FILE PHOTO: Jacques Kallis

More drama continues in the sixth edition of Pepsi IPL. This time it took place in the match between Pune Warriors and KKR, where Jacques Kallis was involved in a heated argument with the umpire and ended up asking – “Are you calling me a cheat?”

Well, for those who missed the incident, something like this happened:

Kallis made a confident appeal for a run-out at the non-striker’s end, which was turned down by the third umpire because of lack of evidence. Kallis was confident that some part of his boot touched the ball which went on to hit the stumps, leaving non-striker Aaron Finch out of his crease.

Well, there was no doubt that Finch was clearly short of his ground, but there was not much evidence that the ball made contact with Kallis’s boot, because of which the third umpire had to give the decision in favour of the batsman. This left the South African all-rounder infuriated and he was involved in a verbal spat with the on-field umpire Sudhir Asnani to whom he asked – “Are you calling me a cheat?“

Well, no doubt in such a situation a bowler appeals only when he is pretty confident of the fact that he had touched the ball. But you cannot blame the third umpire there as he went with the evidence and gave the decision in favour of the batsman. Add to the fact that the umpire was Simon Taufel whose decision very seldom remains questionable.

However, much to the respite of KKR and Kallis, Finch had his off stump knocked out the next ball he faced off Kallis in the same over. Yet another incident which adds more spice to Pepsi IPL-2013.

Over the past 6 years we have witnessed a sudden change in the method of Indian team selection. The performance of an individual is now being looked upon as the basis of their selection into the Indian team, which in earlier days were made on the basis of the Ranji tournaments or other domestic tournaments.

Now the biggest question here remains,  “Is IPL seriously the best way to rank a player’s form and fitness?”

The answer, according to me, can never be an affirmative. IPL is not enough to measure a player’s form and fitness. Over the past 6 years, we have seen many players burst into the Indian Team through their charismatic performances in IPL and then fail to perform where it matters the most. They are unable to bear the pressure of the International arena.

Whether it be the last 3 editions of the T-20 World Cup or the Test or One-day series, the players who have been picked in the team on the basis of IPL have more often than not failed to perform.

Once again the selectors have taken IPL as the basis for selecting Indian team that will be going to England for the all important Champions Trophy. Many of the players have been dropped just because they were unable to perform in the all-important IPL (sarcasm intended).

Here are some whose absence from the team could prove fatal for the team-

Yuvraj Singh – The most shocking decision decision taken by the BCCI was dropping Yuvi from the national side. Why was he dropped? Just because his performance in IPL was below par? Oh! come on Mr. Selector, every person walking on the street who knows even the slightest bit about cricket knows that Yuvi’s performance has never been at par with his capability. Yuvi has always failed in the IPL, in all of the 5 editions he has played. But this has never had any impact in his form while playing for India. While playing for the country, he becomes a different Yuvi all-together. His absence in England will not only be missed while batting but also during bowling.

Manoj Tiwary - Another class player who missed out because of his inability to perform in IPL. This lad always has shown his talent whenever given a break into the national side. His dynamic fielding and sensible batting could have made the Indian team much more stable.

Ajinkya Rahane - Yet another player with loads of talent who has missed out. Rahane was overlooked for Vijay, whose performance in no way has been at par in the on-going IPL. He could have added much more aggression to the Indian top order batting line-up. And also his dynamic fielding could have lifted the team’s spirit.

Here are some who got a break once again in the team due their performance in the all-important IPL-

Rohit Sharma - Well, no surprises here. He has been a regular in the team for more than two years now, no matter how he performs. Well the reason could be either of the two: The player is very talented or he becomes a master in IPL. Now the question is, where has his hidden talent been for last the two years or so, apart from that seen in the IPL’s? Now, there can only be two answers for his selection: Either we assume he is a talented player (like we assume equations in Maths) or he should be allowed to play for India in a Mumbai Indians jersey.

Irfan Pathan - Surprise! Surprise! No one thought he would be able to get a break in the Indian team, but he got it because he played exceptionally well in the super-over for Delhi and has always bowled exceptionally well in the start overs. Yusuf Pathan should have also been selected for the Indian team, as he is a regular in the playing XI for KKR.

Murali Vijay - Every time after the IPL ends, we see Vijay in the team. But this time, he isn’t even performing for them and even CSK has dropped him from the playing XI. But still he is in the team for Gambhir, who has been in top form this season of IPL. This will only weaken the opening batting order, because we will be playing in England, not Chennai.

Only time can justify these moves. Because in the past five years, we have seen India lose every series that they have played after the closure of IPL. Hope something different happens this time around. Let’s hope these youngsters do something extra-ordinary this time and turn the table around, and win the last edition of the Champions Trophy in England.

FILE PHOTO: Virat Kohli was booed by the crowd in Wankhede yesterday

One of the most heart-breaking and disappointing scenes for a cricketer and true cricketing fans took place at the Wankhede stadium yesterday when India’s batting sensation Virat Kohli was booed and called a cheater by the Mumbai crowd.

Virat, when going into the post match ceremony, was booed by the Mumbai crowd. When told by the anchor Harsha Bhogle that they don’t really mean it, Kohli said -

“IPL is not the end of the world. Well, they’re forgetting that even I play for India. It’s happened to a few other players in the stadium, so I’m not surprised.”

These lines are enough to bring tears to the eyes of Indian cricket fans.

For those who missed out on this incident, it all started with Ambati Rayadu getting run-out by a brilliant piece of fielding by Kohli who aimed directly at the stumps and found the target. Rayudu fell short after getting into a tangle with the bowler, an unintentional incident. Now, any batsman would ground his bat at least a foot or two wide from the place where the bowler is standing to collect the ball, but in case of Rayudu, his collision with Vinay Kumar resulted in his bat lifting off the ground when ball hit the stumps. Virat was also involved in an argument with Pollard.

After this incident, whenever Virat collected the ball on the field, the stadium echoed with chants of ‘cheater’, and he was constantly booed by the crowd. Now, where did we see Virat cheating? How was it in any way Virat’s mistake? Did he really deserve such a reaction from the crowd?

He is the same Virat Kohli who came in at No. 4 in the 2011 World Cup final and the same Mumbai crowd welcomed him with loud cheers. He is the same person who has helped India achieve victory on a number of occasions.

Now, many of you must have formed a view that “This is IPL boss, where friends become enemies and enemies, friends.“ But how does that explain the crowd behaviour in places like Bangalore? Whether their team is losing or winning, the crowd supports every player on his merit, and not just based on the franchise for which he is playing. Whether it is Gayle hitting a six or Dhoni taking his helicopter off, both get equal cheers from the fans.

The incident we witnessed at Wankhede yesterday made me and also billions of cricket fans around the country seriously angry. We Indians always remember one thing – before IPL, comes India. Just imagine how Kohli would feel when he next walks in to bat at Wankhede. Yesterday was a black day for IPL and Indian cricket for me.

Our own country’s fans called Kohli a cheater. Now what can we expect from the fans of other countries?

One can only hope that the Mumbai fans realise their mistake and make up for their behaviour in upcoming matches.

“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”

Yes, these are the lines that truly explain the attitude of our captain ‘cool’ MS Dhoni. He has now become India’s most successful Test captain with 22 wins in 45 Tests, surpassing Ganguly’s record of 21 wins from 47 matches. Not more than a month ago, he was hailed as the worst captain India has ever had in Tests after losing to England 2-1 at home and 8 overseas Tests against England and Australia. There were question regarding his defensive captaincy, batting skills and even wicket-keeping skills.

Everyone, including the cricket fans, media persons or cricket experts were just telling one thing – “Dhoni must leave his captaincy, and must retire from Tests and T20s.” When asked about this by a media personnel in a press-conference after losing Kolkata Test, Dhoni said something awesome which reflected his positive attitude:

“The easiest thing for me to say right now is ‘I quit captaincy’ and be a part of the side. But that’s like running away from the responsibility. Of course there are others who will decide. There is BCCI and the administrative people who also want to look into that (captaincy).”

After the 8 overseas losses and losing to England at home, these lines can be said only by a man who has loads of self-determination and positive attitude. And in the on-going Test series, he has so-far proved all his critics wrong. With a double-ton in the first Test, he has also proved all those wrong who have been shouting about his batting form. Then after winning the first two Tests comprehensively, he has silenced all those who have been shouting about his captaincy skills. Not only this, since his last two wins against Aussies, all the news personnel and sports analysts have started saying that Dhoni is the best man to lead India currently.

Mr. Gavaskar, who has been one of the strongest critics of MS over past few years, has now started saying that “Dhoni is the best man to lead India till 2019 WC.” Well, the man who was not long ago incapable of leading India for even one more match, has been asked to lead India till 2019. Well, there’s no miracle in this, the only thing that Dhoni has changed in himself is that he has become slightly more aggressive on the field. That’s it; I don’t think this is enough for getting so many praises almost spontaneously.

Now, before discussing this, let’s have a quick look on some stats -

MS Dhoni has recorded 22 wins from 45 matches, Sourav Ganguly has won 21 matches from 47 matches, Mohd. Azharuddin has recorded 14 Test wins while Gavaskar and Pataudi have won 9 matches each.

Now, you must be thinking why am I repeating these facts when everyone knows this. Let’s get practical, especially Dhoni haters; everyone on the above list are specialist batsmen, they have only two thing to do – to bat and to make strategies. But Dhoni is a keeper, a batsman, and a captain too. He has to stand behind the stumps whole day, make strategies, make field changes, make bowling changes and then he also has to bat. Now, think as a normal human being, how difficult it is for a man to do multiple things at a time. Keeping for a spinner or a seam bowler while making right strategies.

It’s not right to compare him with the others. I am not saying they were not good. I am saying that they were best in their place and Dhoni is best in his place. It is always difficult for a wicket-keeper batsman cum captain to achieve such heights. Let’s give him a bit of breather, and stop questioning his worth as a captain. Let him recover; he is also a human being first, he must be also feeling for his failures which he is not used to. Let him regain his strength and form, which I am sure with his current scores that he is; not only as a captain, but also as a batsman.

After scoring 224 against Australia in the first Test, he has proved his worth even as a Test batsman. And that too at a time when India needed its captain to score some runs for the country to win the first Test. After this innings, he became the scorer of the highest individual innings as a captain for India.

He did this when he was under scrutiny, and India was going through its worst phase in Test cricket. That’s why it is rightly said, “When going gets tough, the tough gets going.” And these lines perfectly match with the positive attitude of our captain ‘cool’ MS Dhoni. I always stand by my captain, even in his worst phase of his career. I will always support him whatever be the situation.

JAI HIND!

Virender Sehwag has been dropped from the team for the remaining two matches of the series against Aussies. Well this decision was coming, seeing his form in the recent past where he has done nothing except for scoring a century against England in the very first Test match. His bat has failed to do talking since and there has hardly been an opening partnership for the team which has been a major cause for our dismal performance in Tests in the recent past.

But we should not forget the potentiality he brings to the team. He transmits fear in the opposition camp as long as he is on the field. He carries a tremendous temperament and can fire at any time. So the question here is, was the board too quick in taking the decision? Was the decision taken at a wrong time? Yes, we are 2-0 up in the series, but we should not forget who our opponents are. It’s the mighty Aussies who can bounce back at any time and even now can square the series.

The Aussie team which is filled with seam bowlers will always enjoy bowling on the Mohali wicket. And in these conditions. India will take the field with its two new and inexperienced openers in Vijay and Dhawan. Yes, this can even prove to be a blessing for the team because if Dhawan and Vijay fire, India will get a new opening pair that can very well perform even in overseas condition because the conditions in Mohali aren’t typical subcontinent conditions.

But what if they fail to fire? India doesn’t have any other opening combination in reserve. We will be forced to go in with the same pair in Delhi as well. And if the opening combination fails in Mohali and Delhi, it will add extra pressure onto the team.

In Sehwag’s absence, Clarke will feel a bit relaxed and can easily make a game plan for Dhawan and Vijay, who on the other hand will be under too much pressure to prove their worth and cement their place in  the team.

According to me, BCCI was too quick in making a decision on Sehwag. He, like many other players, should have been given a bit more time to prove himself. Now only time will tell whether this decision will prove to be a blessing or a curse for the team.

With a 2-0 lead in the Test Series against Aussies. India is high on confidence before heading north to Mohali for the third encounter. The pace-friendly conditions in Mohali might suit the Australian team which depends heavily on its pace attack. While on the other hand, it might prove to be an area of concern for the Indians which depends heavily on its spin department.

India’s young pace attack might find it difficult to cope with the conditions in the absence of Zaheer Khan. Also, MS Dhoni will have to come out of his comfort zone and drop a spinner from the team to give way to an extra pacer.

Even though we are going into the third Test with a 2-0 lead, there is much to think about for the team management. Here is the team that MS could possibly go with in the third Test against Australia.

1. Murali Vijay – He is sure to retain his place in the team after his brilliant innings in the second Test against Australia. It was only his partnership of 321 runs with Pujara that enabled India to win the match by an innings and 135 runs.

2. Shikhar Dhawan – Virender Sehwag might have to sacrifice his place after his recent form in the series to give way to the left-handed Dhawan. It will also help India by giving a left hand-right handopening combination. Dhawan might also help with his part-time off-break bowling.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara – He has become the new run-machine for India since the last 10 months. He is a habit of playing big innings. Setting a new standard for himself in the team, Pujara will look to carry forward his form in the upcoming Test.

4. Sachin Tendulkar – He had a great time at Chennai, scoring a brilliant 81 in the first innings and hitting two consecutive sixes off the first two deliveries he faced in the second innings. However, he failed in the second Test at Hyderabad and will surely look to make a comeback in Mohali.

5. Virat Kohli – Maturing as a Test player, he will look to carry forward his form from the last two Tests in Mohali. He is the man from whom India needs runs whenever he comes to bat.

6. MS Dhoni – India’s most successful captain after surpassing Dada’s record of 21 wins in Tests in the last Test match, MSD will look to add one more victory to his name in Mohali. He has shown lots of positive attitude in the ongoing series against Australia. He is showing lots of aggressive instinct in his captaincy which has surely helped him improve his batting form.

7. Ravindra Jadeja – Sir Ravindra Jadeja, to everyone’s surprise, has become a totally different player. Not quite as a batsman but a lot as a bowler. He has troubled almost every Australian batsman, including Clarke, having claimed his wicket 3 of the 4 times. He will surely look to carry his form in Mohali as well.

8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – He will have a lot to play for in Mohali. The track will surely assist a bowler of his rank. He might have a great time playing in Mohali. India will need early breakthroughs from him.

9. R. Ashwin – The leading wicket-taker in the series so far with 18 wickets, including 3- five wicket hauls, he will look to carry his good form in Mohali as well. He has become a front-line spinner for India off late.

10. Ishant Sharma - He too will have a major role to play in Mohali for the team. With just one wicket so-far in the series, Ishant Sharma will surely look to add some wickets to his account in Mohali.

11. Ashok Dinda – He might get a place in the team in place of Bhajji as an extra pacer. This could be a great opportunity for the Bengal pacer to grab a permanent place in the playing XI.

The match played between India and Australia in 2010 in Mohali is still fresh in everyone’s mind. It was a match where we clinched victory from the jaws of defeat, all credits of which went to Laxman who made a brilliant 74* and was involved in a brilliant partnership with Ishant Sharma. India won that match by 1 wicket. India must take lessons from that match and play accordingly.

Yet another series loss for team India, and this time not in overseas conditions but here in India itself. England proved us wrong this time, that we are unbeatable in home conditions, after they won the series 2-1. The hopes of billions of Indian cricket fans were crushed here in Nagpur. England outplayed us in probably every department, starting from bowling to fielding and above all batting.

Well, all the critics, media persons, and cricketing fans are busy blaming one player or the other for this dismal performance. Some are busy asking the selectors to take some really hard decisions and completely change the test team. My question to them is, will that do? Will the young team be able to defeat the mighty Aussies? No, obviously not. This never can be the solution. Some are requesting for a change in captaincy. Well, I agree Dhoni has not been that effective in test, but do we have a supplement? Many will say Gambhir should be made the captain. Huh, how can we make him the captain when he himself is going through the worst phase of his career? Surely Kohli can be made the captain, but let him grow up first. And also a captain is as good as his team.

The other bunch is shouting for Sachin to retire. Will Sachin’s retirement solve the issue of the dismal performance of team? No, never. Sachin is the best player the world of cricket has ever seen and he is the best judge of himself, so leave it upto him to take the decision when to retire and when not to. Instead of criticizing the great man, let’s support him to get back into form. Some are saying that we don’t have bowlers to take 20 wickets in a match. Well, to bring to their notice they were the same bowlers who made India the no.1 test playing side.

I have a different mindset here. I don’t think any one individual is responsible for these loses. But as for me, it’s the team spirit that is lacking in today’s Indian team that has to be made responsible for this. Indian team, by no stretch of imagination, is going through the best of its times. Blaming one another and creating team differences has become common these days for the Indian team. These things clearly effect a player  or infact a team’s performance. A team that remains united in all situations is the team that remains victorious every time. But this spirit seems to be lacking in today’s Indian team.

We are regularly getting to see news of various rift inside the team. Let it be between Dhoni-Sehwag or Dhoni-Gambhir. These rifts are clearly hampering team’s performance. And they are also crushing the hopes of a billion people in the team. The Board seriously needs to solve these rifts if they have to see a successful Indian team once again. Eliminating a player or two from the team is no solution to these problems, as each player has his own importance associated with the team. The major role in solving this situation is to be played by the coach and the team management. Because we didn’t get to hear any of these things when we had Gary as our coach. These all started under Fletcher.

It is obvious that we are surely going to see a change in captaincy this time around as Fletcher is nearing his expiry date as coach. Hope we get to see a stronger Indian coach this time who can easily solve these problems and give us our one Indian team, instead of a split Indian team. In due course, Indian players could practice meditation to get back their lost focus and concentrate on winning matches and playing as a team, as we have a very important series coming up against our arch rivals Pakistan and we can’t afford losing that one.

Indian batting has seen an enormous downfall after the victorious 2011 World Cup campaign, especially in tests. It all started from the England tour last year and still no improvements have been seen till date. The Indian batting line-up, which was once hailed as the world’s best and most dangerous line-up, especially when it came to home conditions, is today searching for a remedy. We have already lost 2 overseas test series’ and may even lose the current home series to England in which we are already trailing 2-1, and are in a precarious position in Nagpur. The poor form of Indian top batting line-up has to be made responsible for this.

Let’s have a sneak-peak at the batting average of some of the players of Indian batting line-up before and after 2011 World Cup.

1. Gautam Gambhir

Average before 2011 WC: 51.33

Average after 2011 WC: 27.77

2. Virender Sehwag   

Average before 2011 WC: 53.59  

Average after 2011 WC: 33.26

3.  C. Pujara  

Average before 2011 WC: 21.40

Average after 2011 WC: 89.71

4. Sachin Tendulkar  

Average before 2011 WC:  56.68  

Average after 2011 WC: 32.79

5. Suresh Raina 

Average before 2011 WC: 33.90

Average after 2011 WC: 24.68

6. MS Dhoni

Average before 2011 WC: 40.06  

Average after 2011 WC: 30.67

It can be clearly seen that except Pujara, every batsman’s batting average has dropped after WC. These are the batsman on whom the responsibility of our batting line up depends. We have failed to form any major partnerships which has led to our tremendous downfall and has cost us two overseas series defeats and a serious dip in test rankings. The reason for this is yet to be known. And until and unless we find a reason, we can’t find a solution.

[Note: The batting average above are only for tests. The list does not Kohli because he started playing after 2011 WC. And Yuvraj has not played enough tests after the WCs to be judged].

The Indian team has been shamelessly defeated in successive test matches and England is leading the series 2-1. Seeing this dreadful situation, BCCI selectors have decided to axe some of the old faces from the Indian team and introduce some new ones. The decisions, according to me, can in no ways be regarded as sane decisions. Lets look at the changes that the BCCI selectors have made for the fourth test and what actually could have been possible.

Axing pace spearhead Zaheer and bringing in a debutant Awana to replace him:

Zaheer Khan is the pace spearhead of the Indian team. But for the 4th test, selectors have axed him from the team and brought in Parvinder Awana who was selected on the basis of his performance in the Ranji Trophy. Was this actually needed? England are already leading the series 2-1 and we all know what Zak brings to the pace department of an otherwise totally inexperienced bowling unit. What is Ishant Sharma doing in the team? Why did the selectors drop Zak and not Ishant? Where are RP Singh and Irfan Pathan? Will they never represent Indian team in the future now? The selectors will have to give lots of answers if we lose the series to England.

Why Piyush Chawla but no Amit Mishra?

Why have the selectors continuously selecting Piyush in spite of his regular failure? This time, he has been selected in place of Bhajji. Is he selected again as a lucky mascot for the Indian team and we will be able to save this one only because he is there in the team? Well, we will have to wait to see how lucky he really is for the team. But in the meanwhile, BCCI have to answer why Amit, who has reportedly performed exceptionally in Ranji tournament, not being selected. What does it take to be selected in the Indian national cricket team? Can any one of the selectors give us a proper answer?

Why only Yuvraj?

Yuvraj, the comeback prince, has been axed from the team for the fourth test. Yes, he has not performed up to his caliber. Yet, one has to understand this is his comeback series. He can’t begin scoring runs at once. And was he the only reason for these defeats? If he has been axed, then may we ask to the selectors what is Virat doing in the team? He has also failed in this series. What are Sachin and Dhoni doing in the team? Does it take something different to be selected in the team that only Yuvraj has been axed?

Why Ravindra Jadeja and not Manoj Tiwary?

Jadeja has been selected in the team, but as a replacement to whom? Yes, he has scored three triple centuries in his First Class career. But playing first class cricket and playing against England where we are already losing 2-1 to them are two different things. One may say he is an all-rounder, but what India needs now is a proper batsman as we already have an all-rounder in Ashwin. Now Jadeja can never be treated as a genuine batsman. The correct replacement for Yuvi was Manoj. Why is he continuously overlooked by the selectors? In spite of his continuous good performances in the Ranji Trophy, why is he still searching for an opportunity to represent team India in the Tests?

Will we ever find a replacement to MS?

Well, before starting this one, let me make it clear that I am a MSD fan, not his hater. That being said, BCCI has yet not found any replacement to this Wicket-Keeper captain. He seriously needs to be freed from at least one of the formats and the best is Tests. But the question is, will we ever find one? There’s no genuine player around the team who is ready to take up the responsibility.

If we thought the previous bunch of selectors as a bombshell of surprises, what will we call these new selectors who seemingly failed to face the pressure which leads them to take these dreadful decisions. Time will only tell how good these changes will prove for the team but for now it seems as totally unwanted decisions by our hassled selectors who are under scrutiny in their very first term.

The historical Eden Gardens is all set to witness India taking on England in the third Test match which is scheduled to start from 5th December. It will witness not just a normal Test match, but something much more than that. Several records are waiting to be broken, and several new records are waiting to be made. Let’s have a look at all the things could happen in Kolkata.

MS Dhoni‘s record

MS is just one Test victory away from becoming the most successful Indian Test captain, putting him ahead of Sourav Ganguly. Now if MS gets to this feat, he will break Ganguly’s record at his own home, in front of his home crowd. MS will not get a better time to get to this feat, because not only will he break Dada’s record at his own ground, but it will also put India in a comfortable position, giving them a 2-1 lead in the Test series.

India remains unbeaten at Eden Gardens for 13 years

Another interesting fact is that India has not lost a Test match for the last 13 years at this venue. Now this record should be maintained if India wants to continue their domination in the series; a win here will mean India taking a 2-1 lead in the series, and from here on, it would be very difficult for England to make a comeback. 13 is believed to be an unlucky number, but here it has become a lucky number for the Indian team.

Sachin getting back to form

This series might be the last opportunity for Sachin to get back to form and start scoring runs like he once did for the team. This might be his best chance to score a ton and prove his critics wrong. Sourav Ganguly, his former team-mate and captain, has openly declared that he will make a century at Eden Gardens. Now it is important that Sachin proves him right.

Dhoni settling things with lady luck

In the past few Test matches, Dhoni seems to have had a tiff with lady luck. It will be better for him if he works things out and starts taking the right decisions for his team like he once did, and gets back to his winning ways. If he fails to do so, it will get much tougher for him to retain his captaincy, at least in Tests.

So all these things will make the Eden Gardens Test all the more exciting. But as a fan, I just want one thing- victory and a 2-1 lead in the Test series.

Indian team will be taking field at Eden Gardens on the back of a shocking defeat at Wankhede and that too on an Indian friendly pitch, as it was called before the match began. The series has now come alive with both teams having equal chances of outdoing the other. It is now a question of prestige for Indian cricket team because we can’t afford another test loss and that too in India. We have to go in  with all guns blazing.

Here is the probable XI which India is expected to play in the 3rd Test:

1. Virender Sehwag – He showed his aggressive temperament in the first test and has proved his form by scoring a quick-fire century. However, he failed in the second test and I hope he gets back his form and continue from where he left in Ahmedabad.

2. Gautam Gambhir – He was the lone warrior in the second innings of the second test with the bat. The series so far has not been too good for him, yet that innings in the second test has shown that he has lots of batting and class left with him and if he bats sensibly, he can convert those smaller innings into bigger ones. I hope the opening duo of Gauti and Viru provide something magical for the team at Eden.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara – It has been a one man show for team India in this series so far. He has already scored a double ton and a century in 2 matches. The team still needs a lot more than this from this young guy. Hope he continues to impress us with his bat.

4. Sachin Tendulkar – The God of Indian cricket has failed in the series so far. He is the man who will feel the heat more than anyone else. Hope he gets back his batting form and once again starts scoring runs and give a strong reply to his critics.

5. Virat Kohli – Surprisingly, he is not scoring runs in this series. He is the man on whom the hopes and future of Indian cricket depend. The sooner he gets back his form, the better it will be for the team and him. We are expecting a huge comeback from this man soon.

6. Yuvraj Singh – He is the comeback Prince for team India. Returning from cancer, and donning whites in this series has not proved too fruitful for him so far. Let’s hope in the coming two matches, we get a big innings from him.

7. MS Dhoni – Yet another dismal series for the ‘Captain Cool’ in which he has failed with the bat once again. Seems like lady luck is angry with our captain. Hope he gets in her good books soon and start scoring runs like he once did for the team. Because if he fails, it might become hard for him to retain test captaincy.

8. Ravichandran Ashwin – The series has not been good for him too. He has not been bowling up to his standards. He made a mess of the opportunities he got on a spinning track at Wankhede. Hope he gets his line and length right before the Eden test.

9. Zaheer Khan - He seems to be gaining his form back with the ball. He has proved it by bowling an excellent line and length in the first two tests. It’ll be good for India if he starts taking wickets for India as well.

10. Pragyan Ojha – The man in form with the ball for team India. Hope he carries his good form to the Eden as well.

11. Ishant Sharma – He might get a place in the team owing that he is more experienced than Dinda, otherwise Dinda is also a tough competitor for the spot owing to his recent form in Ranji Trophy.