Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[bitgov]

Test series is already ended now we have first ODI today at Karachi which is already in progress.

After the loss of NZ home series the newly appointed interim selector Shahid Afridi career also ended.
He seems to be so arrogant and people are not much admiring him after he has become political. Finally the poor selection by the newly appointed selection committee.

[DanWalker]

Squad looks OK for me. I would still prefer Ishan Kishan ahead of KS Bharat. Kishan is in terrific form and he was unfairly treated by Rohit Sharma as Shubman Gill was selected instead of him. BCCI has persisted with Mohammed Siraj, however I would have liked then to provide one or two chances to Umran Malik (his bowling style is more suitable to test format). One disappointment is that Abhimanyu Easwaran has been dropped without getting any chances to represent India. BTW, I don't know why Jaydev Unadkat is in the team.

Yeah, the squad announcement does look really good for India. I am actually interested to see if Jaydev Unadkat is going to perform in this series and if he does how he is going to perform. Because I do not remember the last time I saw him play in international cricket. The squad looks really good. The only thing needed is for every player to prove his worth. Also interested to see the performance of Kuldeep Yadav in test cricket.

[KennyR]

Squad looks OK for me. I would still prefer Ishan Kishan ahead of KS Bharat. Kishan is in terrific form and he was unfairly treated by Rohit Sharma as Shubman Gill was selected instead of him. BCCI has persisted with Mohammed Siraj, however I would have liked then to provide one or two chances to Umran Malik (his bowling style is more suitable to test format). One disappointment is that Abhimanyu Easwaran has been dropped without getting any chances to represent India. BTW, I don't know why Jaydev Unadkat is in the team.

Yeah, the squad announcement does look really good for India. I am actually interested to see if Jaydev Unadkat is going to perform in this series and if he does how he is going to perform. Because I do not remember the last time I saw him play in international cricket. The squad looks really good. The only thing needed is for every player to prove his worth. Also interested to see the performance of Kuldeep Yadav in test cricket.

Unadkat won't be getting anymore opportunity and maybe that's the reason why he's into the squad. He entered the team along with Virat Kohli, but what he had played is just 2 test matches and 7 ODI matches. Let's see what way he can support the team. Indian player selection is something different, because the selection takes place out of different ways and not just on the performance.

[DanWalker]

Unadkat won't be getting anymore opportunity and maybe that's the reason why he's into the squad. He entered the team along with Virat Kohli, but what he had played is just 2 test matches and 7 ODI matches. Let's see what way he can support the team. Indian player selection is something different, because the selection takes place out of different ways and not just on the performance.

I also agree that it is probably going to be the last chance for Unadkat to prove himself. He is already 31 years old. I believe that he does not have too much time left in his career as a fast bowler. So he will have to show a good performance right now. I am not going to say that he is a bad bowler, he is okay. But India has far better options compared to him. Virat Kohli is currently playing well. I think he will also be able to play well in this series. It is not going to be easy to play against Australia and beat them. But I believe India has the capability to do that.

[BobK71]

Virat Kohli is currently playing well. I think he will also be able to play well in this series. It is not going to be easy to play against Australia and beat them. But I believe India has the capability to do that.

Australia will play 4 Tests and 3 ODIs with India team from Feb 09. Currently, their excellent innings against Sri Lanka has boosted their confidence level. Although Australia is the biggest opponent for them. However, some Indian cricketers have been in good form in recent times. Especially Virat Kohli is in form hope he can perform well with others. Moreover, as a home ground, India team will get some advantages. Even though some of Australia's batsmen had good idea about that ground. But overall I can say the matches will be competitive.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

Virat Kohli is currently playing well. I think he will also be able to play well in this series. It is not going to be easy to play against Australia and beat them. But I believe India has the capability to do that.

Australia will play 4 Tests and 3 ODIs with India team from Feb 09. Currently, their excellent innings against Sri Lanka has boosted their confidence level. Although Australia is the biggest opponent for them. However, some Indian cricketers have been in good form in recent times. Especially Virat Kohli is in form hope he can perform well with others. Moreover, as a home ground, India team will get some advantages. Even though some of Australia's batsmen had good idea about that ground. But overall I can say the matches will be competitive.

Things will not be easy for India as they are now as Australia is an equally competitive and strong team and they'll definitely give hard time to India.  Matches are going to be interesting ones but India have an upper hand in this matter as its their home ground.  And by playing IPL they have Immense practice on their pitches. 
BTW India is performing excellently on Sirlankan pitches too .

[JSRAW]

I am actually interested to see if Jaydev Unadkat is going to perform in this series and if he does how he is going to perform. Because I do not remember the last time I saw him play in international cricket. The squad looks really good. The only thing needed is for every player to prove his worth. Also interested to see the performance of Kuldeep Yadav in test cricket.

He just played the test series against Bangladesh and did a satisfactory job despite bowling on the spin track.

----------------
BCCI has confirmed that Border Gavaskar Trophy will be 5 test match series from the next cycle, atm it's a 4 test match series. Good move

[pakhitheboss]

Bloody hell!! KL Rahul is VC again, which means he'll play the first 2 tests for sure and he'll open with Rohit.

I did mentioned it on the ODI thread that this guys has secured his berth after his performance in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. In the third ODI he again lost his wicket after scoring just 7 or 6 runs. This is how you keep your berth safe in the playing 11, when in the past you have proven yourself.

Jadeja is back in the squad but his fitness status is still not clear. SKY's name is surprising considering there are a bunch of guys breaking tons of records in Ranji.

Sir, Jadeja is a legend! I am happy that he is part of the squad. What I am excited about whether both Axar and Sir Jadeja both will be part of the playing 11. It seems Axar is trying to get his position. It would be awesome to see both these two playing and also delivering what India needs ( A series win). In my opinion Axar has proven that he can replace Jadega.

[elevates]

Bloody hell!! KL Rahul is VC again, which means he'll play the first 2 tests for sure and he'll open with Rohit.

I did mentioned it on the ODI thread that this guys has secured his berth after his performance in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. In the third ODI he again lost his wicket after scoring just 7 or 6 runs. This is how you keep your berth safe in the playing 11, when in the past you have proven yourself.

Everyone knows it Mumbai based players and Mumbai based celebrity players are the one who would eventually become as a captain for teams in different format and would also get multiple opportunities to prove themselves. It is evident from Gavaskar era. It is now clear that Rahul will eventually become the captain himself when Rohit is gone. The format would be only ODI and might be Test.

[fuguebtc]

Bloody hell!! KL Rahul is VC again, which means he'll play the first 2 tests for sure and he'll open with Rohit.

I did mentioned it on the ODI thread that this guys has secured his berth after his performance in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. In the third ODI he again lost his wicket after scoring just 7 or 6 runs. This is how you keep your berth safe in the playing 11, when in the past you have proven yourself.

Everyone knows it Mumbai based players and Mumbai based celebrity players are the one who would eventually become as a captain for teams in different format and would also get multiple opportunities to prove themselves. It is evident from Gavaskar era. It is now clear that Rahul will eventually become the captain himself when Rohit is gone. The format would be only ODI and might be Test.

I do not understand why India is doing this. I feel like they have better players who are more deserving of captaincy compared to KL Rahul. I agree that he can play well. And he is oftentimes a performer which India needs in certain situations. But I do not believe that he is going to be the best option to choose when it comes to the captaincy for India. Personally, I believe India has better options for the captaincy spot. I do not want to mention any names because I believe you guys can figure it out.

[Vaskiy]

Bloody hell!! KL Rahul is VC again, which means he'll play the first 2 tests for sure and he'll open with Rohit.

I did mentioned it on the ODI thread that this guys has secured his berth after his performance in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. In the third ODI he again lost his wicket after scoring just 7 or 6 runs. This is how you keep your berth safe in the playing 11, when in the past you have proven yourself.

Everyone knows it Mumbai based players and Mumbai based celebrity players are the one who would eventually become as a captain for teams in different format and would also get multiple opportunities to prove themselves. It is evident from Gavaskar era. It is now clear that Rahul will eventually become the captain himself when Rohit is gone. The format would be only ODI and might be Test.

I do not understand why India is doing this. I feel like they have better players who are more deserving of captaincy compared to KL Rahul. I agree that he can play well. And he is oftentimes a performer which India needs in certain situations. But I do not believe that he is going to be the best option to choose when it comes to the captaincy for India. Personally, I believe India has better options for the captaincy spot. I do not want to mention any names because I believe you guys can figure it out.

This is how the political system have designed the position of the Indian cricket team captain. It was by situation Dhoni being the captain for the team for long years. To me, Rahul seems to be the better choice because his performance will be almost similar in all matches. Most of the time some players consider captaincy as burden and it disturbs their performance. For that reason many players doesn't accept even when captaincy is offered.

[JSRAW]

Bloody hell!! KL Rahul is VC again, which means he'll play the first 2 tests for sure and he'll open with Rohit.

I did mentioned it on the ODI thread that this guys has secured his berth after his performance in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. In the third ODI he again lost his wicket after scoring just 7 or 6 runs. This is how you keep your berth safe in the playing 11, when in the past you have proven yourself.

Everyone knows it Mumbai based players and Mumbai based celebrity players are the one who would eventually become as a captain for teams in different format and would also get multiple opportunities to prove themselves. It is evident from Gavaskar era. It is now clear that Rahul will eventually become the captain himself when Rohit is gone. The format would be only ODI and might be Test.

-KL Rahul is from Karnataka.

check the list
-The current Test-ODI captain Rohit is from Mumbai.
-Hardik comes from Gujrat and leading the team in the T-20 atm
-Kohli led the Indian team for 5-6 years in all formats and he's from Delhi
-Dhoni hails from Jharkhand.
-During the transition period Kumble, Dravid and Sehwag also led the Indian team and they are from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi respectively.
-Ganguly is from Kolkatta.
-Sachin (Mumbai)
-Azhar (Telangana)

In the Gavaskar era, captaincy's musical chair was going on between Gavaskar, Kapil and Bedi.
-Bishan Singh Bedi (Punjab)
-Kapil Dev (Punjab)
-Dilip Vengsarkar (Mumbai)
-Ravi Shastri (Mumbai)
-Srikkanth (Chennai)

Mumbai lobby used to be very strong because traditionally they have produced so many batsmen and dominated the Ranji but when it comes to captaincy they are not blue eyed boy.
 

[fuguebtc]

This is how the political system have designed the position of the Indian cricket team captain. It was by situation Dhoni being the captain for the team for long years. To me, Rahul seems to be the better choice because his performance will be almost similar in all matches. Most of the time some players consider captaincy as burden and it disturbs their performance. For that reason many players doesn't accept even when captaincy is offered.

I do not think that MS. Dhoni was the captain of India just because he was from Mumbai. He was actually a very good captain. And I do not think India is going to get a captain like him for years to come. But the captain citation in India right now is very questionable and not very reliable as well. I have no idea how Kl Rahul is suitable for the Captaincy position. After MS. Dhoni, I am yet to like any captain suitable for India. Virat Kohli is a good performer but not a good captain. Rohit Sharma is decent but not one of the best for sure. And I have no idea how they are even thinking about KL Rahul.

[BobK71]

This is how the political system have designed the position of the Indian cricket team captain. It was by situation Dhoni being the captain for the team for long years. To me, Rahul seems to be the better choice because his performance will be almost similar in all matches. Most of the time some players consider captaincy as burden and it disturbs their performance. For that reason many players doesn't accept even when captaincy is offered.

I do not think that MS. Dhoni was the captain of India just because he was from Mumbai. He was actually a very good captain. And I do not think India is going to get a captain like him for years to come. But the captain citation in India right now is very questionable and not very reliable as well. I have no idea how Kl Rahul is suitable for the Captaincy position. After MS. Dhoni, I am yet to like any captain suitable for India. Virat Kohli is a good performer but not a good captain. Rohit Sharma is decent but not one of the best for sure. And I have no idea how they are even thinking about KL Rahul.

It is not easy to get a reliable captain like Dhoni in Indian cricket. Although I know that the Indian team is still a very strong team in the cricket world. There are also many good players outside of the national team. But it will take time to find someone like Dhoni. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli are all good performers, but they are not yet qualified to captain like Dhoni. I consider Dhani is the best captain ever.

[LDL]

It is not easy to get a reliable captain like Dhoni in Indian cricket. Although I know that the Indian team is still a very strong team in the cricket world. There are also many good players outside of the national team. But it will take time to find someone like Dhoni. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli are all good performers, but they are not yet qualified to captain like Dhoni. I consider Dhani is the best captain ever.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's best captain of all time, not only captained well in all formats, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was an ideal genius for the whole of cricket. I have seen many of his captaincy in the national team and one thing that has always stood out in him is great discipline. His fielding arrangements were outstanding, almost many matches were turned into success by Dhoni's performance. In a match between Bangladesh and India, India won that day only because of Dhoni's brilliant batting and that was one of my memorable moments between India and Bangladesh. I have always admired Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy and doubt anyone will get a second spell in India with a captaincy like his.

[John Abraham]

It is not easy to get a reliable captain like Dhoni in Indian cricket. Although I know that the Indian team is still a very strong team in the cricket world. There are also many good players outside of the national team. But it will take time to find someone like Dhoni. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli are all good performers, but they are not yet qualified to captain like Dhoni. I consider Dhani is the best captain ever.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's best captain of all time, not only captained well in all formats, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was an ideal genius for the whole of cricket. I have seen many of his captaincy in the national team and one thing that has always stood out in him is great discipline. His fielding arrangements were outstanding, almost many matches were turned into success by Dhoni's performance. In a match between Bangladesh and India, India won that day only because of Dhoni's brilliant batting and that was one of my memorable moments between India and Bangladesh. I have always admired Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy and doubt anyone will get a second spell in India with a captaincy like his.

Not Just as a Captain. He will be remembered as Performer as well. Dhoni always played a big role in Big matches. He achieved a lot more than other Indian captains. I feel sorry for him because he had to move aside to give a chance to young players. I don't see any problem because Dhoni encouraged team management to remove Viru from the team while he was captain. Each captain wants their favorite players on the team. So, I am not surprised.

[mm2543363580]

It is not easy to get a reliable captain like Dhoni in Indian cricket. Although I know that the Indian team is still a very strong team in the cricket world. There are also many good players outside of the national team. But it will take time to find someone like Dhoni. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli are all good performers, but they are not yet qualified to captain like Dhoni. I consider Dhani is the best captain ever.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's best captain of all time, not only captained well in all formats, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was an ideal genius for the whole of cricket. I have seen many of his captaincy in the national team and one thing that has always stood out in him is great discipline. His fielding arrangements were outstanding, almost many matches were turned into success by Dhoni's performance. In a match between Bangladesh and India, India won that day only because of Dhoni's brilliant batting and that was one of my memorable moments between India and Bangladesh. I have always admired Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy and doubt anyone will get a second spell in India with a captaincy like his.

Not Just as a Captain. He will be remembered as Performer as well. Dhoni always played a big role in Big matches. He achieved a lot more than other Indian captains. I feel sorry for him because he had to move aside to give a chance to young players. I don't see any problem because Dhoni encouraged team management to remove Viru from the team while he was captain. Each captain wants their favorite players on the team. So, I am not surprised.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an amazing human being his game was worth remembering,  he was not just an amazing player but an outstanding human being with so much discipline and grid , his maturity was always visible in his game none can be a captain like him.
I have seen various Indian captains and they sometimes go out of their lines in terms of attitude may be reason is arrogance or what but with MS Dhoni he is a down to earth person with so much respect for everyone.

[justdimin]

Not Just as a Captain. He will be remembered as Performer as well. Dhoni always played a big role in Big matches. He achieved a lot more than other Indian captains. I feel sorry for him because he had to move aside to give a chance to young players. I don't see any problem because Dhoni encouraged team management to remove Viru from the team while he was captain. Each captain wants their favorite players on the team. So, I am not surprised.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni surely deserve the GOAT of the Indian cricket because as he changes things in Indian this all brings amazing discipline and quality and his record is still having place in Indian cricket with Golden Words because he was game changer with his performance and attitude as well even I believe Sourav Ganguly was also man who bring changes but Mahendra Singh Dhoni is surely much better and successful in bringing more trophies successes.

Every player and captain having good and bad things with their name and career, but he was really player and leader who was doing things for team and country and giving results as par are also best now Indian team will take long time for having player and captain like him.

[BobK71]

It is not easy to get a reliable captain like Dhoni in Indian cricket. Although I know that the Indian team is still a very strong team in the cricket world. There are also many good players outside of the national team. But it will take time to find someone like Dhoni. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli are all good performers, but they are not yet qualified to captain like Dhoni. I consider Dhani is the best captain ever.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's best captain of all time, not only captained well in all formats, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was an ideal genius for the whole of cricket. I have seen many of his captaincy in the national team and one thing that has always stood out in him is great discipline. His fielding arrangements were outstanding, almost many matches were turned into success by Dhoni's performance. In a match between Bangladesh and India, India won that day only because of Dhoni's brilliant batting and that was one of my memorable moments between India and Bangladesh. I have always admired Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy and doubt anyone will get a second spell in India with a captaincy like his.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not only doing well in captaincy also received the man of the match award for many times. He was not behind in international cricket and other domestic leagues. His leadership in any adverse situation of the team was excellent. His presence in the team meant that there was a kind of courage working in every player. He also captained the Chennai Super Kings for a long time in the Indian Premier League and was successful. Need another prayer like him to lead the Indian national team.

[fuguebtc]

It is not easy to get a reliable captain like Dhoni in Indian cricket. Although I know that the Indian team is still a very strong team in the cricket world. There are also many good players outside of the national team. But it will take time to find someone like Dhoni. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli are all good performers, but they are not yet qualified to captain like Dhoni. I consider Dhani is the best captain ever.

I believe that right now India is still a very good team in the world because they have very good individual players. But the impact which MS. Dhoni had on the Indian team just with his captaincy was really big. I personally have seen India win a lot of matches that they surely would have lost just because of the captaincy of Dhoni. So, I think to say that he was the captain of the Indian team just because he was born or from a certain part of India is very disrespectful. I don't know about anyone else but MS. Dhoni was a legit good captain for India for a long time.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's best captain of all time, not only captained well in all formats, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni was an ideal genius for the whole of cricket. I have seen many of his captaincy in the national team and one thing that has always stood out in him is great discipline. His fielding arrangements were outstanding, almost many matches were turned into success by Dhoni's performance. In a match between Bangladesh and India, India won that day only because of Dhoni's brilliant batting and that was one of my memorable moments between India and Bangladesh. I have always admired Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy and doubt anyone will get a second spell in India with a captaincy like his.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not only doing well in captaincy also received the man of the match award for many times. He was not behind in international cricket and other domestic leagues. His leadership in any adverse situation of the team was excellent. His presence in the team meant that there was a kind of courage working in every player. He also captained the Chennai Super Kings for a long time in the Indian Premier League and was successful. Need another prayer like him to lead the Indian national team.

And I think another aspect of MS Dhoni which people have almost forgotten is his ability to finish the match. He was a good player but a very big responsibility to him from the club was to finish on a high and he had done that consistently for a long period of time. And he was a good captain because he always thought about the risk versus reward of every decision.