The best four according to Wright

By Our Special Correspondent

NAGPUR, NOV. 27. India's first professional coach John Wright did not target any one for poor fielding, but named the four best fielders in the Indian team.

He has been in India for exactly 15 days and at the selection committee meeting here on Sunday evening he told the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly that he did not regard him as good a fielder as Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Yuveraj Singh and Hemang Badani.

It was not an off the cuff remark by Wright, nor was his statement intended to offend Ganguly. He has been with the Indian team since the first Test in New Delhi and he was just being frank, which has never been a virtue of any of his predecessors.

Wright was matter of fact and Ganguly, who took a blow on the weight bearing calf muscle four years ago, when Javagal Srinath pounded a drive in the nets before the one-day

International against South Africa, has never been seen as fast in the outfield, although he has taken exceptional catches in the slips.

It was a selection committee meeting that lasted almost two hours. It is amazing that the five men who have all been Test cricketers, took such a long time to pick 14 players, for the one-day International series that will follow this Test match, which shows that not any of the decisions they took, notably in the selection of Shiv Sundar Das, Nikhil Chopra and elimination of Robin Singh, was unanimous.

That the selectors did not go into the meeting sharing a view that should have made selection a simple task, must be construed as an indication that they held diverse views. The Indian captain also played his part in prolonging the meeting.

What finally happened was a bit of give and take, the selectors offering Ganguly Nikhil Chopra as the off-spinner and Reetinder Singh Sodhi as an allrounder replacement for Robin Singh. The selectors wanted to recall Aashish Kapoor for the limited-over internationals.

This was a terrible proposal from the selectors, when they should have actually considered Kapoor for the Test matches, after they had turned down Ganguly's choice of Harbhajan Singh for the two Tests. They dissected the bowling analysis of Kapoor and Chopra after which the Delhi off-spinner was straightaway picked.

The chairman, Mr. Chandu Borde and Ganguly backed Das' inclusion in the one-day squad, only god knows where he will find a place in the eleven which will have certainties like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Yuveraj Singh, Sriram or Badani and Sodhi as allrounder. Mohamed Kaif, who replaced Rahul Dravid for the Sharjah event, has been left in the lurch. So much for consistency in the judgement of players by the selectors. Does it not smack of dishonest selection? They amend their judgement so often!

Sodhi is young and has been in the news for three years. By picking Robin Singh for the ICC Knockout tournament in Nairobi and the Coca-Cola series in Sharjah, the selectors clearly were telling him that he would be considered for the season up to the one-day series against Australia. Robin Singh has been a victim of selectors' miscalculated judgements since he made his first tour abroad, to the West Indies in 1989.

Nicety is a good word, but the selectors do not see it as one. The BCCI must ask the selectors, if they have done with Robin, and if so tell the Tamil Nadu allrounder about it. This is a small service they will do to Indian cricket and to a likeable chap. Robin has served India in one-day Internationals with distinction and many a time has proved to be a match winner.

The selectors have also imposed Sarandeep Singh on Ganguly. It is learnt that the Chairman reckons him a better proposition for one-day Internationals because he can bowl 10 steady overs. But the off-spinner who made it was Chopra, who was not considered for the two events in Nairobi and Sharjah. Chopra, may not have taken plenty of wickets, but has proved to be very a economical and more than enthusiastic cricketer.

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