Combination block

With Kumble still uncertain, Team India are struggling to lock down their playing XI for must-win game

Among the large media contingent present at the eagerly anticipated press conference with Anil Kumble, there was just one reporter, with understandable local concern, who got a clear answer to his query. 8220;Will Mohammad Kaif play tomorrow?8221; he asked India8217;s captain after their net session, which doubled up as the fitness test for the injured in the team.

8220;At this point of time Yuvraj is ahead of Kaif,8221; replied Kumble who, by that time, was tired of stonewalling questions about his own health, that of his team mates, the possible combination and his reading between the several lines on the cracked pitch. This lone clarification about an insignificant spot in the middle-order meant ambiguity prevailed at the Green Park on the eve of the series-decider.

The fitness test today was supposed to make things easier, but the report complicated the situation further. Kumble is a self-confessed 8220;iffy8221;. He said he wasn8217;t really comfortable at the nets and a stint tomorrow morning will decide if he goes out for the toss. 8220;If I can bowl then I will play and that is the kind of attitude I have,8221; he said.

Kumble has, in the past, bowled with a bandaged fractured jaw. He has a high tolerance for pain and zero tolerance for those going down without a fight and his past heroics complicated the equation further as questions easily outscored the answers. The Indian captain said that the others in the mammoth 16-member squad were fit 8212; including Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma, who bowled a short spell today.

Three spinners?

Coming off a heavy defeat at Motera, large-scale changes were expected. But with the fitness test not quite ruling anyone out, the discussion on India8217;s playing XI was still open. So much so that even the seemingly sure-shot Indian strategy of playing three-spinners in this crunch game suffered a setback. It remains to be seen if India will have the confidence to play the relatively inexperienced Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar together in case Kumble drops out.

Neither Chawla nor Powar look capable of doing a Jasu Patel 8212;Indian cricket8217;s most famous tale of an inspired selection that saw the unheard-of spinner claiming 14 wickets in a game at the Green Park in 1959 against Australia. But if Kumble plays the Test, it will be a toss up between the two. And going by the time coach Gary Kirsten spent with Chawla at nets, the latter might get the nod.

If Kumble skips8230;

Interestingly, Kumble the captain is as indispensable to the team here as Kumble the bowler. Though his deputy MS Dhoni has proved his credentials as an ODI captain, his temporary elevation for the top job in Tests, in Kumble8217;s absence, might be tricky.

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Dhoni is an inspirational leader of a young squad and one token senior, no doubt. But things could be different in Tests where he is suffering from a poor run with the bat and will have to marshal a squad full of seniors.

When Kumble takes a call tomorrow, it may not be just his groin strain he will be concerned about. And while he didn8217;t comment on the issue, South African skipper Graeme Smith came to his aid by putting things in perspective speaking about the dilemmas a captain faces.

8220;If you are injured, as a captain, you have to be careful as a new captain will take over. You have to be aware of how it might affect the environment. So you have to decide whether you should take the risk and play or not. As a leader, it is one of the toughest decisions.8221;

Interestingly, because of the pitch and the fitness of the bowlers, India8217;s batting seemed to be the least discussed issue on the eve of this match. Surprising, after India were bowled out for 76 on the first day of the Ahmedabad Test.

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Maybe the seemingly innocuous query by a local journalist about Kaif was not that parochial after all.