Yuvraj Singh today rescued India from a bleak 147 for seven with a maiden Test century — but left his team with a dilemma: Whom do they drop to make way for Sourav Ganguly in the third Test at Rawalpindi? Apart from the irony — Yuvraj is, after all, Ganguly’s protege whom the skipper has backed squarely for four years now — the problem will be as complex as any on-field scenario Team India grapples with. Ganguly is due back in Lahore on Wednesday, presumably to reclaim the captaincy and his number five batting slot. In normal circumstances, as happened after the Mohali Test against New Zealand, Yuvraj would have made way for his captain. But these are extraordinary circumstances, Yuvraj has scored an innings-building century and so another way out must be found. Ganguly himself told Sahara Samay, according to a release by the TV channel tonight, that Yuvraj will be there in the squad for the third Test. ‘‘.Yuvraj is going to be there.despite allegations about (V V S) Laxman and him not performing.’’ Ganguly said. Under the circumstances, there are three options available to the Indian think-tank.The first is so absurd that it can only be stated, not debated: maintain the status quo, let Yuvraj stay and keep Ganguly out for the third Test. Ganguly is the captain, this is his team and if the last Test is a series decider, his experience would be invaluable. No, there are only two sensible choices. One school of thought would have Yuvraj replace Aakash Chopra. Before the Test series commenced, coach John Wright said that given the absence of any reserve opener in the side, were a substitution necessary, he could have to call on Yuvraj’s services. Chopra is a gritty opener but sadly he is lapsing into a comfort zone that has been the graveyard of Indian openers. Their brief is usually to go to the middle and see out the new ball — that is, measure their success in the length of their stint, not the runs on the board. That dictum, regrettably, belonged to another age. Chopra has let too many innings go by without registering half-centuries. A surfeit of one-day matches has made batsmen more adapting and, as Sehwag has shown, rapid scoring can wear out opening bowlers even before the ball loses its shine. Yuvraj, for his part, has opened the innings in first-class wicket with much success. Yet, Test match cricket is an arena for the tender hearted, and eliminating Chopra so early in his career could do immense harm to a prodigious talent and Indian cricket itself. There is, actually, a sub-variant to this option, it can be split. In Lahore Yuvraj has shown an instinct for expediency and, were he to be sent in at number seven, India could truly boast of the deepest batting line in cricket today. Parthiv Patel could thus be eased out and Rahul Dravid stationed behind the stumps. In Multan, the proposition was indeed put to him. Would he carry over his wicketkeeping assistance to the longer version of the game, the Karnataka cricketer was asked. ‘‘No!’’ was the horrified response. Chances are, Dravid would have reacted similarly before he was convinced into donning the gloves in one-day matches in the West Indies in 2002. But. That leaves one with Choice Three: Yuvraj reverts to reserve status. It’s what Team Australia would probably have done and they set the trend, don’t they? They abide by the rule that if a substitute plays well, his place in the squad would be considered cemented only if the cricketer he had replaced is also journeying through bad form. Cold logic, alas, sits heavy alongside promise. In choosing their Rawalpindi XI India will be put to quite a test.
