Archive for the ‘Bowling’ Category
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India, over the past 2 years have been experimenting a lot with their limited overs side. This may be attributed to the amount of cricket the Indian players play in a year. The combination of IPL and the busy international calendar means that India are forced to rotate players to prevent burnout. What this also does is that many high performing players from IPL and domestic cricket get to experience International cricket and prove their worth. This also means that when selecting a team for a tournament like World T20, the selectors and team management are presented with way too many options which might make the process more tricky.
Since January 2021, India have played 37 T20Is, a number which isn’t huge but again we are taking that timeline as that provides as with recent performers. India are playing in UAE before flying out to Australia for the World T20 which means that the squad picked for the former would mostly be the one which is selected for the latter as well. The spin bowling combination is something which is always up to debate when a squad is picked. Last year for the T20 WC which happened in UAE, India went with the mystery of Varun Chakravarthy along with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as their three spinners. While Varun started the tournament as the lead spinner, he was dropped for the 3rd game after initial 2 losses but did play one more game against Scotland where he ended up wicketless. Varun hasn’t played much since then and is nowhere in consideration for a spot in the India team at the moment.
Over the past 18 months the spinner who has played most games for India is Yuzvendra Chahal. He has played 17 games and has an average of 21 with an economy rate of 7.49. He has been the main spinner for India over that time and is rightfully in the squad for the Asia cup. Ravi Bishnoi though is a surprise selection this time. Even though everyone knows the talent Bishnoi possesses he has been picked ahead of Axar Patel who has played the second most number of games over the last 18 months. Bishnoi himself has played 9 games over this time at a very good average of 16.5 and an economy rate of 7.15. Also Bishnoi bowls a different style of Leg Spin to Chahal and does provide India with an X-Factor in the middle overs.
The other surprising selection for sure is of Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin has a fine record in T20Is over the same period but including the 3 games he played in the WT20 last year, he has only featured in 8 of the 37 games India have played since January 2021. While the team management have been adamant about Ashwin being in the plans for T20 WC, he did not feature in too many games over the past few months. He though has the best economy rate among the 4 spinners picked which is an incredible 5.78.
The fourth spinner though is Ravindra Jadeja but again he will feature in the team as an all-rounder. While Jadeja and Axar Patel have similar bowling record over this period, the batting is the reason Jadeja gets the edge. Since the beginning of 2021 Jadeja averages 51 with the bat at a SR of 141, which is brilliant for a lower middle order all-rounder. The only bowler who might feel a little hard done is Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has only played 4 games over the last 18 months for India and while he hasn’t done badly, his lack of games tells us that he was never in consideration.
The biggest problem for India is that there aren’t any spinners who are standing out in recent times. The fact that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are still relavent in T20 format is because of the dearth of good spinners in domestic cricket . Ravi Bishnoi is the only spinner who comes to mind and he is part of the India squad. To be frank the selectors have picked the only options they have available for the Asia Cup and they cannot be blamed for their choices.
While the spinners picked have been based on statistics and performances it will be interesting to see who will actually play in the XI. The fact that Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are a must as all-rounders , it leaves room for only one spinner in the XI and Yuzvendra Chahal for sure is going to occupy that spot. Deepak Hooda who might play in the middle order will double up as the third spin option. The spinners for the World T20 for sure will be picked from this bunch and considering there are no games before the marquee tournament after Asia Cup, majority of the same group might be travelling to Australia as well.
The squad for the World Cup though might still see some changes. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav might still be in consideration for a spot. Kuldeep especially as he bowled well in Zimbabwe and he does bring the necessary variation to the spin attack. The problem though is that the T20 World Cup is in Australia which means that India might not pick too many spinners in the squad.
Every time an Indian national squad is announced there is always controversy. Fans and experts alike question selections, express disappointment over someone missing out and there is conspiracy theories always floating around. The three squads announced for the Australian tour wasn’t immune to that either. But again the T20I squad garnered the most criticism. Lets look at the T20 squad and analyse the “Controversial”
picks in more detail.
Team India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy
The T20I squad garnered the most criticism and critique from the fans and experts alike. The biggest controversy or mystery is the omission of Rohit Sharma. Rohit has been absent from the Mumbai Indians playing XI for the past 3 games and also I am sure BCCI would have consulted the franchise medical staff before making the call. There is no way BCCI would omit their star limited overs player with hearsay or half baked information. There is a reason why Rohit hasn’t been picked for the tour. The fact that MI posted on social media about Rohit practicing after squad announcement is highly unprofessional as despite that he did not partake in an important clash against RCB last night. Considering there isn’t much time between the end of IPL and the beginning of the Australian tour, I feel the call was right.
The next controversy was with the omission of Rishabh Pant from the T20I side. I am a big fan of Rishabh but again I need to be objective about a player. Yes he is brilliant and yes he is very talented but lets look at his numbers just to stay little fair on the players picked. Pant has played 28 T20Is for India and has an average of 20 at a SR of 121. Not earth shattering numbers by any means. His IPL season this year so far has been mixed bag. He hasn’t been his belligerent best and has shown lack of form over the last year or so. Sanju Samson got a lot of criticism from experts for his lack of good FC scores but again we are talking about T20 games. Yes Sanju himself isn’t the most consistent or reliable but when Pant was given 28 games to prove himself, I feel we can at least give Samson 3 more games to show his mettle.
The other contentious spot in the squad was the selection of Varun Chakravarthy. Yes Varun is a reasonably unknown commodity and not many people rate him as a spinner. He has had a great season so far for KKR but again the argument is that there are better spinners available than Varun in India. Fair enough, the only other player who I thought could have been picked is Kuldeep Yadav as he has brilliant T20 numbers but again his bowling has been on the decline in LO formats over the last 18 months. Yes there is Ravi Bishnoi and Rahul Chahar but again I don’t see selection of a young spinner is that bad as it is made to be. It does seem like the selectors have picked him based on his IPL2020 performance but again that’s fine as both spinners I mentioned above is a future star and will be picked soon in the Indian XI. Yes Varun might not be the best spinner in India but again his selection isn’t as bad as it is made out to be. Krunal Pandya and Axar Patel compete directly with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. They both are bowling all-rounders and Varun has been picked as a specialist bowler. Sundar and Jadeja have been very good in shorter formats and their bowling this IPL has been brilliant as well. Jadeja especially has been batting brilliantly for CSK. So I don’t see any controversy in their selection.
The one player who even I though should have been in the T20I squad is Suryakumar Yadav. He has been brilliant in IPL for years and it is strange that he does not get picked for the national side. He once again proved last night how amazing he is in this format and I hope that the selectors give him a chance soon in both the LO format. He is a deserving player and should have been part of this squad to Australia.
This is just a 16 member squad and not everyone can get into the XI. There have been few people preferred over the other and while we can argue the merit of others who haven’t been picked, we cannot deny the talent of the people who are in the squad. The rest of the squad is on the expected lines except for the return of Shikhar Dhawan at the top and the addition of Mayank Agarwal in T20 after his brilliant season for KXIP this year so far.
Overall I feel that even though the T20I squad hasn’t impressed everyone, the selectors haven’t done a horrible job as it is made out to be. They have picked the best available players on merit and I don’t see this as a disaster. Everyone might feel someone someone else would have been a better choice in the squad but again that would be in the hindsight.
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Steven Smith led Rajasthan Royals have been the perennial underdogs of the Indian Premier League. This tag has stuck with them despite their title win in 2008 against all odds with a team which had no superstars besides their inspirational captain Shane Warne. The team which Shane Warne took to victory had Indian cricket’s future and players from around the world who were trying to make a mark or comeback. RR was the home for Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja, who went to become great international success.
The situation though is different now with RR as they boast of some influential international superstars. Steven Smith, their captain is considered one of the best players in the world. Jos Buttler is one of the most feared bat in the limited overs format and they also boast of arguably the best all-rounder in the world Ben Stokes in their ranks. Jofra Archer who is one of the most exciting talents in the world also lifts their bowling attack. Despite having such international superstars in their mix, the one thing the RR camp lacks is the presence of an Indian superstar.
They do have some excellent Indian players this season though. Sanju Samson has been their main stay but again Robin Uthappa’s inclusion means they don’t have to worry about opening problems. They also have the brilliant Shreyas Gopal who has been brilliant for them over the last couple of seasons. It does seem like the team management had put in lots of thought in assembling a good squad this season. Even though Rajasthan Royals never come in discussions when favourites for winning the title are discussed, they may well be the team to look out for this season.
They did struggle after their internationals disappeared last year but with the possibility of everyone being available for the full tournament they are a team who need to be considered as true contenders. They have a squad this time which for sure can rise above the underdogs tag and can give the more popular teams run for the money. They have good balance of youth and experience in the squad and a good mix of Indian and foreign players
My RR XI for tonight:
Robin Uthappa, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (WK), Steven Smith (C) (O), Mahipal Lormor, David Miller (O), Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer (O), Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Tom Curran
The above XI gives a good balanced look. In the absence of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler for the first game Rajasthan Royals need to be little creative. David Miller comes into the middle order and they would need to pick between Tom Curran and Oshane Thomas in the pace bowling department. They have some good Indian pacers like Ankit Rajpoot and Kartik Tyagi who can come into the mix as well. Young Yashasvi Jaiswal will be a exciting player to watch this season. He was brilliant in the U19 WC and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the pressures of the IPL. So quite a lot of options for Steven Smith to choose from and it is a happy headache to have for a captain. RR will be looking to start well in a tough tournament. There aren’t any weak teams this time and all squads look well balanced. We have already have 3 close games to start the season and tonight promises to be yet another cracker.
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Pakistan and West Indies are actually two peas in one pod. Both the teams can be highly entertaining and unbeatable on their day but can be highly frustrating otherwise to watch for their respective fans. West Indies have had mixed results coming into the World Cup, they lost the tri-series finals to Bangladesh recently but again they were missing lots of their first choice players. Pakistan on the other hand have had a horror run over the last 6 months losing 10 games in a row coming into the tournament and also losing their only warm-up game to Afghanistan last week.
Pakistan would like to shrug off their bad form and get back to winning ways when they take of West Indies in their opening game.
The biggest positive for Pakistan has been their batting. Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam have been in great form and as a batting unit they crossed 300+ in 3 of their 4 games against England earlier this month. Their bowling though is a different story. Pakistan have announced their 12 for the game against West Indies already and when we look at their line-up, the bowling does not inspire any confidence. Mohammad Amir who was initially dropped from the provisional squad and re inducted into the World Cup squad has been struggling for wickets over the last 18 months. He averages 92.6 in 15 games with just 5 wickets to his name. Hasan Ali who was Pakistan’s star in their Champions Trophy 2017 campaign has taken 24 wickets at an average of 42.49. Wahab Riaz who was Pakistan’s stand out performer in their only warm up against Afghanistan hasn’t played any ODI since the first Champions Trophy game for Pakistan in 2017.
Shadab Khan their lone specialist spinner is their best bet against West Indies as he has a decent record over that time and averages 29.28 with 28 wickets. Pakistan’s bowling has been struggling over the last 18 months and their best bowler over that time Shaheen Shah Afridi is sitting out this game. West Indies on the other had are flying high with confidence after their amazing win against New Zealand in the practice game early this week. Their batting seems extremely dangerous and with Chris Gayle back at the top, they look a formidable unit. The addition of Andre Russell in the middle order also gives them the edge as he can really hit the long ball and also bowl really quick when needed.
West Indies will want to build on their impressive win against New Zealand when they take on Pakistan at Trent Bridge.
Shai Hope has been in brilliant form with the bat and with Darren Bravo at number 4, they have a very good top 4. The bowling attack can blow hot or cold similar to their batting but with Oshane Thomas providing the X-Factor, they can really test the Pakistan batting if they get it right. The major weakness for West Indies will be their spin option. Even though Ashley Nurse is a decent spinner, he isn’t someone who the opposition will be worried too much about.
Head to Head:
In terms of head to head in the World Cups, West Indies are way ahead of Pakistan. They are 7-3 in all time World Cup encounters. They also lead Pakistan 70-60 in the overall record. As we know we cannot make too much out of this stats as West Indies dominated world cricket in 70’s and 80’s and most of the stats reflects that domination.
Key Players:
Shadab Khan (Pakistan) – He has been Pakistan’s best bowler over the last 18 months. Even though he hasn’t done much with the bat, his bowling where he has picked up 28 wickets will be crucial for Pakistan in this world cup. Despite having the left-arm spin of Imad Wasim, Shadab is possibly their only specialist spinner in the 12. Considering West Indies’s struggles against good spin bowling, he will form the most important part of their strategy.
Babar Azam (Pakistan) – Even though Pakistan has 2 players at the top averaging 50, Babar Azam is their best bat in this format. With 9 hundreds in 64 games, he is their main stay in batting. The other Pakistan batters would need to bat around him and the onus will be on Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfaraz Ahmed to guide this young team through this tournament.
Shai Hope (West Indies) – Hope is probably the best West Indies batter in the ODI format in a long time. He averages over 50 in this format and has done incredibly well over the last 18 months. He is the calm in otherwise explosive batting line up. He along with Darren Bravo will be crucial for West Indies campaign in this tournament.
Jason Holder (West Indies) – The West Indies captain is the talisman around which the team has recently had a resurgence. He bats well and bowls well but his leadership skills is what which will be important managing a mercurial bunch of cricketers. He has been brilliant doing that over the last couple of years and he would like to continue the same in this tournament.
What they said?
“One thing I like coming into this tournament is that every player is in a good frame of mind,” Holder said. “Everybody is playing with a smile on their face, and that’s how we play our best cricket. We’re fearless, we enjoy what we’re doing and we enjoy one another’s company. I can safely say within the group we’ve got that. We’ve got the energy going into this tournament that we would want to have
“It’s good to be unpredictable. All teams are scared of Pakistan because on our day we are dangerous. It’s good that we’re unpredictable before the World Cup” Safaraz Ahmed said in a presser ahead of their opening encounter against West Indies
Probable XI (Pakistan) – Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK & C), Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali
Probable XI (West Indies) – Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (Wkt), Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder (C), Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas, Ashley Nurse.
I wouldn’t want to be a betting man tonight for this game against this two sides. This game probably is one of the most difficult one to predict. Probably couple years ago the obvious choice would have been Pakistan but things have changed a lot. Both teams will start on an even keel and the team who bowls well and fields well will emerge victories. Knowing how unpredictable these two teams are, it is hard to say who that will be.
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India have had a stellar last couple of years: the team has won eight consecutive Test series under skipper Virat Kohli, which has catapulted them to world number one in the ICC rankings.
But even though the Indian team has done wonderfully well over the last couple of years, everyone knows that their real test will begin later this year when they embark upon another round of overseas tours.
The young Indian team without experience went through a similar cycle from 2013 to 2015 without much success. Even though the team did not win many games, the core of the present team was formed during those tours. The team since their 2015 tour of Sri Lanka has gone from strength to strength and has now finished their run with a crushing 3-0 away win against Sri Lanka.
To read the full article, click here.
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Now that IPL is out of the way, focus shifts to the 2017 Champions Trophy, kicking off on June 1 at The Oval, where the hosts take on Bangladesh.
Australia have won the tournament twice and are one of the favourites to lift the trophy. Most Australian players were involved in the two-month-long IPL and have just few days to recuperate before they play their first warm-up game, against the Sri Lankans.
Read the full article at The Roar
Strategic Break, really?
Posted on: May 7, 2017
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Yesterday’s game between KKR and RCB was interrupted by rain. The game was on hold till the rain stopped and the ground was ready for play. The game stopped when RCB were 100/3 in 14.1 overs. After the match resumed, the bowling team just bowled 5 balls and the umpire called for strategic break. Are you kidding me? Why would either team want to strategize when they had just spent about an hour in the dressing room with the coaching staff.
What is there to strategize after just 5 balls when nothing much had changed? If BCCI wants to give an advertising break, why not just call it that? It is funny that BCCI dictates and forces teams to take a break when they don’t want to and thereby cause unnecessary break in play. If BCCI wants to sell airtime to make money they should call the break as advertisement break. If they really want to give the teams a strategic break, it should only be taken when the teams want to take it.
It was extremely funny when teams had just come in after a 45 minute break and within 5 deliveries had to go back in to strategize nothing.
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Virat Kohli has been vocal about the 5 bowler strategy since he took over the test captaincy in Australia. India tried Harbhajan as the 5th bowler in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka hoping that Ashwin, Mishra and Harbhajan can compensate for the 7th batsmen in the team. The biggest problem for India though is that they haven’t found a reliable bowling all-rounder yet to successfully incorporate the 5 bowler strategy.
The other problem the team management will face is the batting combination. It is clear that the team think tank supports the selection of Rohit Sharma in the X1, but with the arrival of Pujara the debate begins once again. Rohit played at number 5 in the second and third tests in Sri Lanka and did reasonably okay at that spot. It is certain that Murali Vijay and Shikar Dhawan will reclaim their spots as the openers in the first test against SA which will push Pujara to number 3 in the order. Virat Kohli will bat at number 4 and Rahane at number 5.
This makes the selection very interesting. Considering Indian think tank still wants to employ 5 bowlers strategy that leaves only one spot open which will be taken by a wicketkeeper. So it will be interesting as to what combination India will play in the first test. The selection of Rohit Sharma is just one end of the stick. The other issue which India will face is getting a bowling all-rounder to occupy the number 7 spot if at all they decide to go with 5 bowlers.
India employed Stuart Binny for the last 2 tests in Sri Lanka. Binny did okay in those games but again he will not be that effective on Indian pitches. He might score some runs but his bowling will not be that effective on pitches which will be aiding spinners in all probability. In Indian conditions the team would need a spin bowling all-rounder to occupy the number 7 spot. India already has Ravichandran Ashwin who is a decent bowling all-rounder and Amit Mishra showed that he can handle the bat competently to score some useful runs down the order. Now the options for a spin bowling all-rounder is minimal.
Couple of years back Ravindra Jadeja was a certainty in the Indian team but his form has gone south in the last couple of years. His performance in the one off game against Bangladesh A was nothing to write home about. The other option India has is Karn Sharma. Karn’s performance in Adelaide on a turning track does not inspire much confidence on his test match bowling ability. His batting too wasn’t too flash in that game. The last and final option India has is Axar Patel. Axar has done well for India in limited opportunities he has received in the shorter formats but his credentials as a test match bowler is questionable.
So considering the above options for the 5th bowler, it will be interesting to see if India does decide to go with the 5 bowler option at all for the tests against SA. The return of the injured players and the arrival of Pujara back in to the X1 leaves the think tank with more headaches than they could handle. The batting combination needs to be worked out and the decision of Pujara or Rohit needs to be made ahead of the first test. This could also mean that India could ditch the 5 bowler strategy and play both Pujara and Rohit in the X1. If they decide to drop Rohit and play an all-rounder, it will be interesting to see whom they will pick. There are plenty of things to worry about for the Indian think tank ahead of the test series against South Africa. It will be interesting to see what combination Kohli & Co will go for in the test series.
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The one off test between India and Bangladesh saw some interesting selections by the Indian think tank. Not all selections were popular ones but again there were some good signs nevertheless. Shikhar Dhawan’s selection was kind of forced as KL Rahul fell ill ahead of the test match. The 5 bowler strategy is something which Virat Kohli wants to implement consistently over the next couple of years but again he needs to make sure he picks the right 5 bowlers to do the job in tests.
The strategy might even work to his advantage as India does not play outside subcontinent for some time now. The other thing which was evident was that Virat Kohli prefers genuine quick bowlers over swing bowlers. He played both Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron in the same game along with Ishant Sharma. The test itself was marred by rain and we barely got 2 days of test cricket out of 5, so it was difficult to determine if this combination will actually be successful in the long run. Also it will be interesting to see whom Mohammed Shami will replace when he is fit again.
With Kohli and the think tank wanting to go with 5 bowler strategy, it puts lots of emphasis on a strong wicketkeeper batsman. India has Ravi Ashwin coming in at number 7 and the batting to follow after him might not be too reliable. For this strategy to work Wridhiman Saha needs to click as a batsman. We all know that Saha is one of the best wicketkeepers in India but again if he does not score runs with the bat, India might have to look elsewhere. The other selection which needs to be looked at is the second spinner for the subcontinent games.
Ravi Ashwin is India’s primary spin bowler but his partner is something which the Indian think tank is undecided on. Previously Pragyan Ojha was the one for the home tests but after his action was reported, he does not look the same bowler with the corrected action. Harbajan Singh was picked for the Bangladesh test but again he cannot be in India’s long term plans. Bajji looked out of sorts and struggled to match Ashwin with the ball. He did pick up three wickets but again those were gifted by some very daft batting by Bangladesh batsmen. It will be prudent for the Indian think tank to think in terms of blooding a young spinner to bowl alongside Ashwin in the home tests.
There are some suggestions to bring back Amit Mishra which is not a bad idea either but again Mishra has struggled in test matches even at home. It will be interesting if India actually picks some young spinner for the home tests, someone like Shreya Gopal. Shreyas Gopal has a good bowling record in first class cricket and can bat well too. This will help India in the 6-5 combination which they are planning to employ in tests.
India needs to somehow incorporate KL Rahul and Pujara in their test plan. Kohli seems to prefer Rohit Sharma ahead of Pujara in tests but again Pujara is more likely to succeed overseas. The selection of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma seems shortsighted and may not benefit India in the long run. Both Dhawan and Rohit are extremely good at home and on subcontinent pitches but again when it comes to overseas tests Pujara and Rahul are much more capable. It will be interesting to see what combinations Kohli will come up with in the upcoming series with Sri Lanka and South Africa.
India does tour Zimbabwe next for an ODI and T20 series and it will be the right time to introduce some young players in the team. India also needs to give a chance to players like Kedar Jadhav and Robin Uthappa. It will also be interesting if they would experiment with the bowling. Chahal comes to mind as an option in the shorter format. Virat Kohli has stuck with Karn Sharma but again he does not look like a test bowler.
These are exciting times for Indian cricket and we can expect some interesting selections in coming months. Virat Kohli needs to realize that in the longer run the idea is to make Indian cricket team more competitive overseas. Even though horses for courses selection seems good at the moment it will be detrimental to Indian cricket development in the long run. Players like KL Rahul and Pujara need to be in the mix if India needs to develop a team for all conditions. In the coming months we will know what the plan is by the current team management. Even though Dhawan needs to be persisted with as he provides an attacking option at the top of the order, India needs to make sure KL Rahul is somewhere in the mix and is not neglected. The same goes for Pujara. Virat Kohli has lots of tough decisions to make in the coming months. He does have the right attitude as a captain and has an attacking mindset but again he needs to pick the right people for the job for the team to be successful consistently.
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