Unchanged side for Bombay Test
Prem Panicker
Nagpur woke up wet and blustery. And the umpires, after one inspection at start of play and another an hour and a half later, decided that the conditions were not conducive for any play to be possible on day four of the second Pepsi Test between Sri Lanka and India.
No doubt about that decision, was there? Considering that it had rained steadily -- unseasonably so -- all of last evening, most of the night and again this morning, and was drizzling intermittently even after scheduled start of play, a Super Soaker was about as much use as an umbrella in the middle of Hurricane Charlie.
So what of tomorrow? The forecast calls for intermittent drizzles. But even assuming it dawns bright and sunny and play does begin on time, there are just 90 overs remaining to be bowled in this Test, and even the most elastic of imagination can't stretch far enough to foresee a result in this one. At best -- assuming a bright and early start -- a few wickets going down cheaply, and some embarassment to the Lankans. But that is all that this Test holds in store -- which means we now go to Bombay for the third Test all square.
Speaking of which, the national selectors, meeting this morning at Nagpur, decided to retain the same 14 for the third Test.
I am not sure I understand this newfangled policy of picking teams per Test. Of course, it does give the national selectors a feeling of omnipotence, it permits them to travel to each Test venue, put up in five star comfort, and have a ball while keeping 14 players, and unnumbered hopefuls, on tenterhooks.
What else does it accomplish?
Is there a realistic possibility that the team composition would change between the first and second Tests? Or between Nagpur and Bombay? Obviously, no -- unless the selectors are saying that when they picked the 14 for Mohali, they were not even sure if that was the best 14 available in the country. If it was, then it was surely good enough to play three Tests on the run?
In any event, chairman of selectors Ramakant Desai announced that he and his colleagues took a mere 15 minutes to decide to retain the same team. Nice job, being a selector, if you can get it!
Why the status quo? "We have stuck to the same combination because all have performed, one way or the other," said Desai. Strange -- Jadeja for one, Prasad for another, have had no opportunity to perform -- one way, or the other. But never mind that. How about Kumble and Chauhan failing to use a spinning track to take wickets when India was pressing for a win at Mohali?
"Well, they had no opportunity to bowl in the rain-ruined Test here in Nagpur, it is not fair to have a change for the sake of change as they have performed earlier," was the response.
The selection committee, we are told, also devoted considerable time this morning to discussing strategies for picking the team of the future. Desai announced that the captain for the Sharjah quadrangular, beginning December 11, would be chosen on the second day of the Bombay Test, that is, on December 4, and the team would be selected the next day. The same team, on its return to India, would also play Sri Lanka in the three match one day series, Desai said.
|
