should india go with 5 specialist bowlers?
By shaileshrm
@shaileshrm (256)
India
December 25, 2010 1:00am CST
As india team struggling to find the right man for no.6 spot in the batting order.Raina does not look comfortable against short pitch deliveries and Pujara's selection too may not be that helpful as he does not have any international experience.So should india strengthen their bowling attack with five bowlers on a seaming wicket at Durban and go for the kill with positive mind set? What are your opinions on this people?
2 people like this
8 responses
@rajeswarnunn (35)
• India
25 Dec 10
I guess even if we go wid 11 specialist bowlers we cant bowl them out.. because indians dont have those bowlers who are fast n who has capability of taking 20 wickets in overseas.. i bet we can go wid pujara
@shaileshrm (256)
• India
25 Dec 10
my point of view is slightly different than yours dude because with the same attack india have beaten australia ,south africa,england on their soil.india just need good start in the second test with bat or bowl to boost their confidence. and i really feel that india will definitely bounce back in this second test.Pujara may be preferred over raina for this test.
2 people like this
@sajujohn (1005)
• India
25 Dec 10
Considering the the Indian squad for this tour, I think there is no such quality bowler in the test squad now who can be used as a fifth option.I think Zaheer would be there for the second test match therefore sorry to the young bowler Unadkat.I t would be like a bit of gambling in the second test if Indian team are playing with five bowlers as the rest in the squad are inexperienced.
Therefore it will be a better choice for the Indian team to go with four bowlers only in the second test also.
1 person likes this
@shaileshrm (256)
• India
25 Dec 10
sajujohn dude i understand that india doesnot have any experience bowler the squad but i fell unadkad has done well in the domestic stucture and one cant rate his bowling on the performance of 1st test match as the pitch was totally flat when he was bowling and bowlers like shree and ishant too did struggle.and raina or pujara are still not experienced enough to tackle the african attack.
1 person likes this
@stardustcdsd (1856)
• India
25 Dec 10
ok.first lets have a look at the squad.
we have zaheer,sreesanth,ishant,jaidev,bhajji,ojha and umesh yadav.so 7 bowlers.
you dont expect the young rookies like jaidev and umesh to set the pitch on fire.
so you have 5 bowlers out of which 2 are spinners.considering aouth africa is not known for spinners,even going with one spinner is a big deal why another spinner?
so we are still stuck with the usual.
so blame the BCCi for sending such a bowling squad
@shaileshrm (256)
• India
25 Dec 10
stardustcdsd rightly said that we have young squad in bowling department but i feel if india wants to win the test match,they must focus on taking 20 south african wichets and even if they go with usual 7-4 combination the no 6. batsman raina or pujara may not able to do considerable job as both are not so familiar to bouncy and seaming wickets.so i welcome and respect yout point of view but i would still strict to my point of 5 specialist bowlers.
2 people like this
@goodfundadvisor (671)
• India
27 Dec 10
Shailesh,
It is the Batsmen who are not performing their duties, not the bowlers.
So, there is no sense in dropping a Batsman to fit in a Bowler.
By the wway, whom you will take as 5th Bowler.
The Selection policy needs to relooked
@sami00 (891)
• India
25 Dec 10
Hi Shailesh,
Definitely India should be playing with five bowlers in their next match against SOUTH AFRICA.Since Harbhajan has been out of form for quite a long period Dhoni should bring Ojha also in their next match.Five bowlers will help the Indian team to dismiss the strong SOUTH AFRICAN team within a mild score.Raina should be given a long break.He has been facing problems with short balls.If India doesn't go with five bowlers then all the pressure will be on Zaheer's head.He would normally take wickets against SOUTH AFRICA.If they play with four bowlers then the batsmen should deliver their best in the both innings of the test match.Zaheer must be looking forward for the second test as DURBAN pitch supports seam bowling with good pace.
Have a happy day.
1 person likes this
@shaileshrm (256)
• India
25 Dec 10
ya totally agree mate as india has been struggling to find the right man at no.6 and playing with 5 bowlers would definitely sent a strong message to southafrica that indian team is not going to be defensive and they are ready to face the challenge.so it is going to be a interesting battle to watch out for.Hope this time toss will go in ms dhoni's favor.
3 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45606)
• India
25 Dec 10
Well, this is unlikely to happen. I do not recall, if India has gone to play a test match with 5 frontline bowlers. I remember it was probably done many years back in Australia. Moreover, selectors as well as Team management and captain in Indian team try to look for an allrounder, but current Indian squad for Test matches does not have such a person. Yuvraj Singh or Yusuf Pathan could have been useful, but they have not been that good in test matches. So, 5 frontline bowlers is unlikely to happen.
@rafaelnadal007 (731)
• India
26 Dec 10
Team management will never think about five specialist bowlers because it will leave a batsman less. They will go with three seamers and one spinner with several part time bowlers because almost all can bowl. So team management won't ever think of five bowler whatever be the result and position. Even in the bowler's pitch team will think of four specialist bowlers and leave the rest for the part time bowlers which is available in plenty. By the way, Chetashwar Pujara can play the short balls better than Raina as he has the ability to pull and hook consistently
