Even as the BCCI’s spin doctors, and it has a surfeit of them, plan their defence, it is clear that Zaheer Khan has been let down by a system that has more holes than the SSC nets. Mr Dalmiya and the suits will trot out the excuses — Zaheer was not carrying an injury, the quadricep muscle injury is a first — and they may even be let off should Zaheer play again this series.But they cannot hide the fact that the system, such as it is, is in a mess with no transparency, and apparently no accountability.The last time we wrote about Zaheer, it was during the tour of Pakistan. He’d gone there after missing three months of active cricket; did not pass a fitness test, rushed straight to Pakistan and performed below par before breaking down completely in Multan.Since then, he’s played just three ‘‘real’’ matches, two of them for Surrey; in fact, he cut short his Surrey contract because he didn’t feel match fit. Still his was among the first names to be pencilled in for the Asia Cup.Equally ridiculous is the case of Harbhajan Singh, who was allowed to tour Australia with a broken finger. He claimed he was fit but within 10 days Down Under his injury was exposed. In the eight months since, he’s not played a competitive match and was picked for the Asia Cup on the basis of nets performance.All this begs one question: Who’s responsible for passing players as fit for a series? ‘‘The team physio’’, says BCCI secretary SK Nair, ‘‘assesses all players at the pre-tour camps. The physio’s report is considered and only then does the selection committee selects a player. In extreme cases, the Board’s doctor Anant Joshi is asked to provide a fitness certificate.’’So does that mean Andrew Leipus in the red? ‘‘No, no I am not saying anything like that.’’Avoiding specifics of the Zaheer injury, Nair said ‘‘corrective steps, if any’’ will be taken once the ‘‘physio’s report is with us’’. In all likelihood, the corrective step is what we call a filing cabinet.This begs one question: How do the best do it? Australia, remember, didn’t pick injured duo Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath for the home India series till they proved their match fitness. Lee played from the third Test but not before he had played a few matches for New South Wales.World champions? You’re having a laugh.Rest assured, trust aussiesSydney: Australia’s cricketers, facing a playing schedule of four Tests in 33 days on their tour of India in October, may skip training to rest in between the Tests, team management said today. Given all four Tests against India here last summer went to a fifth day and with hot weather expected, Australia’s coaching staff plan to give Ricky Ponting’s team as many rest days as possible. “It’s certainly something we’re conscious of,” assistant coach Tim Nielsen said.
