Yo-Yo test shouldn’t be sole selection criterion : Sachin Tendulkar
Mumbai : Be it MS Dhoni’s longevity or Mohammed Shami’s return to the India squad for the ongoing England tour, the Yo-Yo Test has played a key role in determining the careers of a lot of players. Sachin Tendulkar however feels that shouldn’t be the mandatory selection criterion.
Shami was dropped from the India squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. He hasn’t played an international game since the Johannesburg Test in January but was named in the 18-man squad for the upcoming Test series against England on Wednesday. Similarly, while Dhoni’s current form has come under the scanner, his place in the team doesn’t seem to be under any threat owing to his experience and fitness.
Tendulkar feels that while a certain standard was required, selection should also take into account other factors. “I feel certain fielding standards are critical. Now I haven’t done the Yo-Yo Test. We had the beep test, which is more or less similar,” said Tendulkar. “But that shouldn’t be the only criterion. It should be a mixture of fitness and also looking at the ability of a player. I think Yo-Yo test is important but also looking at the ability of the player and how fit or unfit the player is.”
The Yo-Yo test has already cost Ambati Rayudu and Sanju Samson their spots in the national squad and the ‘A’ side. Both players had a terrific run in the Indian Premier League, with Rayudu slamming three half-centuries and a century while guiding Chennai Super Kings to their third IPL title.
India have had mixed fortunes in the England tour so far, winning the T20I series 2-1 but losing the ODI rubber 2-1. And although the wrist spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal caused the hosts few problems, India seemed more undone by Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali’s spin. Tendulkar said that if conditions are similar and similar surfaces are offered in the Test series too, it would only hurt the Indian batsmen.
“If it continues to be like this — and the kind of surfaces we have seen even in the ODIs — someone like Kuldeep, Chahal and their leg-spinner (Adil Rashid) were able to get some help off the surface. So, if the surfaces are going to be like that in a five-day game, then our spinners are surely in the game. They (England) will hurt Indian batters. But if they are not going to give spinner-friendly surfaces, then it’s going to be a competition between our batting and their batting. We have good depth in our batting. Thus, on a decent surface, it will be difficult to get our batting out.”
While Tendulkar hailed from an era of stability where the Fab Four nearly played every game, it’s in stark contrast to the manner in which the playing eleven is changed every Test. The legend said that unless the situation demands, it’s better not to tinker with the side.
“The changes take place depending on the surface, depending on the form of that particular individual, depending on how long the series is because sometimes in a three-Test series you have to make decisions very quickly,” he said. “So, I would say one has to be patient and balanced but that doesn’t mean you are not supposed to make any changes. One should make changes if the situation demands those changes but otherwise I feel it’s always nice to have that stability and letting the players know that there aren’t going to be too many unnecessary changes.”
courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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Cong says LoPs not invited to Putin banquet, takes swipe at Tharoor for accepting invite
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday said Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have not been invited to the banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and took a swipe at its own MP Shashi Tharoor for accepting the invite.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "There has been speculation whether the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha have been invited for tonight's official dinner in honour of President Putin. The two LoPs have not been invited."
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
"There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government," he told PTI Videos on the sidelines of an event.
Asked about party MP Tharoor getting invited to the banquet and accepting the invitation, Khera said, "Ask Mr. Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable and those who accept such an invite is also questionable," Khera said.
"We would have listened to our voice of conscience," he added.
Earlier, Tharoor said there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited but that practice seems to have stopped from some years.
"It has been resumed ...I have been invited, yes. I will definitely go," the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs said.
On the LoPs reportedly not getting an invite, Tharoor said, "I don't know on what basis invitations were sent. I think the custom that usually used to be followed was for a wide representation. Certainly, I remember in the olden days, they used to invite not only the LoPs, (but) various other cross section of representatives of different parties. It conveys a good impression."
"I dont know the basis (of invitation), this is all done by the government, by the protocol by the Rashtrapati Bhawan, what do I know. All I can say I have honoured to have been invited. Of course I will go," Tharoor told reporters in the Parliament House complex.
Gandhi on Thursday had alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks had come hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
Gandhi had said it is a tradition that visiting foreign dignitaries meet the LoP but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm.
"Normally the tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the LoP. This used to happen during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji's time, Manmohan Singh ji's time, it has been a tradition but what happens these days is that when foreign dignitaries come and when I go abroad, the government suggests to them to not meet the LoP," Gandhi had told reporters in Parliament House complex.
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