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Pakistan Calling..

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Things have started to heat up as we are quite close to meet our arch rivals Pakistan. Although beating any team on its home ground is a tough ask, we did it last time around. And I don't see any reason why we can't do it again.

To start with, I feel we will need a correct bunch of 15 players. The right ones, not necessarily the known ones. Pakistani wickets are known for their true nature. They offer nothing to anyone... or Little bit to every one. Although the official team will be announced on 24th, speculations should start. Not because our selectors fail to impress everyone, but because its PAKISTAN MAN. Here's what I can make up -

Opener's -
1) Virendra Sehwag,
2) Wasim Jaffer,
3) ______ ______??,

Middle Order -
4) Rahul Dravid,
5) Sachin Tendulkar,
6) Venkata Sai Laxman,
7) Yuvraj Singh,
8) Sourav Ganguly ??,

Wicket Keeper -
9) Mahendra Singh Dhoni,

Seam Bowlers -
10) Irfan Pathan,
11) Ajit Agarkar,
12) Zeheer Khan ??,
13) Rudra Pratap Singh ??,

Spinners -
14) Anil Kumble,
15) Harbhajan Singh.

Slot 2 - Wasim Jaffer :
He wouldn't have bet too much for his own name when he got the call for the Ahmadabad test. But now when he is in the team, he should be given a fair chance. I remember Sanjay Manjrekar telling us about this mumbai mate of his - "You can get him out in many ways, but not on the back foot. He is quite a strong player of fast bowling".
And on personal reference, I feel he has one of the best COPY BOOK cover drives - Eyes one the ball, foot right to the pitch of the ball and bat, pad close together. And he also plays good square cut.. All in all, a nice option.

Slot 3 - _______ _________:
Selectors will have their work cut out for this slot. We all know that Shoaib Akhtar is somehow back into Pakistani team, and we will need a good back up opener. Gautam Gambhir couldn't provide enough to bank on. But then, selecting a brand new opener may be a little tough to ask. If you remember correctly, during the Australian tour and our last Pakistan tour, we had a Delhi opener called Akash Chopra. He didn't have too many shorts in his armoury and never made a big score, but one thing he was good at. And that's to frustrate bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar... Running from the boundary.. bowling at 150 km/hr and Chopra hardly moved a muscle to leave the delivery alone. He provided a perfect shield for Sehwag.
I am not sure who should do it this time around. Someone called Dheeraj Jadhav is making big runs, and surely is in some form, but playing against Pakistan in Pakistan is a big ask... Lets see who gets the selectors call.

For some years now, our middle order is one of the best in the world. With Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Yuvraj, we have a stable, inform, versatile and very dangerous Middle. And then comes the biggest debate...

Slot 8 - Sourav Ganguly :
With kaif failing to grab his opportunity at Ahemdabad, window of hope is again open for this former opener. But this slot is for the back up man. As Kiran more said - "Selecting Ganguly and not playing him in the eleven will be wrong". But then, the slot is open.... someone has to get the opportunity!!

Rest of the squad seems obvious, apart from slots 12 and 13 :
Most probably we will be playing three seamers and one spinner. And for that, we will need a back up seamer. Zaheer khan seems a good option, but I am not sure what he is up to these days. And Rudra Pratap Singh has done nothing wrong as yet...in fact, has bowled lot better in every next opportunity...

On 24th, this speculation of mine will see her true self. I'll take if I am absolutely wrong here, provided we win..

Its Only Cricket

Pakistan Calling..

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