The Hindu : Das and Jaffer should open

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 22, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Das and Jaffer should open

By K. Srikkanth

So, we are back to the question of openers. It is becoming so predictable these days. In the days leading up to the first Test of a series, there invariably is a discussion about the two best men for the job at the top of the order.

Now, there are whispers that Shiv Sundar Das, whose wretched form appears to be continuing in England, will not figure in the first Test. Or rather the team management does not possess enough confidence in him.

This raises interesting questions. Why was Das selected for the tour in the first place, if the men who matter did not have enough faith in him? The selectors and the team-management should work in tandem.

I still feel Das has plenty of cricket ahead of him. He has the right qualities required for a good opener, and poor form is something every batsman has to endure from time to time.

It is important to look ahead and give the man a dose of confidence rather then demoralising him further. Somebody from the team-management, preferably the coach or the captain, needs to have a lengthy talk with Das, make him feel wanted in the side. He can fight his way out of troubled times.

In any case, Sanjay Bangar, at the international level, does not inspire confidence as an opener. The team-management has already played havoc with this committed cricketer's career. During the Test series in the Caribbean, he showed up in the middle-order in one match, opened in the next.

And the talk of Virender Sehwag surfacing at the top of the order just to accommodate him in the eleven appears to be lacking in foresight and logic. Sehwag is a talented shot-maker, but his place is clearly in the middle-order.

Opening is a specialist job, and short gap measures are bound to do more harm than good. What India needs is a long term-answer. It is one thing to blast the bowling as an opener in the ODIs and quite another to negotiate the new ball in England, where the ball moves, with the slip cordon waiting in anticipation. It's a totally different ball game.

Wasim Jaffer, a promising batsman, is in the early stages of his Test career, and it would hardly do his cause any good if he walks out with a different partner for every game. We require stability.

This is the time for us to be patient and judicious and opt for the correct solution to the problem. Das and Jaffer should open in the first Test.

www.krishsrikkanth.com

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