Saturday, August 24, 2013

Zaheer Khan: Negligible Chances To Get A Place In National Indian Cricket Team

Last match that Zaheer played was in Kolkata - Test Match against England.in which he had bowled only 31 overs and taken a solo wicket. Zaheer has a chronic issue of fitness and that is why he has never been consistent in the team for a long time. Even for the matches  he has played, fitness on the field has mostly been the issue and hence he has not been able to throw long spells. 

After not getting selected for National Cricket Team Zaheer went abroad to France for a fitness trip along with Yuvraj Singh. Both have been back recently and in a press conference both have announced about each other's fitness and readiness to join Indian Team. In fact Zaheer has been reported to lose 6 kgs of his weight during this fitness session in France.

More important is again how he performs on field rather than his fitness claims. His consistent performance is also very important in forthcoming 4-5 domestic matches (if he gets a chance) and then he can claim for his place in national team for SA tour. Also critical is that during his absence so many more talented bowlers have got a chance to demonstrate their skills and hence are strong contenders for their place in the team.


Bowlers like Siddharth Kaul from Punjab, Ishwar Chand Pandey from Pune, Stuart Binny from Karnataka, Jaydev Unadkat from Saurashtra, Umesh Yadav from Maharashtra, Ashok Dinda from Kolkata, Mohammed Shami from Kolkata and many more in the making are giving strong competition to Zaheer. Big question is whether to give a place to Zaheer for a couple of years more or give a chance to more talented newcomers to groom them for the forthcoming International challenges.

Chances of Selection of Yuvraj Singh For National Cricket Indian Team Are Negligible

Looking at the new crop of batsmen it seems very difficult for Yuvraj to find his place back in Indian Team in any format be it Twenty-20, ODI or Test Match. Moreover Yuvraj has never been a very consistent player. He has definitely blasted many a times and has turned a doomed Indian innings into a match winning. At times he has also shown his bowling skills in all formats of the game. But being out of cricket for more than 6 months now due to fitness issues has given a golden chance to many new highly skilled aspirant entrants who have made a strong impression to get a place in Indian Team.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja and so on - the list is long for the newer generation batsmen who are strong contenders to grab a place in Indian Cricket Team.

In any case even if Yuvraj contends for his place in the Indian Cricket Team - as he has done in a public press meet recently after returning back from his fitness tour from France; he will have to show his consistent calibre in 4-5 domestic matches first in order to convince selectors and to avoid and controversy of getting unwanted favor.