IndusCreed wrote:sportbloggeradi wrote:It is their performance which makes me feel we need Sachin, V V S and Rahul. They still are quality material and the best available specialist batsmen even at their respective ages.
As for the 100th ton, it's the fans and media who are building it. Not Sachin's fault really that he has made 99.
Dravid did well in England and against West Indies. He has a bad tour now and we suddenly jump on him as scapegoat. What about Sehwag and Gautam ?
I think I mentioned in my post that these players are class Cricketers and will perform given enough chances. I can see that statement of mine to be true even when these guys are in their late 40s. When do we have them off the team? Never?
About that 100 of 100s - I never said it was SRT. But the way things have been built around it, it is bound to affect the best player in the world. I would rather have SRT to forget about it (if possible) and enjoy whatever Cricket time he's got left.
What about Sehwag and Gautam ? In the thread titled "who should be dropped for the 4th test", I personally picked both Sehwag and Gautam to be dropped along with VVS. Not Dravid
It was only after reading Mr. ddb's post that I realized that I might have shot both the openers
Nonetheless, if we had options, I would happily stick to my decision still. If SRT is willing to open and we are brave enough to plug in a new face with him, let's do it. Sehwag, in particular, has been awful! Let's get rid of him at least!
I have a lot of respect for Dravid as a Cricketer but his days in the sun might be coming to an end (soon, if not immediately). I cannot say it more clearly than this
37 for a specialist batsman who fields in slips for most of his batting career, someone who is not a part of ODI and T20 squad in last few years , gets enough time to recover and relax.
Rahul is one of the slowest runner in our team, but he is fit. He showed in England he can still stand on wicket for long enough time. So he is fit as a specialist batsman , although not as agile as one would like to benchmarked as a fielder (slip). Also he is no more a regular feature of Indian ODI squad, except when he got selected for England ODI last year. So like Laxman he gets time to relax and recover the toll of test cricket on the body.
Sachin is one of the fittest Indian cricketer. He played entire 50 overs against Saffers in ODI and there were lots of 1's, 2's that he ran for himself as well as partners at other end. He continues to score in this series as well. So he is fit. Also, i am aware he practices a lot in nets even after tours. So fitness is not a matter of concern to him. What's the big deal about age then. If 40 years specialist batsmen are more fit than a 30 years specialist batsman (Gautam has gone through more injuries than Sachin, Dravid and V V S), then why are we bringing age into perspective. It's not as if they have crossed 41.
Sachin, V V S and Rahul will be prudent to retire when age catches them and they realize they are not fit enough to be selected as specialist batsmen. I doubt they will play beyond 41.
As for performances, yes Laxman has been patchy with a good series following with a bad one or two, then good series again...
Dravid played well against West Indies and England followed by the bad performance against Aussies right now. So i don't think he should be dropped.
Sachin had a bad England series but he i think is our major scorer in this series.
As i said, gradual transition is needed, but these players can still continue to be fit at their ages and score runs.
Test FL's - 8 , ODI and Tests Combo FL's - 1, ODI World Cup - 1, ODI FL's - 7, ODI and T20i combo FL's - 1 ,
T20 Franchisee FL's - 7, T20i Cup FL's- 1, T20 FL's- 5 , 50 Overs Domestic FL's - 1, 40 Overs Domestic FL's- 1
