So Ganguly has taken the plunge, who would replace him for the England series? In all probability I’d say it would be either Badrinath or Yuvraj… Let us say that Dravid decides to hang his boots after the England series (let us be realistic, after Ganguly he is most prone to being dropped), for the replacement my money would be on the unselected of Badrinath/Yuvraj.
Next up would be the tour to Pakistan where a semi-new middle order would take guard – Laxman, Sachin, Yuvraj, Badrinath with Rohit Sharma as the extra batsman. Laxman would be 35, Sachin would be almost 36; but I’d say both of them would play even the next series against New Zealand. India then does not have any Tests till September end. By then I think Kumble would have retired, and Dhoni would have taken over the test captaincy too. Going by the current crop of spinners, I’d say Piyush Chawla or Amit Mishra would be the most likely replacement for Kumble. Laxman & Sachin would be close to retiring too, with Rohit Sharma, Kaif, and maybe Virat Kohli staking claim to the middle order positions. I’m hoping Zaheer Khan has at least 3-4 years of Cricket left in him, otherwise RP Singh would get another go at Test cricket.
I hope at that time Sachin, Laxman help the test-match newbies to complete their transition from the wham-bam to real Cricket and then retire gracefully by 2009 end or 2010 start & then we would keep our fingers crossed for the next 1-2 years that the Indian Test Team completes its makeover successfully.
By mid-2010, the team would read
- Sehwag
- Gambhir
- Badrinath
- Rohit Sharma
- Yuvraj
- Kaif/Kohli
- Dhoni
- Bhajji
- Ishant
- Chawla/Mishra
- Zak
The bowling is still good, but I am really doubtful about the batsman, except of course Sehwag… I hope this Indian Team’s transition goes smoothly.
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me thinks dravid will stay on for longer. he still has cricket left in him imho
I personally would wish Sachin to play 2011 World Cup though that is highly improbable after all how can I see my God hanging his boots.
Though coming back to the realistic chances,I think Kaif would be given a miss, he has been given quite some chances and the selectors would like to go for some youngster but I dont see the same promise in these set of guys as was the case with the the Fab Four, their entry into the team was just brilliant and once they joined the ranks nobody ever thought of dropping them while most of this crop (specially Yuvi & Kaif) have been given a lot of chances.. But I guess you can’t always find another Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman or Kumble!! 😦
The only real class batsmen I see here (apart from Sehwag) is Rohit Sharma. Somehow, can’t see anyone filling Dravid’s boots.
zak will also leave by mid 2010, and i wouldnt want to watch an indian team like that, especially after 15 years of brilliant cricket by the kumbles, sachins etc 🙂
I doubt if we can take 20 wickets to win a test match (without Kumble).
Somehow our batsmen will make it a draw… but on winning…I have already crossed my fingers…
you are discounting the possibility of a new ‘star’ suddenly emerging 😛
@karan, no one can ever replace Dravid .. no way!!
The only real “waste” in ur side is Rohit Sharma……….u hav gota be kiddin to put a person like him who scores “11 of 30” against Hong Kong and stays in the team with politics……….the only pure class batsmen in the present side is Suresh Raina……..he’s technically better than Sharma and far stylish and class than Rohit Sharma………Raina is simply a “SPECIAL TALENT” and u forgot his name to be added to ur side…….
badri for dravid.
rohit* for Lax-super-man. (Obly AP-ites replace AP-ites)
shikar for ganguly.
Who is going to replace Sachin?
* rohit sharma’s native is vizag, i think.
ummm….I dunno much abt cricket but I thnk with all the knowledge I hav, I thnk I’d go fr the same team!!
BTW, thanks for the comment….do visit my main blog, DELVE INTO THE MIND OF A BUDDING BLOGGER!
I’ll keep visiting 🙂
obelix, even I hope so..
Himank, you can never find a replacement for these guys, and yeah everybody who has been given a chance has failed to make a lasting impact .. I hope some new talent is unearthed soon ..
Karan, right now even Dravid cannot fill the boots he had on two years back, leave apart anyone else attempting that 🙂
sid, I hope Zak stays on till 2011 World Cup…
RPS, I think without Kumble too we can take 20 wickets.. I have high hopes of Ishant and Bhajji …
Rama, I am hoping for a sudden new star, but then have been following under-19 for quite some time and don’t see any new Dravid/Ganguly…
I am not even remotely thinking of someone to replace Sachin, a player of that class comes around only once in a long long long while…
Mohit, I thought about Raina, but then I don’t think he has the temperament to be in the Test side… maybe after a year or two he may develop that temperament, I don’t see it right now … in the new crop, I still maintain that Rohit Sharma is the best batsman. and never judge a batsman by a single inning – good or bad.
asr, thanks for reminding me of Shikhar Dhawan, I hope he develops into a good player…
Meghna, thanks for the visit, and the comment… I liked your Writing blog more 🙂