While there’s a bit of sadness that Dada won’t be playing, there’s some thrill in wondering who will get his place.
Cheeka gushed about Yuvraj after his centuries again England in the ODIs. But there are other people too, folks. Fellow bloggers Scorpy and Soulberry have been raving about Cheteshwar Pujara (whose idol is apparently Dravid) and then there’s Murali Vijay who made people take notice with his performances against Australia in the series gone by.
To choose between two good batsmen, one who has got 3 back to back triple-centuries (if memory serves me right) in Ranji and another solid batsman has got to be hard. I’d pick Pujara, for if you don’t pick him now, you’ll end up selecting him when he’s out of form. It would be sad for Murali Vijay to miss out, but if there’s any fairness in the system, he will get his place in due course.
Meanwhile, our friend Dravid who’s been digging it out in the domestic circles has got some runs. The scores read 38, 50+, 50+, and 83 in the last four innings, which is decent but still wary.
Hoping for Pujara…
VM\'s Random Ramblings 
The 83, I read reminded people of the Good Old Wall!! 🙂
pick Pujara on song, and in form is one hellva reason. and they’ll use that for yuvraj too. i don’t see anyone even hinting at pujara in selection circles, press, what does that say?
All set for Yuvraj!!
@Keshav, lets hope he scores at the higher platform.
@NC, that’s so charecterestic of Indian selection, ain’t it? What if we pick him, he doesn’t get a 30 and goes the Manoj Tiwary way? That would be horrible.
@Sam, welcome to my blog. Let us see, this will be interesting.
i think he will be selected…in 15 if not in final xi…you just can not ignore the mountain of runs staring at you consistently…can you? 🙂
good to see you back VM!
Pujara has not been selected… why wonder why? This is a sham. Ojha comes back in… whatever happened to Piyush.
Yuvraj had to come back in given his form against England in the ODI’s.
Excellent site by the way – would you be able to drop me an email at some point?
Cheers
Thomas
@SP, thank you. 🙂
@Scorpy, wonder if it’s Southern lobbying that got Badri in. Yeah, Piyush is no where to be seen.
@Thomas Rooney, welcome to my blog. Thank you for the kind words. I shall definitely drop you an email. Yuvraj has always been a bit strange, esp in Tests. He needs to work on his attitude towards the longer version of the game. If he finds his way to the playing XI (and the series goes thru), he will have a lot to prove.
Yuvi lacks patience. Jus like the Kiwi top order which is very talented. Lets see…
VM… at least Badri who has been picked for the last few series has never got a chance to play. So we can judge him after a decent run of a few matches, until then am not bothered much on badri being picked though his form has been mixed.
Pujara not being considered is a huge disappointment… and in any case, he was to be logically in for Dravid and the selectors have extended his lifeline.
Hope Dravid shows that he is worth all this trouble in denying another deserving candidate.
I agree this was a good time to pick him. I hope he grows hungrier…maybe smashes the TN attack for 400+ (individual innings) the next time to catch Cheeka’s attention.
He has scored heavily against good bowling attacks this season.
Vic, Drav’s is back with the ability to determine his own future…let’s hear it! Or would you rather wait till the century? 🙂
Apologies, folks, I have been tied down with pressing family matters lately. Should be back, in some form, in a week or so.
@Scorpy, Pujara’s exclusion was a disappointment indeed, but looks like Dravid’s making it.
@SB, 400+ :). Sometime you need that luck factor going your way don’t you. I knew you’d have something to me abt Dravs today. Fortunately, I was able to catch the match today, after what seems like an eternity, was relieved and very happy for Dravid. He looked rather solid (at least to me). But I’d wait for the century (and maybe a few more days) to gush – that I certainly will do.
Finally RD scored! Hope it brings him out of his shackles.
I don’t think Yuvraj can wear Ganguly’s shoes.They are totally different players, later with calm(!) head and former with — head.Yuvraj is a class player, but he needs to keep himself cool under tense situations.
By the way, I just saw my blog on your blogroll.I am really thankful for that.I have changed the domain of my blog from http://rahul-dravid-the-wall.blogspot.com to http://www.dravidthewall.com.
I would be thankful if you can change the URL in blogroll link.
Dravid did well in the end. Happy New year to you, Victoria.
Happy New Year and Happy Blogging.
Yeah Dravid did well in the end – he’s a class act for sure.
I think Murali Vijay is simply brilliant and should be picked. I’d love a player like him coming through our ranks.
@SB, yes – happy for him. Happy new year to you too, man.
@Som, thank you. Happy new year and happy blogging to you too. 🙂
@Betfair cricket master, Dravid’s truly a class act. Vijay has been very impressive too. With his technical batting approach, he surely deserves a place in the side.