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India’s selectors have finally shown some guts and made changes to the side which will tour Ireland and England.
The biggest omission is that of Virendra Sehwag, not so long ago the vice-captain of the team. This should have happened much earlier but Sehwag had the backing of captain Rahul Dravid.
The selectors may have done Sehwag a favour by dropping him. He desperately needs a break from top level cricket to sort out his problems.
There is no doubt that Sehwag is among the most talented batsmen in the world. But he developed a few bad habits which he needs to iron out.
An extended bad run in both Tests and one-dayers has not helped his cause either.
Though India’s domestic set-up isn’t exactly great for any batsman to test his skills, a few big scores under his belt may be just what the doctor ordered for Sehwag.
Hopefully, the shock of the omission will also improve Sehwag’s sometimes questionable commitment and get him back on the road to success.
The other big changes were the dropping of Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel. Harbhajan has himself to blame for being in the wilderness.
Once touted as one of the best spinners in the world, Harbhajan’s game has fallen away steadily.
He seems to have lost his ability to take wickets in both one-days and Tests and has a pathetic record of late.
This can be directly attributed to his defensive attitude while bowling and the overdependence on the “doosra”. The opposition has got familiar to his style and they get after him quite easily.
Munaf Patel must blame his poor fitness for finding himself out of the Indian side. He has a reputation of breaking down during tours and the selectors felt that it was too much risk to take him abroad.
Munaf also has poor body language and his fielding leaves a lot to be desired.
He needs to work hard on these aspects if he has any ambitions to don the Indian cap regularly.
The Indian selectors have opted for a few youngsters for the one-dayers and Tests.
Rohit Sharma has been rewarded for a good domestic season. The young lad has put in a lot of hard work last season and deserves a chance.
Piyush Chawla is another who is improving all the time and could be a replacement for Anil Kumble once the spin ace decides to call it quits.
Ishant Sharma already made his Test debut in Bangladesh and the conditions in England will suit him admirably. Though he is not very quick, he uses his height very well.
Ranadeb Bose of Bengal fully deserves his chance at the top level. He has delivered consistently for his state and is truly a workhorse. Though he lacks pace, he swings the ball and is much disciplined in his approach.
Zaheer Khan is now back as the spearhead of the attack and he has found the form and commitment for the role. His support will come from the fiery S Sreesanth who ability and spirit to take on the best.
Ramesh Powar gets the nod after a good tour of Bangladesh. Powar is one of a rare breed of spinners who believes in flighting the ball to deceive the batsmen.
India’s batting line-up falls into place with the tried and trusted winning a vote of confidence.
Gautam Gambhir wins a place though his playing in the big matches will be subject to either Wasim Jaffer or Dinesh Karthik losing form or getting injured.
Karthik has done enough recently to justify his place in the side and he be the long term answer to India’s opening woes. Both Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar are back in the one-day frame after their so-called rest and this strengthens the side considerably.
Tendulkar’s two centuries in Bangladesh were slow affairs but it at least proved that the Indian star has not lost his appetite for the time.
India will have to do a lot of hard work if they want to re-establish themselves as one of the top teams in the world. A resurgent England side under Michael Vaughan will not be easy to tackle.
The conditions in England will also be tough and India’s senior players will have to really be in top form to change India’s fortunes.
With the veteran Chandu Borde now manager and coach, India has an individual who is well-versed in English conditions.
Sticking together and getting things right will be the order of the day.
By Babu Kalyanpur
babu.kallianpur@tradearabia.net
