The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Ganguly's omission was no surprise

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Friday, Feb 24, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Ganguly's omission was no surprise

S. Ram Mahesh

Chennai: Once the dust settles, if it does settle, and Sourav Ganguly's omission is viewed with an unbiased eye, he will be allowed sympathy. After scores of 40, 39, 34 and 37 in his last four innings — gritty, coarse efforts, rather than the majesty of his pomp — he would have harboured a hope.

After all, hadn't Rahul Dravid opened in Lahore to accommodate Ganguly in the middle order? And when he was dropped at Faisalabad it was for the extra bowler. With Yuvraj Singh out of contention with a hamstring injury, the very opening Ganguly would have wished for showed itself.

But sympathy and reason aren't the best bedfellows. The selection of Ganguly on the tour of Pakistan was regressive — a clumsy compromise driven by public perception. While, the former captain can consider himself unlucky, the decision was no surprise.

Clearly, Ganguly isn't part of the future envisaged by the team management, and talk will return to whether he was allowed to go out with his head held high. This much is certain: the truce, if one existed, between the Bengali and coach Greg Chappell in Pakistan was uneasy at best.

What shouldn't be missed in the brouhaha that will doubtless follow is the other positive decisions — choices that will give no one a reason to cavil. The selection of a specialist opener is heartening, for India has resorted to messy, short-term options in the past.

Rahul Dravid should return to his preferred number `three' slot as Wasim Jaffer edges out Gautam Gambhir as Virender Sehwag's partner.

Both Gambhir and Jaffer didn't get a Test in Pakistan, but the Delhi left-hander hasn't quite seized his opportunities, notably the final Test against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad.

In their bat out against England on Thursday, Jaffer looked more assured before an iffy decision ended his stay. He had fought his way into the side against Sri Lanka with impressive domestic performances, and his retention will send the right signals.

The middle order sees two UP men who've taken their side to the Ranji triumph this year. The impressive Suresh Raina finds his way in, while Mohammad Kaif, overlooked for the Test in Pakistan, gets a recall.

While Kaif's recent international form hasn't been up to scratch, Raina stood out in Pakistan for his temperament and range of strokes. They will tussle for the middle-order spot up for grabs, unless the management decides to play five bowlers in the first Test itself — bold but unlikely.

M.S. Dhoni, to no one's surprise, retains charge of the big gloves and the marauding blade.

Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh pick themselves against England in India. Against Sri Lanka on wickets that weren't designer dustbowls, Kumble was magnificent. In Delhi, he conjured something out of zit just with variations in pace and angle.

Long-term prospect

It's unlikely Piyush Chawla, fresh from his four for eight in the under-19 World Cup, will be thrown into the first Test. Chappell sees him as a long-term prospect, and he has accompanied the team in the past to get a feel of international cricket.

The pace department, whose leader Irfan Pathan was the only certainty, has had a bit of a shake up. Agarkar and Zaheer have been outperformed by the new brigade and their exclusion was expected.

Criticised for a sense of sameness and a lack of airspeed, the selectors have gone for V. R. V. Singh, reputed to be the country's fastest bowler rather than Munaf Patel, who took five against England in the practice game.

R. P. Singh, who impressed with his ability to extract bounce, stays, while Sreesanth gets a look in.

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