Live @ http://www.ja606.co.uk/articles/viewLiveArticle/173867

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neon

rambo though

Will the little one announce his retirement before the game, that's the big question on everyone's lips.

Sad that we won't see Zaheer play for India again, the guys been a true legend for them. It's a shame they've dumped him the way they have.

Series predictions before the series:

Me - 2 - 1 England
Afridi 2 -1 England

Pinefresh - 2 - 0 India
Duncan 2 - 0 India
Viren Sehwag 3 - 1 India
Neon 3 -1 India
Dernbach 4 - 0 India
Yorkie 2 - 0 India
Viru - too scared to make a prediction
Rabbit 2 - 1 India
Sprinker 4 - 0 India

http://www.ja606.co.uk/comments/viewAllComments/163049

Sad that we won't see Zaheer play for India again, the guys been a true legend for them. It's a shame they've dumped him the way they have.
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What makes it worse is that they have kept Ishant Sharma

Yeah, I know kash, shocking the way Zaheer has been treated. They dished out similar treatment to laxman as well, when things weren’t going well, and he was getting all the fingers pointed at him and eventually retired. Seems like the Indian selectors have their core favourites

Everyone knows India will be making changes after this series, and the likes of Gambhir, Sachin, sehwag and Dhoni may have to consider their futures. Did Zaheer really perform that badly that they couldn’t at least retain him in the squad? Unbelievable, the batsman don’t score runs on a flat pitch, the spinners have been woeful in the last 2 games, and Zaheer is told to pack his bags. Disgrace!!

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i dont think the one spinner's too bad actually. he's not the most attacking in the world but he flights it and has good control. (im talking about the one who cant bat).

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Well one things for sure.. England are the better side..

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Neon give the guy a break. We have a new fan and you call him Maski?

welcome newbie.

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I think zaheer hasn't actually done that bad when you compare his stats to other seamers in the series. Jimmy Anderson has bowled 94.4 overs for 8 against what has been an under performing Indian batting line up.

Whereas zaheer has had to contend with cook and others. I'd say its the spinners that need looking at. Ashwins batting performances have kept him in the team when his bowling has been average.

Plus zaheer has been bowling when India have been desperate for wickets and the pressure on the batsmen have been nominal.

On the other hand jimmy has been coming on when England's spinners have already turned the screw. Also the Indian batsmen have been under pressure through loss of wwickets or scoreboard pressure.

Stats have to be taken in context. It's unthinkable that jimmy would have been dropped had the roles been reversed.

Worrying from an Indian perspective is it's ok saying get rid of them all and make Kholi captain, but the lad is out of nick and doesn't look like he is ready.

If India want to take this approach, they need to manage expectations agongst some demanding fans used to success. Pujara is class. Kholi good. Sehwag and Ghambir good in their conditions. Batting otherwise weak. Dhoni underperforms with gloves and bat. Oija is class. Ashwin... Always a worry when a bowler gets noticed for batting over his true art.

Fact remains they could tear us apart like they did in the first test. Cricket is a funny old game.

pakistan made changes after they lost against australia, and England. we have lost 3 series by big margins. i am predicting england to win the last test that is.

cant cry about who is dropped and who is not. zak and many indian players had the option to chose between 3 formats, and since they are ageing they shud hv given up odis, t20s and ipls. they didnt so stick with ur ipl and give youngster a test place. simple.

the same way laxman and dravid went is the same way tendulkar will go. have u seen on twitter and facebook how much flak these legends have got. and to add to dat tendulkar has already ruined his nice average. he was averaging 57 after SA series last year, now he is close to 53.

cant have non-performers in the team. pujara and ojha are 2 young guys and were the reoson india won 1 st test. if they give chances to the likes of tiwari, rohit sharma, and other youngsters who r raring to go, we wud have atleast shown more fight if not win those tests.
yes ishant sharma will not even get in the bangladesh a squad, but our selectors did send a message to the seniors that if the dont perform they will be shown the door.
this is the average of indian players since WC
dravid - 51
tendulkar - 32
vvs - 36
sehwag - 33
dhoni - 30
kohli - 35
gambhir - 27.

and in this period they have all played close to 15 tests. and this was the same amount of tests raina has played and averaged 30 and got dropped.
except tendulkar there, u can last in a team for ur past laurells. the exception of tendulkar is because he has done so much for indian cricket.

zak in the past 2 years ie after WC victory has dropped his average by 2. and most of his tests were in pitches that helped bowlers. more than his bowling his fitness is a concern. he cud break up anytime, and im sure india are not in a position to play with just 3 bowlers in a mid game.

brayn glad u made this thread. I made the lst 2 and we were annihalated. hope the reverse happens this time.

Viru, I compare India and the IPL as I do England and the Premier League. Produce some great players like Kohli, but so caught in that how that format works, it affects them in the main game - Tests. (Or internationally in England footballers case).

Englands County game is on the up. No awesome Aussies like the 90's getting to grips with our pitches. No Kolpaks like 3 years ago.

A blend of seasoned Englishmen, a decent overseas player with experience (Jacques, North, Goodwin, Magoffin) and lots of promising youngsters.

Thanks for my welcome..

Is the IPL still respected?