Blessing in Disguise

South Africa in India
Season: 2009-10

Indian team is carrying long list of injuries – VVS, Sreesanth, Dravid and Yuvraj. Sreesanth, Dravid and Yuvraj have been left out while VVS may not play the first test. It is, of course, not an idle situation; the frontline players are cannot play and the opponent is supposed to be the best team in World cricket today. The competition will be all the more difficult as it could decide the number 1 spot in ICC test ranking.

Sreesanth absence will not hurt Indian team. His services, in all probability, will not be needed given that Zaheer and Ishant are bowling well. Dravid is a great player and his absence cannot be compensated. On the other hand Yuvraj has done little to prove that he values test berth and is a fair replacement for Dada.

I think the situation presents a very good opportunity to India if VVS plays. In the absence of Dravid and Yuvraj, Vijay and Badrinath are likely to play the first test. Vijay, in a short tenure, has already impressed with his solid technique and unflappable temperament. Badrinath has been on fringes of Indian team and has been knocking the doors for long.

Will Badrinath grab the opportunity and do justice to his debut? Only time will tell. If he does well and gets more chances, India can look forward to another good middle order batsman. The situation is a blessing in disguise and let us hope for the best.

I hope Indian selection panel can learn something from this situation. They rotate the players to test the bench strength. Australia could rotate players in first half of the last decade; India can do it now and they should do it well before Big 3 will retire.

Selectors and Rahul Dravid

Indian selectors have included Rahul Dravid among 30 probables for ICC Champions Trophy.

Dravid among Champions Trophy probables

In my opinion it is a regressive step. It is not the Dravid's ability to perform but the timing of the move that disturbs me. Dravid is a great player with sound technique; he has won many a battles for Indian cricket. I have high regards for him and I am sure he will succeed if given a chance and may even perform better than youngsters.

However, Dravid is not in frame for One Day cricket for almost 2 years. Since then other batsmen have performed well. Indian team has seen golden period in two years - they have lost very few one day games. The new batsmen have played some brilliant cricket and have filled the void left by Dravid.

Some media reports have suggested that Dravid inclusion has to do with inability of current crop of cricketers to face short pitch bouncers especially after poor showing at T20 Word Cup. It is true that Raina, Pathan and Sharma do no have technical proficiency of Dravid (everyone can't be a 'The Wall'). But what do selectors want to achieve by announcing Dravid's name? There could be 2 reasons but none of them makes sense to me:

1. To tell new crop of players that they lack technical proficiency of a master and there is a competition for them - There can be only one Dravid. Raina, Pathan or Sharma can't match his technical proficiency. They have earned their places in the team as they too have something which wins matches for India. Every player is unique and we must respect his talent as it is. Let us continue to trust these youngsters as long as they are performing well for the country. If they do not produce the goods then so be it. Selectors have built a team that will serve India for a long time to come.
2. To show some much needed respect to Dravid in twilight of his career - In last t 2 years Dravid would have taken non-inclusion in one day squad in his stride. By announcing his name among probables, selectors are only demeaning him. What was the point of dumping him earlier after a stray poor series?

I shred to think what will happen if, after all this, selectors fail to include Dravid in final 14.