'Policy Of Rotation Will Continue'

'The season is crammed up and it will be humanly impossible to play all the matches. We will have to rest some players and rotate them to get the best out of them all the time.'

S.S. Ramaswamy

Updated on: 22 April 2007 12:00 am

Chief national selector Dilip Vengsarkar wants off-spinner Harbhajan Singhto go back to his wicket-taking ways, Irfan Pathan to get his rhythm back andAjit Agarkar not to under-utilise himself. Under fire for team selectionfor next month's tour of Bangladesh for which senior players like SachinTendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have been rested in the one-dayers, Vengsarkar made itclear that the policy of "resting" playerswould be carried forward and even skipper Rahul Dravid would be rested. Excerptsfrom an interview:

Did the BCCI give specific instructions to the selectors to restTendulkar and Ganguly as has been alleged in the newspapers?

The BCCI secretary had sent me a letter with regards to the directions of theworking committee to select a young team under the experienced captain. Apartfrom this, there were no specific instructions. In fact, BCCI presidentSharad Pawar had asked me to select the best possible team.

You have said that the two seniors have been rested for the Bangladesh tourbecause of the number of ODIs India would be playing in the season. Would thisapply to other seniors too, including Dravid?

Considering the fact that this season is crammed up with so manyinternational fixtures, it will be humanly impossible to play all the matches.Hence we will have to rest some of the players and rotate them to get the bestout of them all the time.

What does the future hold for Harbhajan, Pathan andAgarkar who have been dropped from both ODIs and Tests for Bangladesh?

They are all fine cricketers and have proved themselves at the highest level.The only thing they will have to prove consistently is their form and I ampositive they will be back where they belong.

Harbhajan's performance in the last few years, have been dismaloverseas. Your comments.

Harbhajan has been around for a long time and could be considered a seniorpro. He knows what is best for him but I guess he will have to go forwickets especially in the middle overs of ODIs like Shane Warne or MuttiahMuraltharan. I feel it is the job of the spinners to get wickets and notfocus on containing batsmen. Harbhajan is bowling too flat to be beeffective. He needs to change his trajectory.

Do you think Pathan can be back to what he was before his formdipped? What is the best way out for him?

Irfan had done exceedingly well till the India-England game in the Champions'Trophy. I really do not know what went wrong after that. His bowling just fellapart. He has not only lost his pace but also the movement that got him a lot ofwickets initially. He will have to get the experts' advice, work hard and gethis rhythm back.

Are you disappointed at Agarkar not being able to fulfill the potential he showed when he burst on the scene?

Ajit is an enigma. He has loads of talent but I feel he has under-utilised itso far. By now he should have established himself as an frontline all-rounderbut the fact is, he hasn't. After playing so much international cricket, I amsure he knows the answer.

How difficult or easy is it going to be against Bangladesh who have shownthat they have the ability to do well at least in one-dayers by not only beatingIndia but also South Africa in the World Cup?

Well, Bangladesh's performance was beyond anybody'simagination. They are around in the international circuit for as long as tenyears but I guess at present they are playing their best cricket. Surely, theyhave the home advantage and I am sure they will try to exploit it at theearliest opportunity.

Don't you think we need a regular opener for the tours of England wherethe ball would be moving a lot and on the bouncy and pacy Australian pitches?Will Dinesh Kaarthick be able todo this job?

Dinesh is a talented batsman-wicket keeper. I have been watching him sincehis under-19 days. He is not only a gritty customer but also very courageous.His innings at Cape Town (on India's tour of South Africa) was testimony of allthese qualities. Besides Dinesh, there is Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, GautamGambhir and Akash Chopra. Youngsters like Cheteshwar Pujara, Tanmay Srivatsavand Ajinkya Rahane could form the India A team and they are players of thefuture.

PTI