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Pollock to lead SA in Kuala Lumpur

On July 11, the Indian selectors will announce the squad for a triangular series in Kuala Lumpur, also featuring the West Indies and Zimbabwe.

This is not, mind you, the squad for the Commonwealth Games -- it is obviously too early to think about such things now. Thus, for now, we will rest content with naming the squad for what is essentially just another triangular.

In any event, board secretary J Y Lele is yet to get it clear, in his own mind, whether a full squad will be sent for the Games, or whether a scratch outfit will do.

Meanwhile, the South African selectors have named their squad for the Games. And -- surprise, surprise -- picked Shaun Pollock to lead the 14-member team.

Interestingly, the RSA team does not include current captain Hansie Cronje, nor stars of the order of Allan Donald, Gary Kirsten, Jonty Rhodes and Daryll Cullinan.

"The idea is to rotate players, to prevent burnout and injuries to key players," says the SA board's managing director, Dr Ali Bacher.

South Africa in fact has been planning its cricket tours brilliantly, finding the right balance between Tests and one dayers, not accepting any and all invitations to figure in triangular ODI tournaments round the world.

The gameplan of the RSA board appears to be to take on one opponent at a time, in Tests and ODIs, and further cement its growing reputation while fine tuning its squad for the 1999 World Cup.

And every tour it undertakes is carefully planned and thought out, with sufficient practise games between Tests, and also sufficient rest breaks between games.

It contrasts starkly with the Indian board's attitude, of scheduling the side to play, day in and day out, with no long term goals in mind, nor indeed any attempt to balance the number of ODIs with the number of Tests being played.

The first seven months of this year are a clear indicator of this attitude. India has thus far played a mere three Tests -- but has already figured in five different one day tournaments, with one more slated later this month. The next Test will be a one off, against Zimbabwe, in October -- and between now and then, what figures on the calendar are more ODIs, against any and all opposition.

Strangely, this comes in the face of direct opposition to such frenetic scheduling from both skipper Mohammad Azharuddin and coach Anshuman Gaikwad.

Azhar had, in fact, raised the point at the meeting of international cricket captains at Lord's in May, and called for saner scheduling, keeping the physical needs of the players in mind. He had also called on the global body -- headed, ironically enough, by Jagmohan Dalmiya of India -- to ensure a better balance between Tests and one dayers, so that teams could show their skills in both forms of the game.

Apparently, the Indian board has its own rationale, however. And if there is a method underlying its madness, we are still searching for it.

The South African squad for the Games, meanwhile, is: Shaun Pollock (captain), Adam Bacher, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener, Dale Benkenstein, Derek Crookes, Nicky Boje, Steve Elworthy, Makhaya Ntini, Paul Adams, Henry Williams, Mark Boucher, Mike Rindel.