Re: Pick the India Team that will play T1

John P Darcy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> "R. Bharat Rao" wrote:
> > 
> > Not the team *YOU* would pick, but the team you believe the
> > Indian selectors (Ganguly, Dravid, and Wright) would pick:
> 
> Well, I don't believe for a moment that they will pick Ramesh, which
> means he is a lock.  Sehwag had plenty to say back in August about
> himself not being an opening batsman, so he is equally safe for that
> spot in this Test.  Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman pick
> themselves (so to speak), and Aggy, Harby, Patel and Khan are also
> certainties.  This leaves one position open, between Kumble and Nehra,
> and at the Gabba it has to be the fast man who gets the nod.
> 
> If *I* were picking the team, Laxman would open with Ramesh and Sehwag
> would bat at 5, Ganguly at 6.  Laxman should open because I think he, of
> all the Indian batsmen, is the best chance of seeing off the new ball on
> a bouncy deck, and Sehwag goes after RD and SRT so that there is less
> pressure on him as he comes to the crease with one of those two probably
> established at the other end.


I am with you John. Laxman should be asked to open the innings because
he amongst the top order batsman has the game that can not only see
off the new ball but also prevent the Australian bowlers from
strangling the Indian batsmen into utter and complete strokelessness.
I am not into this "we will be wasting Laxman by sending him to open"
mindset because it is overtly defensive. The Indian batsmen have a
better chance of prospering if they have runs on the board and wickets
in hand when the ball loses its shine. With Sehwag opening such a
scenario is unlikely to say the least judging by his performances
against Nathan Bracken in India and his form in the side games in
Australia

Ofcourse the other option is to select Akash Chopra but Sehwag has
done too well for India in the recent past to get the axe. So my squad
would be

Ramesh
Laxman
Dravid
Tendulkar
Sehwag
Ganguly
Patel
Kumble
Agarkar
Harbhajan
Nehra

Shariq