The Verdict: Perform or Perish

The national selection committee met at Rajkot yesterday to send across a clear message to the players as the team selection for the first two one-day internationals against West Indies were on expected lines.

Dropping Sehwag was on the cards after he failed to find his feet on the ground for a too long time. Selectors made all the right moves by dropping out of form Kaif and Dinesh Mongia and bringing in experienced Sourav Ganguly. It is a little surprise that Irfan Pathan had failed to convince the selectors considering his role as an all rounder in the team.

Now that the Ranji super league matches coming to an end and Delhi not making into the semis will prove too costly for Sehwag being ruined of an opportunity to perform. All that he can do now is go back to the nets and get his basics right.

Irfan’s fate is much better for the fact that only his bowling has been the problem where he has clearly struggled to get his rhythm right. He lost his swing which was his potent weapon helping India to get an early break through. The message is loud and clear form the chairman of selectors, India needs Irfan – the bowler.

The only ray of hope for these two players is that they will have a chance to make it into the team provided they perform in domestic competitions. However it is not the case with Kaif and Dinesh Mongia as they might find it extremely difficult to make it into the team even if they perform well as the there is only one slot to compete for. Successful come backs from Sourav and Zaheer should enlighten their hopes.

On the other hand, the decision to pick four openers in the squad bemused everyone. With Skipper Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina and Dhoni being the regular middle order bat in the team it raises question of finding solutions to India’s batting woes. Suresh Raina has been provided with a life line and he should make it count. Dinesh Karthik has been rewarded for his gritty performance in the limited opportunities that came his way during the South African tour. His ability to adopt and excel well as a team player has to be appreciated.

The Indian fans will be pleased to see the reunion of Tendulkar – Ganguly partnership at the top of the order. The duo still holds the world record for the leading opening pair with 5,621 runs that include 16 century partnerships! One has to wait and see the role of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uttappa in the team. With Sachin Tendulkar making his intensions clear to open the innings, one among the later will accompany him at the top. Sourav might have to bat in the middle order to provide some stability to the batting line-up.

The inclusion of Haryana’s Joginder Sharma is surprising too with just eight games to go for the world cup. He is making a come back into the national team after a two year hiatus. His last appearance for India was against Bangladesh in the three ODI series where he managed a solitary wicket. If he makes it into the playing eleven the selectors will want him to fit into the No. 7 slot expecting him to play some cameos at the end of the innings and provide some good spells with the ball.

The bowling department didn’t throw any surprises as Zaheer and Sreesanth back from a rewarding South African tour will shoulder the burden. Ajit Agarkar is an experienced bowler and his ability to bowl in the depth will be crucial.

Harbhajan Singh has a good track record in the limited over version of the game in last one year and his spells in the middle stages of the innings will be vital. Ramesh Powar has retained his place in the team and RP Singh recalled into the team will be hoping to come up with good performance.

Not very often you see big names hit the selection headlines in Indian cricket. Now that the BCCI making sure that they will just take care of the administrative matters, the on- field cricket will be controlled totally by the selection committee, the coach and the captain. The board has also decided to pay the players according to the teams performances is a welcoming note.

The selectors gave an alarming signal to the players – perform or make way for others.
Indian cricket at last once looks like sailing in the right direction.