Young talent knocking at India's doors

By G. Viswanath

AHMEDABAD, DEC. 4. There seems to be confusion about Nikhil Chopra's presence in the Indian team. The BCCI President, Mr. A.C. Muthiah, has said Chopra's selection was an error on the part of the national selectors; captain Sourav Ganguly said on Monday that he (Chopra) would remain in the squad, though he did not figure in the eleven at Cuttack and would not play in the second one-dayer at Motera.

The Chairman of selectors, Mr. Chandu Borde, said he would have to talk to the BCCI Chief Executive to give a correct answer on Chopra's status. But what ought not to be lost in Chopra's selection, which appears to be a big `faux pas', is the emerging talent of Hemang Badani.

In the course of the eventful, and refreshing, developments amidst the beauty of the Barabati stadium, the most satisfying was the steady and poised batting by Badani. The left- hander was all style at the crease, leisurely nudging the ball and driving with great panache when necessary.

Badani's thoroughness and confidence reduced the palpitations in the dressing room. He effectively carried the afternoon session with him on Saturday in the first Pepsi Series one-day international against Zimbabwe. His determination proved that there was scope for batsmen like him in limited over internationals.

These are early days yet for young men like Badani in the Indian team. It was only two months ago that Yuveraj Singh gave a roaring introduction to his method of batting in the ICC Knockout event in Nairobi. He is yet to play another similar knock as he did against Australia. It was in the same tournament, against Kenya and Australia, that Zaheer Khan, all fired up, bowled with good speed. And now well inside two months since the ICC event, Badani has appeared on the scene.

It appears that at the door of Indian cricket there are many talented and gifted players knocking. Those who have come good in the last two months were active first class cricketers a year ago and have now contributed to the present growing optimism that they will sustain their performances to stay and establish permanency in the Indian team.

Badani is a batsman who has the potential to work well in both forms of the game. He has been relentless in maintaining his form since his splendid batting against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semifinal earlier this year.

While Badani has evoked more than ordinary interest, his Tamil Nadu teammate, Sridharan Sriram, also a left-hander, has not been as lucky. He has given the impression he cannot be weaned away from his instincts, the outcome of which was his cheap dismissals on two occasions in the tri-series in Sharjah. However, the selectors have placed their trust in him. He might replace Reetinder Singh Sodhi in Tuesday's match because Ganguly believes that the pitch at Motera might assist spinners.

The fact is that there are quite a few batsmen competing for places in the team. And all of them are young and in their fourth or fifth year of first class cricket with the exception of Yuveraj Singh. The selection present committee, headed by Chandu Borde, has had its good and bad times. But by retaining batsmen like Badani and Sriram they have been impartial and just to them, to Sriram in particular, whose poor shots in Sharjah they have overlooked. They have made up their mind that they will not let one or two poor performances cloud their judgment and it will be a useless exercise amending their judgment.

The more time batsmen like Badani, Sriram and Mohammed Kaif spend in the middle with Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar, the more they are bound to learn and benefit. As of now, they are the best among the new generation talent, and they deserve to be given a long and hard look.

After a four-hour practice session in the nets, Ganguly gave almost a sure hint that he would include Sriram in the eleven for the second match against Zimbabwe. ``I think the pitch does not look a belter. It may help the spinners,'' he said, while naming the 12 without Shiv Sundar Das and Nikhil Chopra. ``It's a good feeling to play an opponent whom we have beaten the last three times (twice in Sharjah). We beat them with three wickets and three overs to spare, which is a good margin in a one-day international. And I can assure you, never again will our catching be as bad as it was at Cuttack.''

Ganguly said Chopra had not come into the reckoning for selection. In normal times, the Delhi off-spinner would have walked in, considering the number of left-handers in the Zimbabwe side. It must be a terrible feeling for Chopra, who will lose his place in the fourteen, should he be docked a penalty by the BCCI, which is likely to announce punitive action against the offending cricketers who have been named by the CBI in the report on match- fixing and malpractices.

Zimbabwe's captain Heath Streak said his team would fight hard to level the series in the second match itself. ``We cannot afford to be seen to be doing so little early in the five- match series. Our bowlers are not for Indian conditions. But we are happy with our batting. We should have made 270 at Cuttack. We feel we have a chance because if we get the two openers quickly, we will be looking at the Indian middle order which is inexperienced. I don't think this pitch looks as good as the one at Cuttack. It may help the spinners.''

lThe teams:

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuveraj Singh, Sridharan Sriram, Hemang Badani, Vijay Dahiya, Sunil Joshi, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Venkatesh Prasad, Reetinder Singh Sodhi; Reserves: Shiv Sundar Das, Nikhil Chopra.

Zimbabwe (from): Heath Streak (Capt.), Alistair Campbell, Douglas Marillier, Stuart Carlisle, Andrew Flower, Grant Flower, Guy Whittall, Dirk Viljoen, Brian Murphy, Henry Olonga, Travis Friend, Gavin Rennie, Mluleki Nkala, Trevor Madondo, Bryan Strang.

Umpires: Messrs. S. Venkatraghavan and K. Hariharan; Third umpire: Sameer Bandekar; Fourth: Vinit Gupte; Match Referee: Mr. Barry Jarman.

Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.; 1.10 p.m. onwards.

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