Selectors skating on thin ice

The Indian selectors seem to be skating on thin ice after picking two seamers - Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel, who are prone to breakdowns during a series, for the three-match Test series in Sri Lanka.

Agreed, with so much of cricket being played now-a-days, the new ball bowlers will be the first ones to get affected but the two Indian bowlers, who have been pretty impressive when fully fit, have a reputation of being a bit too lazy in the past and not very keen to change that attitude now.

After being hailed as India's strike bowler in the recent past, Zaheer Khan, disappointed one and all when he had to come back mid-way through the tour to Australia last time around while Munaf seems to break down when the team really needs his services most.

With the other two seamers in the squad, Ishanth Sharma and Rudra Pratap Singh, not showing the form and consistency that they are capable of in the recently concluded tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup in Pakistan, which the Indians lost, the visitors new ball bowling looks mediocre and even if one of them (Zaheer or Munaf) breaks down during a Test, then the team will be severely handicapped as any replacement, to such an eventuality, can be made use only in the next match.

Probably, picking an additional seamer in place of two wicketkeepers (Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel) would have been a wiser move for a short tour even if that particular bowler did not play in any of the Test matches like one of the two stumper is bound to do for the duration of the Test series.

With the heat and humidity in Sri Lanka bound to test the physical conditions of the players, particularly the seam bowlers, the Indian fast bowlers will be fully tested by the experienced Sri Lankan batsmen like Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumara Sangakkara, Tilakaratne Dilshan and the others.

To make matters worse, the selectors, headed by former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, have picked an inexperienced and relatively raw third spinner, who may not even get to play a single match, with spin twins Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh sure to shoulder the burden of taking most of the twenty wickets needed to win a Test match.

Left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who hails from the same city (Hyderabad) as South Zone selector Venkatpathy Raju, is talented but certainly lacks experience to bowl in a tight situation and one expected skipper Kumble to back the experience of Murali Kartik, who would have been a better choice under the circumstances.

Though the batting looks very impressive on paper and the reputation of the top five to six batsmen can send shivers down any bowler's spine, the agility and speed of the youngsters would surely be missed on the field when the Indians field.

Of course, a dropped catch or a miss field here and there will not be noticed much as long as the team keep winning matches and for that to happen the bowlers, particularly the two spinners, will have to bowl their heart out in all the three Tests.

The selectors continued apathy towards the seniors like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, even after their young replacements' inexperience cost India two finals in Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively, does not auger well for India's ODI team.

If Sachin Tendulkar is good enough to make it to the ODI squad, I am sure both Dravid and Ganguly are good enough to make it to the list of 30 probables for the Champions Trophy at least.

May be a reversal in the five-match One-Day series in Sri Lanka will awaken the selectors to the realisation that there is no substitution for experience in any format of the game.

Last but not the least will, someone explain why a 26-year-old fit One-Day captain, who drinks two liters of milk everyday, wants to rest before an important Test series.

Is he really burnt out or is he avoiding to share the same dressing room with the senior players, particularly Dravid and Ganguly, after his team's dismal performance in Bangladesh and Pakistan and his mantra of young legs for shorter version of the game exposed his ability to captain an inexperienced side.