Insult to Salvi’s injury: ‘He is out as the rest are doing well’

How, he was asked, did Salvi remain with the team despite carrying an injury from the pre-tour Bangalore camp? Chakraborty said: ‘‘The stitches were to be removed on the third or fourth day of the tour, so we continued with him. His stitches have been off for long and he has been declared fit. Anyway, it was just an injury between two fingers and hence there was nothing to worry.’’ So if he was fit, why hasn’t he played so far on the tour? ‘‘The other boys are doing so well you know that there has not been any chance for him’’, the manager said, before adding that he would play the next match.

That gives the game away. As the man tipped to replace Srinath in the national team, it’s intriguing that Salvi has been kept on the sidelines on what would be ideal wickets for him to bowl on. Also, as this paper reported this morning, the three pacers on tour — Irfan Pathan, L Balaji and Amit Bhandari — haven’t performed to expectations. Before the current game against Yorkshire, it has been a virtual no-show by the pacers. In the four innings so far, Bhandari has claimed one wicket, Pathan two while Balaji has four. This is quite contrary to Chakraborty’s ‘‘boys are doing well’’ quote. Besides, Salvi has been the best bowler on the domestic circuit and also impressed everyone during his international debut at Bangladesh.