luck hold out ????
Oram is giving a lesson on death bowling to RP and Irfan. Idiots.
Mahek
The only thing that would give when Bhimani - Fernando are talking are the ear drums of the folks who listen to it :)
Well NZ are India's bogey team in T20 ! The tide has to change sometime - any takers for it to change in the semis ?? ;)
For sure NZ would be in the semis's considering which group they are in the Super 8 stage.
Ah well all in good practise..
Yeah, some practice of bowling absolute rubbish at the death and batting without brains.
Mahek/TG,
Shastri?
I do like him...
TG,
In these times of recession perhaps you'll make someone happy on Ebay!
;-)
Aus v. Ind. Hmm. Who will you support??
:-)
TG/Mahek,
Yeah NZ seem to be the bogey team. Well I am convincing myself that its a practice match, so OK.
Was the death bowling that bad?
Need to check it out.
Leela
Answers to your remarks :
Shastri - he started off well in comm stint, but lately he seems to come after having smoked some dope ;) Everything is just merry/big/huge etc.. you get the drift..
As to whom I'll support should an Aus - Ind final ? Easy doozy Aus !!!
Blasphemous ??? You could say so ;) but I'm the same bloke who went to Chepauk in 1998 and was one of the few individuals in my stand supporting Aus :) :) That though was one painful exp - ST ripped in SW the day I was there :)
TG,
Aww, I still like him. Plus he is always there during the big moments of a match, like Maithreyi once said to me.
I knew that!
:-)
Hey its a free country, not blasphemous at all.
Leela
I'll save you some trouble. The last two overs were atrocious. Till then was a decent effort :)
As to it being a practise match - true, but then it would have been good to get one over NZ before the real thing. Perhaps it's NZ's fate to lose to India at the stage where it really matters ;)
In fact - this year I would think once again the same four teams would be in the semis - Ind/Aus/Pak/NZ..
Sure S Af are damn good - but something tells me a mother of all chokes is in the offing with those guys :)
TG,
Actually Willow decided to save me some misery; they don't have a Replay link. Yet.
:-(
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