From: pvr@argo.rice.edu (PVR Narasimha Rao)
Subject: Re: Indian Team Selected
Organization: Rice University
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 05:26:02 GMT


In article <1992Oct3.021251.21394@news.acns.nwu.edu>, sidi@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Sadiq Yusuf) writes:


|> 	Why indeed. He's probably not much less of an opener than Jadeja
|> is, he did face Ambrose and co, and Waqar and co with aplomb as an opener


That was an ODI and this is a test series (moreover, there is hell a lot of
difference between the pitches in Sharjah and the ones in SA!)! Kambli doesn't
open even in the domestics. Jadeja has been opening in the domestics for a long
time.

If you tell me Kambli is a good bat and perhaps merited selection, I agree.
But saying that he should've been selected as an opener is IMHO not convincing.
Kambli is good enough to make it to the team as a middle order bat, he need not
suddenly become one of those "with pretensions as an opener" just to make it to
the team. I hope he doesn't get disheartened and keeps up his performance in the
domestics. One more season of high scores will definitely dispel the unfortunate
doubts over his temperament in everyone.

There is a chance that Kambli, if he does well in the domestics now and someone
in the middle order fails in SA, may be taken for the series with Eng. I hope
it happens (atleast in ODIs).


|> in Sarjah. Iam convinced that the selectors wanted to take Jadeja , just
|> because they wanted to . ( they're selectors ) And the problem was that
|> Jadeja is clearly not a proven opener, not even a regular one. Against


Though Jadeja didn't start as an opener, now he's more or less a regular. I
am not sure what you mean by "Jadeja is clearly not a proven opener". In
domestics, he's been piling up high scores for a long time. Atleast in the
present situation where there aren't many good openers (proven at the
international level) around, he certainly deserves a chnace. He's supposed to
have a nice temperament and technique for a test opener.

In ODIs, he did a nice job in the WC match with Pakistan. He was very
comfortable against WA, WY, Imran etc. He certainly deserved more chances.


|> Donald and co, that was not enough. So, they went with Raman too, in case
|> of failure. 


It is traditional to take 3 openers (or 3 batsmen with pretensions as
openers) atleast when the tour is a long one. If there is no place in the
team for an extra middle order batsman (Kambli), that's because of taking 5
seamers and it's unfair to criticize Jadeja for it.


|> 	Why not Siddhu ? Siddhu is supposedly out of form, didn't score in
|> teh domestics. Well, he got a 59 in the Irani. Jadeja's highest in the


I don't want to give an impression of being anti-Sidhu. I loved watching his
straight driven sixers and elegant square cuts. He had nice knocks. But he did
hardly anything to justify retention in the team for a loooooong time.

I haven't forgotten his innings in the Reliance cup, matchsaving 98 in Pak in
a test, century (maiden??) at B'Lore v NZ (and another good innings in WI??)
etc. But, that's it to it! Since that murder case, he has been running thru
a lean patch (injuries on every tour didn't do any good either). Even in the
domestics, Sidhu hasn't done great. OTOH, Jadeja and Raman have been doing very
well in domestics. In terms of technique (for a test opener), Jadeja and Raman
are no less than Sidhu (mind you, even Sidhu was a makeshift opener. Even he is
not a regular opener for Punjab).


|> domestics so far is 40, in the Duleep final. And if you had taken Siddhu,


But, he (Jadeja) had been doing well very till the last season. There hasn't
been much cricket so far in this domestic season anyway.


|> you didn't have to panic and take a 3rd opener just in case, leaving a spot


If they had taken Sidhu, I am SURE they would've taken another opener just
in case! What with Sidhu getting injured on every tour he is selected for....
Even for a small tour like Eng tour (3 tests, 2 ODIs and a lot of tour matches),
they selected 3 openers (it was just before that tour that they converted the
left-handed Raman into an opener).


|> open for the best remaining bat rather than the best remaining bat with
|> pretensions as an opener. 


As I said previously, that's because of an extra seamer. They take 3 openers
for every long tour. Probably they should've taken 17 players ....

May be they will fly Kambli to SA in the middle of the tour after someone in the
middle order fails or someone (need not be a bat, say Banerjee) gets injured! It
has become a common practice in Indian cricket in the last few years!


|> 		Sadiq [ another Bombayite who isn't overjoyed ] Yusuf


PVR
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