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Mumbai Indian Dhawal Kulkarni has earned a spot in
The 20-year-old came into the limelight last year with his dazzling performances in the Indian Premier League, and has consistently done well in the domestic circuit since.
In the 13 first-class matches Dhawal has played so far, he has not disappointed MI Captain Sachin Tendulkar's faith in him. He claimed 49 wickets, with an economy rate of 2.94. His figures of 5 / 76 in the second innings of the Ranji Trophy Final were a huge contribution towards Mumbai's 38th Ranji Trophy title. He was also the highest wicket taker in the Ranji Trophy season wherein he took an astounding 42 wickets.
It is good to see a Mumbai Indian player in the test squad and with Dhaval's performance on home turf, he has been a choice by the selectors.
ReplyDeleteBut being in the squad and playing the game is a different thing as a whole. We can see that pacers like Zaheer and Ishant already take the place of two bowlers, with the third spot occupied by Harbhajjan.
If Dhoni decides to play 5 bowlers, which I presume he may not, Dhawal has to compete for the 4th place with some with some out standing bowling line-up, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Amit Mishra, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Dinesh Karthik.
I believe Dhoni may give Munaf another oppurtunity as the fourth bowler and the 3rd speedster.
So 3 pacers and 1 spinner may be a good option.
Though Dhaval may not get a chance in the 1st two tests, he has got to make the most of the oppurtunities he may get on this tour.
Wed 25, February 2009 (D/N): 1st Twenty20 - New Zealand v India at Christchurch
Fri 27, February 2009 (D/N): 2nd Twenty20 - New Zealand v India at Wellington
Tue 03, March 2009 (D/N): 1st ODI - New Zealand v India at Napier
Fri 06, March 2009 (D/N): 2nd ODI - New Zealand v India at Wellington
Sun 08, March 2009 (D/N): 3rd ODI - New Zealand v India at Christchurch
Wed 11, March 2009 (D/N): 4th ODI - New Zealand v India at Hamilton
Sat 14, March 2009 (D/N): 5th ODI - New Zealand v India at Auckland
Wed 18-Sun 22, March 2009: 1st Test - New Zealand v India at Hamilton
Thu 26-Mon 30, March 2009: 2nd Test - New Zealand v India at Napier
Fri 03-Tue 07, April 2009: 3rd Test - New Zealand v India at Wellington
True, Kulkarni may not get a playing eleven spot. Actually, positive dissonance is probably the selectors' biggest dilemma right now with this new Indian squad. That there is a sudden boom of high quality players can never be a bad thing though.
ReplyDeleteTwo things come out of this- Firstly, that Kulkarni's presence in the squad vying for Munaf's spot means that both players have to up their game to make it to the playing eleven. Secondly, Dhaval Kulkarni will get training from the best in the country and will have access to facilities only the International team gets. They will be practicing at The Mumbai Cricket Associations, state of the art indoor-stadium, which is climate controlled and has eight pitches of varying speed and bounce. The editorial team here sees only one way that 20-year old Kulkarni can go, and that is up.