An Enigmatic Bunch

Now that the dust seems to have settled somewhat in the matter of selectionof squads for the first two one-dayers against the West Indies and for the WorldCup, it may be an appropriate moment to take stock of their merits and theteam's chances in these events.

Our selectors need to be complimented on being pragmatic and rational and byand large the omissions and additions are deserving and on expected lines.

Sourav Ganguly, for instance, has shown that he has not lost any of his zestand willingness for a good fight and for his guts and determination alone hedeserves to be in the team. The much touted 10,000 odd runs he has already inhis kitty are a notional advantage but his current form and state of mind are tome much more significant factors.

I strongly feel that the old form of Sachin Tendulkar and him should beresurrected even though we have Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir, two regularopeners, in the squad.

This combination may appear to leave the youngsters out in the cold but withsix more matches to the Cup, there will be further opportunities for them.Ganguly is a rather average fielder and uninspiring runner between wickets butwe will simply have to live with it as these shortcomings cannot realisticallybe rectified at this stage of his career.

To me, Ganguly has always been a better player of the shorter variety and amajor contributing factor for this being restrictions on the number of shortpitched deliveries which have been his Achilles heel for so long. All the talkabout reinstating him as captain is balderdash and he should be left alone tosavour the last few games of his illustrious and combative career.

I am also hopeful that Tendulkar, as opener, will give full rein to his hugerepertoire of strokes. Opening the innings means he will be free from possiblemiddle order shackles and he should be left alone to simply enjoy himself.

It is a pity that Anil Kumble has had to be rested but he will surely berecalled for the later matches. His presence is of absolute essence to India'schances of winning a match. He has been left out unjustifiably in the past onlyto our peril.

The inclusion of Ramesh Powar is to safeguard against the recent inexplicablelack of confidence shown by Harbhajan Singh and in any case I consider that weneed two spinners (and three seamers) in our conditions and those that willobtain in the West Indies.

Powar is included also because of Virender Sehwag's absence as a spinner inthe first two games. I am also happy for R P Singh and Suresh Raina who are bothextremely promising and will produce results sooner than later.

Now for the big omission. Sehwag's chopping has been on the cards forsometime and I am glad that the committee finally took a decision that shouldhave been taken sometime ago.

Sehwag has certainly been an enigma. When in, for however a short period oftime, he looks in good touch his playing and missing notwithstanding, theninexplicably throws it all away. His type of player needs periodic doses of luckto thrive and there are more days of late when his shots are finding a fielderthan used to happen a few months ago.

Has he lost form? How can anyone be out of 'form' in South Africa only a fewdays ago and immediately on arrival in India suddenly rediscover it? Formcertainly is a dodgy factor.

May be, it is time for Sehwag to pad up for a longish session in the nets sothat his feet begin to move properly and his noted eye-hand coordination startsfunctioning as before. We all know we need him at his best for the World Cup andI have little doubt that the phoenix will rise once again. A respite from theglare of the spotlight could be just what is needed.

With Yuvraj Singh also back in the fray once his injury is totally healed, wewill have in a few weeks time, all available material for the final squad forthe World Cup and hopefully they will perform to our 'realistic' expectations.

Everyone knows that at least for the past decade or so, India has been one ofthe top teams in world cricket but it has also been one of the most enigmaticteam playing sublimely one match or series only to plummet to horrific depths inthe very next.

When in the mood, they would beat the best, but when not, lose to thelowliest of the low. I have purposely chosen the word mood and not form as it issimply not possible for an entire team to have such collective and volatilefluctuations of form as so often happens to our boys.

It has always been my contention that culturally and environmentally ourmental make-up is such that when we are doing well, we get complacent and thisis a sure recipe for disaster. When the down mode sets in we panic and mattersgo from bad to worse. This is endemic and cannot be corrected overnight.

For achieving a level of consistency, the exercise of toughening of the mindhas to be undertaken at an early age. Once a goal has been achieved, the mindmust be taught not to allow the comfort zone to become its permanent residencebut rather a stepping stone to higher levels of comfort.

Assuming that in the foreseeable future the above situation is unlikely tochange, and mental and attitudinal vicissitudes will continue to dog our team,how will we end up at the conclusion of the eight pre-World Cup games?

Well, we'll soon play two teams we have played recently, and although pastperformance should normally be a reasonable guide, this is not the case here asboth the West Indies and Sri Lanka are not unlike us temperamentally and in thedepartment of mood fluctuations, making any predictions is therefore a hazardousexercise.

If India play to their potential and strike the right 'mood' there is everyreason to be optimistic.

PTI