WHY RAHUL DRAVID?

The recent form of Yuvraj Singh has compelled the selectors to include the left-hander in the test squad on the tour of Australia. With Sachin, Saurav, Laxman, Dravid and Jaffer being certainties, a spot for Yuvraj calls for a bold choice or a gamble. Many wise people have voiced the view that Yuvraj can be accommodated in the middle order only if Dravid is asked to give company to Jaffer at the start of the innings. Even the great Sunil Gavaskar has endorsed this view.

The idea that Dravid should open stems from the fact that the Karnataka batsman is the most competent when it comes to facing fast bowling on bouncy pitches. More importantly, Dravid opened the innings once before in Pakistan. So that makes Dravid a sort of a ‘natural choice’ for the role of the opener.

If Dravid is indeed compelled by the team management to open the innings, things could take a turn for the worst for the Indian team. If one cares to remember the last tour to down under, it was Dravid who was a crucial factor behind the team’s good show batting at one drop. With his confidence low, not only the team but also the batting of Dravid could suffer.

Why Dravid? The answer is pretty simple and straightforward. Dravid does not have many powerful backers among the former players and the media. In fact, Dravid is someone who can be dispensed with ostensibly in the name of larger interests.

The success or the failure of the team in the batting department depends mostly on the performance of Dravid.

WHO WILL PLAY AND WHO SHALL TAKE THE REST?

It is going to be a difficult choice as far as the playing eleven for the first test is concerned.

It is certain that three spinners will be fielded with the hope that the result goes India’s way. It is also not misplaced considering Pakistan batsmen could not handle the spin of the South African. If the think-tank decides to have two faster bowlers in the eleven, problems would arise.

Wasim Jaffer is a certainty since he is the only specialist opener in the side. Dinesh Karthik performed admirably in England at the top of the order and so he might get another opportunity. The problem is with the fact that the team has another keeper in Dhoni. Even as the test credentials of Dhoni are not proven, the selectors would not like to invite hostile public reaction. Let us not forget that Dhoni is the current favourite of the nation, even without the long hair.

It is a no-brainer as far as Sachin and Rahul Dravid are concerned. These two are a must for the playing eleven. That leaves only one more slot to be filled and there are three contenders in the form of Saurav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. Of these three the claims of Ganguly are the weakest. I am a great supporter of the left-hander from Kolkata, but he does not inspire much confidence. Laxman is too good a batsman to be left out while Yuvraj is in the form of his life brimming with confidence. It would be unjust not to give him an opportunity.

I have a solution. Since Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper who also opens the innings, it would not be unwise to drop Dhoni. That would give the selectors the choice to pick Yuvraj and Laxman. If dropping Dhoni is not an option, as it seems, then a rethink should be made about the idea of playing three spinners.

Of course, the selectors can always spring a choice like asking Dravid or Laxman or Ganguly or even Yuvraj to open the innings partnering Jaffer.

It is a million bucks question as to who is going to be ‘rested’?

WHY SACHIN?

Sachin Tendulkar ended all the speculation about the captaincy. Sachin does not want to lead the test team for a third time. The refusal set off in motion all the rumour mills. It was alleged that Sachin was miffed over the ‘treatment’ meted out to the ‘senior’ players and as a protest did not accept the captaincy. As it is the habit, the BCCI came out with the denial of such an occurrences.

Ever since Rahul Dravid decided to give up the captaincy, there was a suspicion that the Mumbai lobby led by the likes of Sharad Pawar and Dilip Vengsarkar was behind the moves to make Sachin the captain. I wonder whether Sachin did not want these allegations to stick and hence decided to stay away from the controversy. It is hard to believe that Sachin decided not to just because the selectors were not treating the seniors fairly.

Whatever the case is, there is one thing that makes the whole thing appear wishy-washy. Rahul Dravid decided to give up the captaincy and informed Sharad Pawar about it. Now, Sachin has also followed the same route. The selection committee led by Vengsarkar was not in the know of the things. Earlier, it was Pawar who had talks with Ganguly when the Kolkata left-hander was dropped out of the team.

What makes Pawar a favourite and Vengsarkar a hated figure for the senior players? It is evident that Vengsarkar is someone who doesn’t believe in operating behind the scenes. He is proactive to the point of taking the attention away from the players. Pawar, on the other hand, is a politician who in the true Indian style is good at making compromises even at the cost of merit.

In the fitness of things, it would be better to hand over formally the powers of the selection committee to Pawar.

IS THIS NECESSARY?

Predictably, the non-inclusion of Dravid in the squad for the first and second one-dayers against Pakistan has evoked a strong response. Every supporter of Dravid is now able to find a personal enemy in the Chief of the Selection Committee, Dilip Vengsarkar. This is similar to the situation when Saurav Ganguly was axed during the tenure of Kiran More.

The news channels have gone to great lengths to explain the possibility of a conspiracy theory. Polls have been conducted to show that Dravid should have been included in the squad. Former players and cricket administrators have joined the bandwagon. In short, the decision of the selectors has not been received too well.

It is true that Dravid was totally out of sorts in the six matches against Australia. But that does not give the selectors any licence to make Dravid sit at home considering his past record. In both cases, statistics have been bandied about.

In the midst of all this shouting and chest beating, we have to remember that this squad is to play only the first two matches. A different squad is to be selected for the other matches. That may bring Dravid into the squad after all.

There is of course, very little logic in bringing Virender Sehwag to the team. Sehwag scored only one 50 in the Challenger trophy and he is no youngster as well. Sehwag’s record in the limited overs game is not impressive while his test record is excellent, especially, in the context of Pakistan.

When everyone talks about the Australian methods, it is time for the selectors to think about the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly. Both have stellar achievements as far as one-dayers are concerned, but their match winning ability is suspect. The Aussies dropped the Waugh twins when they could have easily walked into any of the international teams. Vengsarkar needs to apply the same principles to everyone.

I am still not sure whether Dravid has been dropped or rested.

STRIKING PARALLELS!

With the resignation of Dravid, the hunt for a new captain has begun. Predictably, no new names except that of Dhoni are doing the rounds. Dhoni, of course, has very little chance to become the Captain. The other two contenders are Ganguly and Sachin.

The Mumbai lobby will never want to make Gaguly take charge of the team for a second time. So Pawar and his cohorts have been busy in propping up Sachin. Even in the past, there was no dearth of people in favour of Sachin.

The news channels have found a new topic that is far less tricky in relation to the issue of Ram or the Sethusamudram. Polls via SMS have been conducted and Ganguly has become the preferred choice of the average cricket fan. But in the ultimate analysis, it is Sachin who is most likely to be made the Captain.

In this context, I cannot desist myself from reminding everyone about the Presidential elections that took place a couple of months ago. APJ Abdul Kalam was the choice as far as the people were concerned but that did not stop Pratibha Patil from claiming the occupancy rights to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Similarly, none seems to have the power to prevent Sachin from becoming the Captain for a third time, despite a poor record in the Captaincy department.

Of course, Sachin has the ability and the experience. But the plot is similar.

A COUP?

The resignation of Rahul Dravid looks like a coup of some sorts. This conspiracy theory of mine may not stick but Indian cricket has always had the reputation of being in the hands of the worst script writer that Bombay films ever had.

The appointment of Sachin Tendulkar as the Vice-captain before the World Cup in the Caribbean was something that was touted as a masterstroke by the selectors. Sachin, it was argued, would provide valuable inputs to the team think-tank and also would play more ‘responsibly’. We all know what happened in the World Cup. Sachin himself put on highly forgettable displays against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was only against Bermuda that the bat of the great man talked.

In the tour to England, Sachin played with a rare freedom especially in the one-dayers. The test series was won and the one-day series was lost in the last match. But the success of the tour has soured now with the dramatic announcement made by Dravid.

One has to take the appointment of Dhoni as the captain of the team for the T20 World Cup in the right perspective. As is the case now, the likelihood of Dhoni taking the mantle from Dravid appears remote with Sachin being the clear frontrunner. The Mumbai lobby led ably by Sharad Pawar has been very efficient plotting the downfall of Dravid. Various satraps connected to the ruling body of cricket in India have made noises over the strategy of Dravid. The Chairman of the selection committee, Dilip Vengsarkar was, reportedly unhappy over the defensive approach of Dravid.

It is true that in some instances, the strategy of Dravid appeared to be less than sound. The decision of not enforcing the follow on in the third test when England was on the mat baffled everyone. Dravid defended himself on the ground of giving the bowlers time for recuperation. But then every captain has his own way of making decisions.

Now the decks are cleared for the anointment of Sachin to the top job. There is a report in the media about an interview given by Sachin during the tour to England. All these, only add to the rumors and the innuendoes that very much characterize Indian cricket.

I hope to be proved wrong.

PARITY RESTORED

At Bristol, the Indians managed to beat to home team despite having the luxury of putting up a score of 329 runs on the board. The small ground makes it possible for shots to go over the boundary. But more importantly, the Indian bowling was not adequate. The woes of the team were compounded by the atrocious fielding.

Speaking about bowling, it is a mystery that Ajit Agarkar continues to have the support of the selectors and the team management even after proven inability. The same logic does not apply to Gambhir who was dropped from the playing eleven after the first match. Munaf Patel is not looking to bowl fast. He is looking like a veteran of over 300 matches. R.P.Singh produced some good balls. It is a pity that Sreesanth was not picked for the limited overs contests. In the third test, Dravid did not enforce the follow on ostensibly to give a breather to the bowlers. Of the bowlers, Kumble, Zaheer and Sreesanth are not playing the one dayers and the others barring R.P.Singh, did not play in the test matches.

In the batting department, Sachin and Dravid were simply outstanding. Sachin has, in his career, played many better knocks. But in the context of the series, this was worth its weight in gold. Sachin played and missed a number of times, but he hung in there to score 99. Ganguly was not fluent but the opening partnership was worth more than 100. Yuvraj scored 49 runs and looked good for a lot more.

It was Dravid who was a complete revelation. The man, who struggled in the first match, suddenly carted all the bowlers to all parts of the ground. He could not score a 100 as the overs ran out. But the knock was crucial to the final outcome of the match. Great batsmen like W.G.Grace, Wally Hammond and Zaheer Abbas who played for Gloucestershire at Bristol would have been proud of the way Dravid stroked the ball.

The parity has been restored and now the teams have to start from scratch.