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Rohan Gavaskar, seven others added to camp

Eight more players have been added to the 22 now taking part in the preparatory camp at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

The BCCI spokesman indicated that this was done in order that the Indian Olympic Association could apply for visas in time.

The IOA, the spokesman said, would be applying for visas in all 30 names. "It is easier to delete names later," he pointed out.

An interesting question being asked -- and conveniently left unanswered -- is this: if the intention of the camp was to enable the selectors to pick two teams, one for the Sahara Cup in Toronto and the other for the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, then why were only 22 probables chosen in the first place?

That number -- 22 -- does not permit the selection of two sides. A playing team numbers 11, then there is a 12th man, plus at least two reserves. Which means that if the BCCI had originally intended to send teams to both venues, the barest minimum number of probables required would have been 28.

IOA officials are pointing to this as indication that the Board was not honest about its intentions, and that it had no desire to send a team to KL till its hand was quite literally forced by the IOA, in the person of its president Suresh Kalmadi and secretary Ranbir Singh.

The eight who have been added are Test discard Sunil Joshi, Rohan Gavaskar (Bengal), Jyoti Yadav (Uttar Pradesh), Amay Khurasia (Madhya Pradesh), Sanjay Raul (Orissa), Nikhil Chopra (Delhi), Jatin Paranjpe and Paras Mhambrey (both Mumbai).

"The eight players were chosen by the National selectors a couple of days ago," BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur said. The selectors reportedly held a teleconference, including Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin and coach Anshuman Gaekwad in the consultations.

The two teams, for Toronto and Kuala Lumpur, will be picked on September 4 -- the day on which the camp in Chennai concludes.

While the IOA continues to insist that the Kuala Lumpur team be chosen immediately to prevent India from being scratched from the inaugural cricket event, the BCCI persists in its argument that an important camp, with a long-term objective of winning next year's World Cup, was in progress and the team cannot be chosen till it ends.

The move of adding to the numbers at Chennai follows the board's decision to take part in the Kuala Lumpur Games under the IOA banner as directed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and is one more step towards patching up the recent differences which have cropped up between the two premier sports bodies.

The BCCI has already said it would send two 'formidable' teams for both the Sahara Cup against Pakistan and the Commonwealth Games, where cricket will debut as a medal sport.

Meanwhile, back in Chennai, innovative training methods based on suggestions from coach Anshuman Gaekwad and Australian consultant Bobby Simpson have been put into practise, for the 21 probables now attending the camp there.

Sachin Tendulkar is the sole absentee, as he is now in Australia to participate in the 90th birthday celebrations of Australian cricket icon Don Bradman.

The 21 probables underwent a strenuous workout for over five hours -- the longest session so far in camps in recent times.

And they are slated for another four hours in the evening.

Saurav Ganguly, who was off the field yesterday due to sore throat and mild temperature, was back in action today.

The focus, these last two days, has been on fitness, physical conditioning, fielding, and running between wickets.

Simpson, in tandem with physio Andrew Kokinos, have been recording each player's timing between wickets, then made them repeat the run till the timings improved.

For fielding, the Aussie consultant introduced the open nets session. In traditional nets, the net encloses the batsman, and blocks his shots. In open nets, the batsman practises on the main wicket, with fielders in place.

Indian players are using open nets for the first time ever.

The advantage here is that even as the bowlers and batsmen get practise -- Simpson has also introduced the practise of two batsmen at one time, so that along with their strokes, they are also practising running between wickets -- the fielders are also doing their stuff, practising sliding stops, throwing in from the deep, and all the rest of it.

In other words, what is in use is simulated match situations, for batsmen, bowlers, and fielders.

Gaekwad said this method helps players to practise not only their bigger scoring shots, but also placing their shots for quick singles, even as it improves fielding standards.

Bob Simpson has been a keen observer as the batsmen go through their paces, supplementing his observations with extensive use of the video cameras.

He was seen taking the likes of Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly aside, after their sessions with the bat, and speaking earnestly to them.

``I'm having a good look at the boys and have been suggesting a few adjustments,'' said Simpson, who is being this closely involved in the practise for the first time since his appointment.

And the probables seem to be responding well. Where, earlier, they would go through their paces in desultory fashion under the careless gaze of whichever coach was in the seat at the time, there is a businesslike air about the probables this time round.

Dungarpur, when this was pointed out, said, ``It's all coming from within. The boys are working hard voluntarily, especially on their fitness. Cricket manager Gaekwad, consultant Simpson, trainer Kokinos and Chadha, the doctor, are combining exceptionally well.''

The board president said the second phase of the World Cup preparatory camp will, in all probability, be in January.

``The schedule is such that they will be busy till then, starting with the Sahara Cup and the Commonwealth Games,'' Dungarpur pointed out.

Interestingly, coupled with this new found air of professionalism in the camp, is a new-found level of involvement by former greats.

S Venkatraghavan, member of the famed spin quartet and now one of the top three umpires in the world, has been a regular visitor, turning his arm over for the boys at nets.

Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev are due to visit the camp during the next couple of days, and stay through till the camp concludes, on the 4th.