Quota system raises its ugly head again

To put things bluntly, the selection of the Indian cricket team for the triangular series in Sri Lanka is a huge step backwards. It smacks of compromises with the `quota system' raising its ugly head.

One is amazed how skipper Sourav Ganguly accepted some of the changes. Amay Khurasiya for the injured Sachin Tendulkar? The selectors must be kidding. It's a horrendous choice.

We talk about looking at the future with the next World Cup in mind, but we keep making `ridiculous' mistakes. By picking Khurasiya out of the cold storage, all that the selectors have done is to defy logic and common sense.

Firstly, Khurasiya is not a specialist opener and that should have ruled him out straightaway. And then, he's hardly played any international cricket over the last couple of years. Finally, even in the opportunities he has received, his track record has hardly been impressive.

True, it is impossible to find a replacement for a great player like Tendulkar, but the impressive Shiv Sundar Das should have been the logical option. He is technically sound, has strokes all round the wicket, knows how to pace an innings, and could have formed a right-left combination with Ganguly.

Das has performed wonderfully well for India in recent times and his confidence level would be high too. To top it all, he is extremely committed and is quite brilliant on the field.

It is incorrect to assume that he is only suited for Tests - this kind of ham-headed logic hardly works in modern-day cricket. A good Test player can adapt to one-day cricket, though it does not always work the other way round.

Rahul Sanghvi's recall is also baffling. Like Khurasiya, he has not played too much international cricket over the last two years - his brief comeback against Australia ended with just one Test.

There were reports in some sections of the media that Sanghvi himself was surprised at his selection. We are too.

If the selectors were desperate for a left-arm spinner then Sunil Joshi or Venkatapathy Raju - at least have experience on their side - would have been better options.

And then there are different yardsticks for different players. Ajit Agarkar has a history of fitness related problems, missed the recent final in Harare due to an injury, and yet finds a place in the team.

Ideally, the selectors should have left Agarkar out giving him time to recover from whatever injury he has. The opposite has just happened.

Though Javagal Srinath may have opted out of the one- dayers, the selectors can prevail upon him to operate in key matches. In the final at Harare, the inexperience in the Indian attack was on view. Here, Srinath's presence would help.

By retaining Debasis Mohanty, the selectors have shown they do not pick horses for courses. He is essentially a swing bowler and the conditions in Lanka are hardly going to aid bowlers of his kind. Instead, with the future in mind, the selectors could have given a chance to a pace-bowling all-rounder like Sanjay Bangar, who has been impressive on the domestic circuit.

It's also fair to give the selected players a decent run and Dinesh Mongia has hardly received that. If he could be left out after a couple of opportunities then a lot of others wouldn't merit a place in the side.

The recall of Yuveraj Singh is a positive move, for this young cricketer is a match-winner on his day, the kind of cricketer worth having in the side. He surely is more than just `a brilliant fielder' as often described by the selection panel chief.

Some of the statements of Mr. Chandu Borde, the chairman of the National selection panel, just don't make sense. His answers to questions from the media have been puzzling to say the least.

Finally to the vexing question of fitness or the lack of it. It is shocking how so many Indian cricketers have pulled out of matches at the beginning of a season, when there is so much emphasis on modern training methods. It sets one thinking....

By K. SRIKKANTH

www.krishsrikkanth.com

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