So, as the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni counsels, having suffered through the caprice of Twenty20 cricket, we must look forward. And forward is the West Indies, to where most of the Indian team flies from London tonight. Curiously, for this series, the national selectors decided to look backward, going back four years to pick up Ashish Nehra.
Nehra last played for India in September 2005. At his best, Nehra is quick, moves the ball in the air and off the pitch, bowls a deadly inswinger and can be very difficult to handle. But he’s been dogged by persistent injuries and much as we’d like to think otherwise, his best seems to be past him.
The Indian selectors went back to Nehra because of his performance in the Indian Premier League in South Africa. In his last first-class game, Nehra had picked up just one wicket, in the first innings against Hyderabad in November 2008. In fact, he picked up three wickets from the only two matches he was fit to play.
In the IPL in South Africa, though, he was sensational – with 19 wickets from 13 matches, he was the third in the list of the topwicket takers. Most memorable were his figures of 4-1-6-1 against Kings XI Punjab, who still managed to chase Delhi Daredevils’ score of 120. Most amazing part of the Nehra story, however, was the fact that he managed to bowl 51 overs in 13 matches without breaking down. It would suggest that the man is stronger than before-- or that in Twenty20, when you have to bowl a maximum of four overs a game, bowlers’ bodies don’t suffer much.
Nehra’s inclusion is a big surprise; that of Subramaniam Badrinath and Murali Vijay is surprising too, but to a much lesser degree. The two are technically sound, butit’s uncertain how effective the two would be in One-dayers. Also in is Mumbai’s Abhishek Nayar.
In England, the West Indies camp displayed curiosity about these selections, though their focus remains on the Twenty20 World Cupsemi-final against Sri Lanka on Friday.
On a sunny but somewhat frosty day in London, the Sri Lankans and the West Indians practised at the Oval. Then Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, and his Lankan counterpart, Kumar Sangakkara, spoke of each other in tones of admiration.
"Whatever total they get on the board they seem to have the bowling attack to defend it," Gayle said. "They don't go for a lot of runs but we have to try to limit the dot balls out there."
"Gayle is a nice guy, has a great belief in himself, and plays good cricket," Sangakkara said.
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These two are the most accessible and engaging teams in the tournament. Most people would like to see both to win, because they've been going through some strife. Sri Lanka has been bleeding due to the civil war at home, West Indies have seen their cricket reduced to a joke, especially after the unveiling of Allen Stanford as a unmitigated villain. A win here can do much for the spirit of the nations of the West Indies, and of Sri Lanka.
