da apostebet： The Indian selectors, as a rule, receive very few bouquets; it ismostly brickbats for them
Partab Ramchand17-May-2002The Indian selectors, as a rule, receive very few bouquets; it ismostly brickbats for them. They are everyone’s whipping boys, but I amgoing to give them a hearty pat on the back for doing everything rightin picking the one-day squad to take on the West Indies in the seriesof five limited-overs internationals in the Caribbean starting on May25.Indeed, with the exception of Javagal Srinath, who has opted out forone of his many rests, and the injured Anil Kumble, the side isprobably the strongest that can be fielded at the moment. One also hasthe feeling that this squad will form the nucleus of the World Cupteam about nine months from now.
© CricInfoOf course, it can be said that most of the one-day specialists pickedthemselves. The inclusion of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, VirenderSehwag (following a recovery from his shoulder injury) and AjitAgarkar was always on the cards. But the selectors have doneparticularly well in picking Murali Kartik.Indeed, Kartik should have been in the original team to tour the WestIndies. The left-arm spinner from Railways, who can also wield thewillow to good effect, is one of those cricketers who can successfullybridge the gap between Test cricket and the shorter version of thegame. In the limited opportunities Kartik has had, he has neitherfailed nor succeeded, but there is always this feeling about him thathe is a gusty, competitive cricketer who has what it takes to comegood at the international level.One cannot even fault the selectors on the players they have calledback. Certainly few would have backed Shiv Sunder Das, Wasim Jaffer,Deep Dasgupta, Sarandeep Singh and Sanjay Bangar to be retained in theone-day squad. In Bangar’s case, though, it must be said that hisvirtues as a utility cricketer are more suited to the limited-oversgame. But he has been short of both runs and wickets of late, and hisconfidence level cannot be too high. It is hoped that this usefulcricketer comes back, for one suspects he still has a lot tocontribute to Indian cricket.
© CricInfoJaffer, for all the form he has displayed of late, seems a goodprospect for Test cricket, and he should be persevered with at thatlevel. He and Das – when the latter recovers his touch – could solvethe long-standing problem at the top of the Test batting order. Aline-up that starts with Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar andcontinues with Rahul Dravid, Dinesh Mongia, VVS Laxman, Sehwag,Yuvraj, Kaif and Ajay Ratra inspires confidence. By contrast, thebowling, manned by Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Tinu Yohannan, Ashish Nehra,Harbhajan Singh and Kartik does not look all that strong, but itshould be capable of holding its own against all but the best sides.Overall it is a nicely balanced outfit. Whether it is good enough todefeat the West Indies remains to be seen. Past record certainlyfavours the home team. During the last three tours, the teams haveplayed 12 matches and the West Indies have won 10 and lost two.The Indians must shrug off this psychological disadvantage and havethe self-belief that they are capable of winning a one-day series inthe West Indies against a not-too-strong home side. This alone ensuresthat half the battle is won. Only a year ago, with much the same team,the West Indies lost a one-day series to South Africa in the Caribbeanby five matches to two, and this should be a source of encouragementfor the Indians.