More sets the tune for BoyzIImen

This selection panel is looking straight. The agenda has been very clear over last one year: thrust on youngsters. After tasting success in ...

This selection panel is looking straight. The agenda has been very clear over last one year: thrust on youngsters. After tasting success in the shorter version of the game, the selectors plan to hit the spot with the same agenda for the Tests.

The result was in the axe falling on Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir. In come Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, S. Sreesanth and VRV Singh for the first Test in Nagpur from March 1.

It’s a 7-7-1 line up.

So is this the end for former captain Ganguly? The chairman of selection committee Kiran More tactfully said: “It’s a tough call, and we are not looking back.” It more or less ended the speculation.

It could also be well deciphered from the fact that Yuvraj Singh will find his place as soon as he is fit. For ‘Dada’, it’s curtains, at least for now.

There is enough reason for the selectors’ mode of thinking. The likes of Sreesanth and Raina have delivered the goods, the former being among the best in the ODIs in Pakistan. The inclusion of Chawla when Kumble is already in the squad, shows that the World Cup is the prime target.

For Chawla the call was not to unexpected. His performance has been good throughout the year, be it in the Challenger Series, Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy or the U-19 World Cup. This series might just be the right time for a bit of blooding.

On the openers front, it was a call between Gambhir and Jaffer. The selection panel had to go with Jaffer. “Gautam has not performed as we had expected and we would like to give Wasim a chance and he has been performing really well in domestic cricket over the year,” said More.

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For VRV Singh, it was a case of sheer pace that got him through. The team management has shown a lot of faith in him during Lanka-South Africa home series. Hence his call, immediately after being declared fit.

There was no mercy for Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan either. Their performances have failed to warm the hearts of the selectors. Moreover, variety has been at a premium and selectors feel this could come from the youngsters.

More said the skipper endorses every name selected. “We spoke to Dravid. He had some ideas and he said he was happy about it (selection),” he said. But why did the meeting become a marathon? More said they were also discussing Pakistan and “all the departments of the game”.

Other names were discussed, especially in the batting. They were Venugopala Rao, Cheteshwar Pujara and Aakash Chopra. There was a debate on the young ones, but extraordinary and consistent performance, perhaps, held sway even as age was a consideration.

Meet the new boys

	SURESH RAINA Early last year this paper asked Kiran More to name a future star, he was hesitant to do so. ‘‘If I name someone these guys become conscious or even complacent. But still I’ll say Suresh Raina has it in him,’’ he said. Thursday’s announcement has proved that the 19-year-old hasn’t become complacent. Raina’s inclusion means his state skipper Mohammad Kaif can’t take the No.6 spot for granted despite the absence of Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly. Story continues below this ad S SREESANTH He hasn’t been with the Indian team for long but everybody on the circuit has a favourite Sreesanth story. His whimsical fascination for astrology, numerology, the superstition of bowing low every time he crosses the rope, his breakdance and that hotel-receptionist-like habit of answering the phone with a ‘‘Sreesanth here, can I help you’’… More importantly, it is his right-arm pace that has brought a breath of fresh-air to the left-centered Indian pace attack. His eagerness to learn and his ‘all-ears to all advice’ approach make him fit perfectly into the all-new pace attack. PIYUSH CHAWLA Just before under-19 World Cup started, Bollywood-obsessed Colombo had just one query: Is he related to Juhi Chawla? But by the end of it, the 17-year-old had resolved that identity crisis with a smooth action, perfect loop and a sense of the occasion. In the only game to be telecast he showcased his class. There are two factors that have seen Chawla fast-tracked: The pitch report from Nagpur and the success of a leggie with a big deviation (Danish Kaneria) against the English a few months ago VRV SINGH After a false start to his international career—injury kept him out despite being named in the ODI squad—VRV Singh now happens to be in the Test squad. Experts call this a blessing in disguise as the longer version is always seen as a better platform for a young quick. Speed is something that the seniors vouched for when VRV was the nets bowler during the Sri Lankan tour. Once, at the nets, when Sehwag lost his stump to VRV, the Indian vice-captain said, ‘‘Jaldi fit ho ja bhai.’’ It wasn’t a speedy recovery as VRV waited home for the Pakistan series — but now he’s ready to join Raina, his mate during the 2004 junior World Cup.