Finally, fresh faces

India8217;s selectors took some key decisions today for the dead Test at Mumbai, dropping four players and bringing in at least two who wil...

India8217;s selectors took some key decisions today for the dead Test at Mumbai, dropping four players and bringing in at least two who will play against Australia. But the harder, and more important decision lies ahead: giving these players a fair chance to prove themselves and avoiding the temptation to chop at the first opportunity.

While John Buchanan took a relaxed swim and soaked in the afterglow of a historic win, the selectors met with coach John Wright and captain Sourav Ganguly and decided to ring a few changes. Out go Parthiv Patel, Aakash Chopra, Yuvraj Singh and Ajit Agarkar, to be replaced by Dinesh Kaarthick, Gautam Gambhir, Dhiraj Jadhav and Shib Shankar Paul.

Only the first two are likely to play, as direct replacements for the opener and the 8217;keeper, and make their debuts. Agarkar8217;s place will probably be taken by Ashish Nehra. Yet all four have earned their place in the squad, having been part of successful 8216;A8217; team engagements.

They also bring a freshness to the team. As Sunil Gavaskar has always said, it8217;s better to bring in fresh players when you8217;re on a losing streak; they will not have the hangover of the loss.

The selection was made with an eye on the future, said BCCI secretary SK Nair. However, the selectors will have to back up their decision by backing the new boys for some length of time. If anything, Gambhir 038; Co deserve as many opportunities as the likes of Agarkar and need to play as many games before they are dropped again.

Indeed, all Gambhir and Kaarthick essentially have to do is survive one Test; they will then face South Africa and Bangladesh, relatively easy opponents, and have a greater chance of establishing themselves in the team.

It will be interesting, though, to see how Gambhir combines with Sehwag. The new man is no Chopra, his Delhi statemate; he scores at a fast pace, like Yuvraj, but is a natural opener.

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If the selectors have taken one wrong step, it is in not including a reserve middle-order batsman like Sridharan Sriram just to put VVS Laxman, already on notice, under some sort of pressure.

Laxman, Nair said, was discussed by the selection committee, which hoped that he8217;d discover his form in time. 8216;8216;Although Laxman is not in form, considering his proven record and the upcoming series against South Africa, the committee decided to give him another chance8217;8217;, Nair added.

Irfan Pathan, who missed the Nagpur tie becuase of a side strain, will also sit out the Mumbai match while Sourav Ganguly will undergo a fitnes test on November 1.

THE SQUAD

	nbsp;	8226; Sourav Ganguly captain, subject to fitness, Rahul Dravid vice-captain, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Kaarthick, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Shib Shankar Paul, Dheeraj Jadhav	nbsp;