> Indian Team Selection - Another Shame

Safin

What Mumbai Mirror has come out with is something thats plain obvious for all to see.
Indian team for the upcoming Asia cup in Bangladesh has been announced.
The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan in Indian team

The team (for Bangladesh and Asia Cup): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, S. Sreesanth, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha.

Coach: Gary Kirsten.

Important observations.

Sachin Tendulkar was ruled out because of injury. The selectors and Dhoni’s views on Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly for one-day internationals has been made more or less emphatic now.

Now If we take into account current form, Dravid and Dada did pretty well in IPL. The same canot be said about RU, Sehwag(who incidentally was a flop show in Australia too).

But the real main shocker, Sachin Tendulkar stays out due to fitness trouble. (He has developed a groin injury). How droll, whats more important? Playing for India or playing for money and IPL? Such tall claims by Sachin till date on how he values playing for India. Yea we can see that.

Here is what Mumbai Mirror writes

SOON THE Indian Premier League will be forgotten and all talk will revolve just around the Indian team. The first sign of that happening was the selection meeting of the national selectors at the Board of Control for Cricket in India headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium to pick the fifteen member squad for the tri-series, involving India, hosts Bangladesh and Pakistan, and the Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan.
And when they ended their hourlong meeting, that was also attended by the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten, they had given left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha from Hyderabad and Baroda all-rounder Yousuf Pathan a berth in the Indian team for the first time.
When selectors sat down yesterday morning, they had to look at replacements for two important men, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.
While Tendulkar has aggravated his groin injury by playing in the Indian Premier League much against the advice of the former Team India physio John Gloster, Harbhajan has been banned following the ‘slapgate’ incident.
PRESSURE IN IPL
TENDULKAR’S ABSENCE from the two tournaments raises serious doubts on who really decides upon his fitness. It also shows us how much pressure was he under to turn out for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. The manner that Tendulkar had chosen in the past to play or sit out of the tournament is an indication that he, himself, is deciding on his fitness.
He was one of the players who missed the fitness tests taken at the National Cricket Academy at Bangalore prior to the start of the Test series against South Africa. The result was that he was forced out after the first Test and was sitting out of the first seven matches of the IPL. It was only the bad position that Mumbai Indians found themselves in that he rushed himself to the middle.
Tendulkar’s absence also means that for the first time in a long while an Indian team will take to field in a one day international without the presence of the Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid trio.
IPL FORM NOT CONSIDERED
A LOOK at the team also makes it clear that the selectors have not taken any notice of the performances in the IPL and rightly so. As a result, guys like Swapnil Asnodkar and MS Gony will have to perform in the domestic Ranji season for a Team India berth.
Four over or a 20-30 ball cameos says little about the calibre of the player in the 50-over version of the game.
For the 21-year Ojha it’s a reward of consistent performances in the domestic season. He has also benefited from the absence of Murali Kartik due to ankle injury. Ojha made his first class debut in 2004-05 and has taken 121 wickets in 30 first class matches. He has been a consistent performer for the India A team too.

And at one stage you don't consider IPL form, then its gonna be hard to explain selection of some(Pathan?). Plus what was the tournament doing? If the IPL is just a showoff that has no bearing on development of new talent for the sport that will still decide who are the world champions(ODI's and Tests) what was the whole Hoopla about. Afaik the proposal to start T20 league championship worldwide has been the in the cold burner with lukewarm response. Obviously no one has the money to invest and no one wants to play that much too

Another Shameful day in Indian Team selection

Agnel

There might be another story to sachin's injury which we aren't aware of, U know, after losing in the IPL, he goes home and tries to cook in the kitchen and gets hurt?

Quite possible right?

Safin

Originally Posted by Agnel

There might be another story to sachin's injury which we aren't aware of, U know, after losing in the IPL, he goes home and tries to cook in the kitchen and gets hurt?

Quite possible right?

Yes, all he has to do is to invent an injury these days. What a disgrace. Its about time the selectors showed some will and told him where the door was.
This is the most shameful incident in recent years. To think he can play for Mumbai Indians but not the real Indians, what an irony

medpal

it was shamefull for a selector like venkatpathy raju (its a different story that he was afraid of faster bowlers and was thrown back two steps if a fast ball approached him in outfield

)

this selection purely looks like a regional quota system at its best.

If IPL form was not to be considered then what was the need of the it, so much money thrown down the drain

i am sure asnodkar, jadeja, shikhar dhawan, gony, badrinath, wridhiman saha will feel missed out.

now even dhoni who has not kept wickets for CSK in a few mathces will be the wicketkeeper for the Indian team.

and on what merit pravinkumar makes the team.

xXx

Sachin's exclusion may not be bcos of himself, but also cos of MS DHONI, it would be quite possible that Dhoni might have selected his team, he wants for the tour.

everything above is IMO.

Safin

Dhoni has no say over Sachin's selection.
For good or for bad, Sachin no one can say anything or do anything about him, certainly not Dhoni. Selectors ofcourse should, although they don't.

If he was injured, why was he allowed to play for Mumai Indians? Bcci needs to answer that.

Ninja

^ Come on guys, spare a thought for sachin. It's Bangladesh series after all. Sachin is one guy who can do anything for the team. He had made absolutely clear before playing in IPL that he wasn't 100% fit. He is not someone who would fake his injury. Had it been an Australian or South african series, i have no doubt that he would have played for the country even if he carried any niggle. But since it is Bangladesh tour he knows he can rest himself and the team can still win, so why take chances. There is no need to make a fuss about it.

Anyways i don't blame u guys. I remember at the start of the IPL when MI were going thru a rough phase people were criticizing him for not playing and when he finally made a comeback again people criticized him for not playing his big shots. Whatever he does will make news, so nothing new.

Safin

^^ ehh..
Its Asia cup not Bangladesh series. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also playing

Edit: Nope Sri Lanka is not there

Cricinfo - Bangladesh Tri-series 2008