Mohanty or Chopra may replace Agarkar

Truly, it is amazing that the side is so dependent on him not just to contribute with bat and ball, but also to boost its morale.

Thus far, skipper Mohammed Azharuddin has looked lost and out of sorts. He is not in any condition to get the side pumped up. The lead, therefore, must come from elsewhere. And in the present side, that can only be from the towering Tendulkar.

Kenya, are no pushovers. In Steve Tikolo and vice-captain Maurice Odombe,they have two highly-skilled players. The former is a very good bat with tons of experience after playing in South Africa (for Border) and Wales.

Deepak Chudamasma and the young Thomas Odoyo are others to watch out for. India’s problem, however, is not its ability to get past this Kenyan team, or any other side for that matter. They simply seem incapable of handling pressure.

At the first sign of it, they crack up, as has been evident for sometime now. The irony, however, is that this team, along with Pakistan, has the maximum number of experienced one-day players in its ranks!

The least experienced of the lot, Sadagoppan Ramesh, is expected to make way for Tendulkar in the playing eleven. Ramesh was the top scorer in the match against Zimbabwe. But the manner in which he repeatedly tried to throw his wicket after making his 50 hardly endeared him to the team. Another who will be axed is Ajit Agarkar.

A lot was expected from him in English conditions. But his style of hitting the deck on these earlysummer pitches has proved counter-productive. He was hammered for 70 runs from nine overs in the previous match. Debasis Mohanty or off-spinner Nikhil Chopra are likely replacements.

India on Sunday will play not only for their self respect, but also to get their self-belief going. Confidence is at bootlace level and they badly need to raise that for sterner Tests ahead.