In my last four posts, I have come up with a dossier for the group of cricketers who I think is critical to our fortunes in the coming year. This includes:
1. Dravid, Tendulkar, and Laxman, the Big Three, who I think continue to showcase their class and greatness. They are absolutely still integral to our Test match success, as, three years after his retirement, we still haven’t found an adequate replacement for Ganguly at 6. They deserve a win in Australia as the crowning achievement of their careers. (At least Tendulkar now has a World Cup. Dravid and Laxman don’t even have that). And I hope they keep going as long as their bodies allow them to. Dravid, in particular, continues to prove that he is arguably the greatest cricketer India has ever produced, combining his sheer batting ability with a willingness to do just about anything the team asks of him.
2. Dhoni, Gambhir, Sehwag and Zaheer, the Core Four. These are the four who took India to the top, and a combination of their injury and poor form led to our debacle in England. Dhoni and Gambhir are still integral to the team’s fortunes, and indeed do constitute the team’s leadership. It is time to formalize that by making Gambhir the long-term vice-captain. But Sehwag and Zak are entering the twilights of their careers, especially given that they were never the fittest of players to begin with. This is a huge worry, and the time has come to restrict the games they play to prolong their careers. I think Viru should be restricted to Tests, though I am well aware that this won’t happen. And I think it likely that Zak’s body won’t allow him the rigors of Test cricket anymore: it is very hard to make a comeback from injuries such as his at age 33 for a fast bowler.
3. Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Yuvraj, Raina. These are the four in whom long term investments have been made, but the dividends have been mixed at best. Bhaj and Sree are potential match-winners, and there aren’t too many alternatives to them. There aren’t that many fast bowlers to choose from, so we don’t really have the luxury of abandoning Sree. And none of the possible replacements for Bhaj have made a defining case to be a lead Test match spinner. But both should only be played in Tests. Yuvraj and Raina, meanwhile, are fine limited overs players, but we should recognize that this is all that they are. Let us give up on the fiction that either can be a long-term successor to Ganguly at no. 6 in Tests.
4. Kohli, Ishant, Munaf. These in my mind are our stars for the future, and the three that we need to invest in this year, especially in Tests. Kohli is the man to succeed Ganguly at 6; it is time for Ishant to take over the mantle as strike bowler, which means he needs to be protected as one would one’s strike bowler; and Munaf needs to be given the role of Test match third seamer / stock bowler / bowling captain, especially in Zak’s absence.
There are, of course, other important players in Indian cricket, but none of them are as central to manage as these 14 above. For instance, Praveen Kumar has been outstanding over the summer, but I don’t think we can count of him to be effective in Test matches in all conditions. Both Mukund and Rahane are youngsters of enormous promise, but they need to be persisted with, and develop their games, before judgment can be passed on them. Badrinath has continued to pile on the runs in domestic cricket, but continues to be ignored, and with each passing season, his chances of becoming an integral member of the Indian team recede. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Ashwin have shown promise, but there is a long way to go before either of them can be considered certainties, or before they can be considered serious Test prospects. Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra show glimpses of being good supporting acts to Bhaj, but neither looks like a lead spinner yet.
With this in mind, here is my team for the Tests against the West Indies. I base it on the following claims. First, as I have said repeatedly in previous posts, we have to be open to playing 5 bowlers in Test matches. In India, I think that is a must. So my team will have 5 frontline bowlers, even though I know Dhoni will never go down that road. Second, Sehwag has declared himself fit. I’d like more of a basis for fitness than a player’s self-admission, but there is no question that we need to see Viru in action before Australia. So if he’s available to play, he must. This means the batting order takes care of itself, with Virat Kohli in reserves. I would also keep Abhinav Mukund in reserve. He didn’t set England alight, but he showed that most crucial of attributes for an opener, temperament. He will only improve with experience, and I think it is crucial that we persist with him.
In Zak’s absence, my four frontline bowlers, without a doubt, would be Ishant, Praveen, Munaf and Harbhajan. I would select Pragyan Ojha as Bhaj’s bowling partner, because I think he provides greater control than Mishra, and would tie one end down and allow Bhaj to attack. And I would have Sreesanth in reserve. Hence, my team:
1. Gautam Gambhir (V)
2. Virendra Sehwag
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. V.V.S. Laxman
6. Mahendra Dhoni © (W)
7. Harbhajan Singh
8. Praveen Kumar
9. Ishant Sharma
10. Munaf Patel
11. Pragyan Ojha
Reserves:
12. Abhinav Mukund
13. Virat Kohli
14. S. Sreesanth
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