Should Sachin Open?

In an interview Sachin Tendulkar gave two days before the Champions Trophy final, he made it clear that he is unhappy with his No. 4 batting slot and wants to get back to No. 1 or 2. "It's where I feel most comfortable and score more runs," he said. So where should Sachin bat?

Insiders whisper that when Sachin gave up the opening slot for Sehwag a few months ago, he took some convincing. Finally, skipper Ganguly set an example by dropping himself down the order during the England series to show Sachin that No. 4 was not the boondocks. But now that Sachin wants to reclaim his post, he can hardly replace Sehwag, who currently owns the crease.

And if he replaces Ganguly, India loses what theorists call "the left-hand-right-hand-combination". It certainly unsettles the bowler, fielders and a so-far unrevengeful leg umpire. Says former opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who belted the opposition in the first 15 overs during his playing days much before the idea became acceptable: "Sachin should move back to the opening slot. But there is some advantage in a left-right combination. So, maybe, depending on the situation, he can move up or go down the order. When Ganguly doesn't want to open, instead of sending Mongia, we should send Sachin."

The idea behind Sachin going down the order is to help him see through the innings. But, says journalist Ayaz Memon: "Sachin would be more effective in the first 15 overs than the last 15. Even a player with just power and no great talent can see us through the slog overs. But the first 15 are a different proposition."

Interestingly, during the 1999 World Cup, Ravi Shastri, Sachin's mentor and commercial agent, led a one-man campaign that Sachin should not open, but come in at 4, under the logic that India shouldn't expose its best batsman to the opposition's best bowlers. Sachin batted at No. 4 through the World Cup.

It's the same Shastri who's now crusading for Sachin as opener. But fellow Mumbaikar, Sanjay Manjrekar, was emphatic on TV that he couldn't see what the debate was all about: "After Sachin started coming in at No. 4, India has been winning 80 per cent of its games. This was not so when Sachin was opening. It's obvious that we should maintain and don't disturb the winning batting combination."

But the master has voiced his desire. Will the team management oblige?