The national selectors on Friday finalised Indias Plan B for the tour to New Zealand. With most of the frontline players successful all through last year and starting 2009 on a winning note,the meeting in Chennai was all about setting up a second line of defence before leaving to conquer the terrain famous for its unpredictable conditions. Be it Tests or the limited overs games,naming the playing XI is a no-brainer these days,and the selectors had to focus on putting in place contingency measures,accounting for injury,illness,or an unexpected run of poor form over the long tour. The Test squad of 16 includes names such as Murali Vijay,Amit Mishra,Dinesh Karthik,Lakshmipathy Balaji and Dhawal Kulkarni five men certain to warm the bench at the start of the series. Opener Vijay,also capable of batting in the middle order,is the back-up for any emergency exit in the batting department. Leg-spinner Mishra is the second spinner,Karthik the second wicketkeeper,while Balaji and Kulkarni will be there to keep Munaf Patel on his toes. The ODI squad is virtually unchanged from the one that returned from Sri Lanka with a 4-1 series win under their belt. The return of Harbhajan Singh forced the only snip the victim Ravindra Jadeja losing out to Pragyan Ojha. But there was some solace for Jadeja because he figured in the squad for the two T20 games that India will play at the start of the tour. Sachin Tendulkars reluctance to be a part of the games shortest format ensured Jadeja would get a feel of New Zealand,but he will still have to take an early flight back home. Domestic snub Since there arent many big names involved in the inclusion and reclusion of the New Zealand tour party,a raging selection debate wont be triggered. But a close scrutiny of the names and a quick glance at the leading domestic performers gives a feeling that the fire-proofing that the selectors have done will leave some feeling wronged. Preferring Vijay over the likes of the four-digit Ranji Super League run-getters such as Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane and the two consistent batsmen of the season Cheteshwar Pujara and S Badrinath does raise a few eyebrows. For Vijay,it has been an amazing turn of fortunes. The Tamil Nadu opener elbowed into the Test team after in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir ran into Shane Watson and was banned for a game. He jumped at the opportunity by scoring 31 and 44 on a flat track. As it turned out,those scores have proven higher than the run-piles of Jaffer,Rahane,Pujara and Badrinath. No wild card The bowling department,too,has a few surprises. Missing from any of the three squads are pacemen S Sreesanth and RP Singh,both of whom have single-handedly won Tests for India in the past. Not belittling the performance of young Kulkarni and comeback-man Balaji,RP and particularly Sreesanth could have been wild cards worth gambling on in the games longest version. Both are fit,and while their recent games have shown that they are not in the best of rhythm,the seam-friendly conditions in New Zealand couldve been the perfect catalyst for them to serve as potent back-up options for a clutch match. Neck-and-neck The second wicketkeepers nod went to Karthik in his neck-and-neck battle against Parthiv Patel,and it shows the changing hierarchy behind the stumps. Patel was the second-choice keeper when India last played an away Test but now Karthik has moved a step ahead in the queue. With Team Indias Plan A looking perfect at present,none of these decisions are going to be very hotly debated,and if there is any talk of regional bias from those who have been left out,it will die down soon. But the real test of the choices made by the selection committee will come in case the proven frontline falters.
