The Hindu : Tour opener may not be challenging enough

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 05, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

Tour opener may not be challenging enough

By Vijay Lokapally

Wassim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid and Sanjay Bangar warming up at the Police Ground, Georgetown on Thursday, as team-mates relax, on the eve of the match against Guyana. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan.

GEORGETOWN APRIL 4. The Indians had a `surprise' at the `nets' even as they whipped themselves into a state of near-frenzy ahead of the series against the West Indies. An under-19 fast bowler from the Guyanese stable of promising youngsters pounded the ball hard at the Indian batsmen at the Demerara Club and gave the tourists a glimpse of the things to come.

The Indians landed on Monday and got into the act without losing much time. Their trainer, Adrian Le Roux, took an assessment test on Thursday on the fitness of the players. From the look of it, one would doubt if any Indian would have passed the test but such things do not matter because the Indian Board is known to believe in making compromises. Is it not a result of a compromise that the team, on the eve of the first tour match against Guyana Cricket Board President's XI, starting at the Everest ground here on Friday, was unsure of its combination for the match.

Who to open the innings with and who to keep the wickets were questions that remained unanswered. The most perplexing is the issue of the wicketkeeper where Deep Dasgupta has been squeezed in simply because he can also do the job of an opener. This vexing issue of wicketkeeper does not show the National selectors in good light at all now that The Hindu as gathered that neither the seniors in the side nor the so-called team-management ever raised any objections regarding the inclusion of Nayan Mongia as the wicketkeeper.

In fact, the team management would have preferred having Nayan Mongia on this tour instead of Deep Dasgupta, who, as has been established, is not suited to keep the wickets at the international level. Former great Syed Kirmani believes that time is not in favour of Dasgupta to improve. But the selectors think otherwise.

For quite some time now we have been told by the National selectors, privately of course, that it was the resistance from the seniors in the side that had not allowed them to pick Nayan Mongia. For public consumption, the chairman of the selection committee, always had only this to say, ``It (exclusion of Nayan Mongia) was a committee decision.''

It is learnt that Mr. Borde had been strongly in favour of recalling Nayan Mongia but lacked the support from the others. One is not sure if Sanjay Jagdale would be a party to this conspiracy to keep Mongia out. It is indeed strange how the team management has not deemed it fit to protest against the manner in which the selectors have got away on the Nayan Mongia issue. But one thing is certain now. It is not the team management, but the National selection committee, that has worked against the interest of Indian cricket by not picking the best man in the country for the job of wicketkeeping. The team management will, at the start of the tour, now grapple with the options available and try and pick the right man for the job behind the stumps. However, much will depend upon whose opinion prevails.

Ideally, Ajay Ratra should don the keeper's mantle with Shiv Sunder Das having either Sanjay Bangar or Wasim Jaffer as his partner. Bangar has been a regular opener and is being considered for the job because his inclusion would provide the team the options in the bowling department.

The team management will have to shed its attitude of making adjustments--a makeshift opener, a makeshift wicketkeeper. ``No more compromises'' should be the motto as the team explores a new identity for itself.

An overseas series win has remained a dream. The team calls it a jinx. And the players too are keen to change the trend on this tour.

``Nothing short of a win can satisfy our fans'', says skipper Sourav Ganguly on the coming Test and one-day series.

The Guyanese team for the tour opener is not what the Indians had expected. It again speaks for the poor planning of the Board since the Indians will now end up competing against a second-string team, the first choice combination away playing the Busta International Shield final against Jamaica in Kingston. No thought was, apparently spared to the itinerary by the Board's technical committee. Instead, the Board president, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya, paid more attention to doling out favours to his supporters, like picking two unqualified officials to inspect the security arrangements at the English grounds ahead of the Indian team's tour this summer.

The GCBP XI manager, Leon Mendonca, however, warned the Indians against being complacent. ``We have a few talented youngsters and this would be a good opportunity for them,'' he said. Mendonca, who played two Tests against India in 1962, pointed out seamers Rayon Griffith and Esau Crandon as the bowlers to watch out for. Crandon looked quite nippy at the `nets' making the

batsmen hop around, keeping the ball constantly at their ribs, while Griffith impressed with a superb line all through his spell. Skipper Travis Dowlin is said to be an exciting stroke-maker while the Arjune brothers, Krishna and Vishal, are also rated high by observers here.

In Homchon Pooran, the home team has another promising batsman. It would be interesting to see how the Indians make use of this three-day match, their only game before the first Test at Bourda here. The match may not provide the Indians the quality competition and the fault for that lies with the Board.

The Indian team has plenty of peaks to scale during this series and would do well to settle down at the earliest with a definite combination than a make shift arrangement which has hardly helped their cause.

The teams (from):

India: Sourav Ganguly, S.S. Das, Wasim Jaffer, Deep Dasgupta, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Sanjay Bangar, Dinesh Mongia, Ajay Ratra, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Tinu Yohannan.

Guyana Cricket Board Presiden's XI: Travis Dowlin (captain), Andrew Gonsalves, Krishna Arjune, Narsingh Deonarine, Homchan Pooran, Vishal Arjune, Damodar Dastrath, Vishal Nagamootoo, Hemnarine Harrinarin, Kevin Bazil, Esau Crandon, Rayon Griffith and Rayon Thomas.

Umpires: Messrs Ed Nichols and Clyde Duncan; Third umpire: Collin Alfred.

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