To change or not to change

It is true that the squad is likely to remain unchanged at least until the world cup in February-March. There’s a long hiatus after that, but then comes the big tour of Australia. By then, Srinath may have gone into his second retirement, Kumble into his first and at least one batting place — that of Laxman — may be up for grabs. Gazing farther into the future, the trinity of Saurav, Sachin and Dravid are all nearing 30 and can’t be expected to go on forever. It’s tempting to dismiss this as blowing the issue out of proportion. Until you remember the West Indies.

Not the team that’s currently doing battle here but the team of the 80s. The dream team of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lloyd. Yes, they broke record after record, but there was a heavy price to pay: they drugged their supporters and administrators into believing they could go on forever.

They couldn’t, of course, but when they faded away there was no one to take their place because almost an entire generation had given up hope of playing for the team. They’re still paying the price for that.

A similar situation confronted Australia when three of their legends — Greg Chappell, Rodney Marsh and Dennis Lillee — waved goodbye in a single Test match in 1984. Replacing them was impossible but at least the Aussies made an effort. Enter Dean Jones, Simon O’Donnell, Steve Waugh, Craig McDermott, David Boon and Geoff Marsh. The Aussies kept losing but they kept faith in their youngsters and soon, under Allan Border, results started to flow. And are still flowing today.

So, with our team in the middle of a purple patch, which module should the selectors follow: West Indian or Australian? Should we not change a winning team or should we tinker with the formula?

‘‘It has to start now’’, says Anshuman Gaekwad, former Indian opener, national selector and coach. ‘‘We should be looking at a long-term plan, where in due course there should be a couple of claimants for each slot in the Indian team. We have some of the best young talent in the country and if we could identify a pool of players who could be phased into international exposure, who knows…India might become the next Australia.’’

Gaekwad concedes that there aren’t many unsolved riddles in the current team, especially with the World Cup only three months away. ‘‘But, without touching the core of the team, a couple of youngsters could have been given a taste of international cricket in this series (against the West Indies). Who knows, there could be a trick or two waiting to happen.’’

Dilip Vengsarkar, former skipper and currently chairman of the BCCI’s Talent Search and Development Committee, agrees. But with a rider. ‘‘I’m not in favour of pushing a player in the Indian team just because he’s young. If he deserves his place, well, I think we should give him a taste of international cricket and the pressure which comes with it. If his temperament is good he will himself carve out a permanent place for himself in the team, like Sehwag, Yuvraj and Kaif have done. This way we can also rotate our players so that there aren’t many burn-out cases.’’

For a different take, turn to former keeper and Karnataka coach Syed Kirmani. He believes competition will be bred only through a restructuring of the game. ‘‘Till we adopt the Australian pattern of coaching/domestic fixtures, our first-class cricketers will lag behind. If you want to have fierce competition within the national team, your international stars must play in Ranji Trophy and other tournaments.’’

And when you have the players, play them, say Gaekwad and Vengsarkar, who both feel the Kolkata Test was the ideal opportunity. Gaekwad would have preferred Amit Mishra to make his debut there which would have meant resting Anil Kumble. ‘‘Mishra would have been a surprise element for the West Indian batsmen, who anyway don’t handle leg spin that well. And having played so much against Kumble recently, they had a plan for him in their mind’’, he says.

‘‘I didn’t understand the motive of bringing back Ajit Agarkar for Zaheer Khan. We know what Agarkar is but if you want to have a supply line ready to the Indian team, they should have tested out L Balaji or Irfan Pathan.’’

‘‘We have to shed out old-fashioned beliefs and not live in fool’s paradise’’, says former national selector and qualified coach Ashok Malhotra. ‘‘You can’t keep youngsters out of the team just because seniors don’t want to take breaks. Our team has come up in one-day cricket largely due to the youngsters in the team who are a good backup to the seniors.

‘‘But in Test cricket we still have a long way to go. Look at our bowling; the cupboard is still empty. We don’t have many fast bowlers and if you take Harbhajan Singh out of the side, the spin department is as bare. Our batsmen may be having a great time but till we have good bowlers, those who can take wickets, we won’t win abroad.’’

Malhotra, too, believes Mishra should have got a place in Kolkata. ‘‘He’s a genuine leg-spinner who will trouble batsmen with his ability to turn the ball. When will we play him? Not against Australia in Australia, I suppose.’’

That comes up next winter, before which there’s the world cup and the home and away series against New Zealand. Australia will be an acid test for the players but how many of those on the fringe will be ready to take on the Wizards of Oz? The selectors will be thinking of 1999-2000, when Devang Gandhi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Jacob Martin went Down Under and never surfaced. ‘‘Too many times in the past have we wasted talent. I feel this is India’s best chance to look ahead and change the system’’, says Vengsarkar.

When in Australia, do as the Australians do. nMuch of the magic is gone, of course, these days but there was a time when the crack of leather on willow heralded the advent of a cricket season. It brought with it the whiff of new opportunities for those on the verge of the Big Time. And so it is again this year, with the Irani Trophy — the traditional season-opener — under way in New Delhi.

And either taking part or looking on are a host of young hopefuls eyeing a place in the senior national side. Most don’t give them an iceberg’s hope in hell of making it to the national team. Not because they don’t have the talent, but because the seniors are (a) doing well and (b) not very senior. That explains why, with the series won, India made no significant changes to the team for the Third Test against the West Indies at Kolkata, which could have been a chance to blood youngsters.

It is true that the squad is likely to remain unchanged at least until the world cup in February-March. There’s a long hiatus after that, but then comes the big tour of Australia. By then, Srinath may have gone into his second retirement, Kumble into his first and at least one batting place — that of Laxman — may be up for grabs. Gazing farther into the future, the trinity of Saurav, Sachin and Dravid are all nearing 30 and can’t be expected to go on forever. It’s tempting to dismiss this as blowing the issue out of proportion. Until you remember the West Indies.

Not the team that’s currently doing battle here but the team of the 80s. The dream team of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lloyd. Yes, they broke record after record, but there was a heavy price to pay: they drugged their supporters and administrators into believing they could go on forever.

They couldn’t, of course, but when they faded away there was no one to take their place because almost an entire generation had given up hope of playing for the team. They’re still paying the price for that.

A similar situation confronted Australia when three of their legends — Greg Chappell, Rodney Marsh and Dennis Lillee — waved goodbye in a single Test match in 1984. Replacing them was impossible but at least the Aussies made an effort. Enter Dean Jones, Simon O’Donnell, Steve Waugh, Craig McDermott, David Boon and Geoff Marsh. The Aussies kept losing but they kept faith in their youngsters and soon, under Allan Border, results started to flow. And are still flowing today.

So, with our team in the middle of a purple patch, which module should the selectors follow: West Indian or Australian? Should we not change a winning team or should we tinker with the formula?

‘‘It has to start now’’, says Anshuman Gaekwad, former Indian opener, national selector and coach. ‘‘We should be looking at a long-term plan, where in due course there should be a couple of claimants for each slot in the Indian team. We have some of the best young talent in the country and if we could identify a pool of players who could be phased into international exposure, who knows…India might become the next Australia.’’

Gaekwad concedes that there aren’t many unsolved riddles in the current team, especially with the World Cup only three months away. ‘‘But, without touching the core of the team, a couple of youngsters could have been given a taste of international cricket in this series (against the West Indies). Who knows, there could be a trick or two waiting to happen.’’

Dilip Vengsarkar, former skipper and currently chairman of the BCCI’s Talent Search and Development Committee, agrees. But with a rider. ‘‘I’m not in favour of pushing a player in the Indian team just because he’s young. If he deserves his place, well, I think we should give him a taste of international cricket and the pressure which comes with it. If his temperament is good he will himself carve out a permanent place for himself in the team, like Sehwag, Yuvraj and Kaif have done. This way we can also rotate our players so that there aren’t many burn-out cases.’’

For a different take, turn to former keeper and Karnataka coach Syed Kirmani. He believes competition will be bred only through a restructuring of the game. ‘‘Till we adopt the Australian pattern of coaching/domestic fixtures, our first-class cricketers will lag behind. If you want to have fierce competition within the national team, your international stars must play in Ranji Trophy and other tournaments.’’

And when you have the players, play them, say Gaekwad and Vengsarkar, who both feel the Kolkata Test was the ideal opportunity. Gaekwad would have preferred Amit Mishra to make his debut there which would have meant resting Anil Kumble. ‘‘Mishra would have been a surprise element for the West Indian batsmen, who anyway don’t handle leg spin that well. And having played so much against Kumble recently, they had a plan for him in their mind’’, he says.

‘‘I didn’t understand the motive of bringing back Ajit Agarkar for Zaheer Khan. We know what Agarkar is but if you want to have a supply line ready to the Indian team, they should have tested out L Balaji or Irfan Pathan.’’

‘‘We have to shed out old-fashioned beliefs and not live in fool’s paradise’’, says former national selector and qualified coach Ashok Malhotra. ‘‘You can’t keep youngsters out of the team just because seniors don’t want to take breaks. Our team has come up in one-day cricket largely due to the youngsters in the team who are a good backup to the seniors.

‘‘But in Test cricket we still have a long way to go. Look at our bowling; the cupboard is still empty. We don’t have many fast bowlers and if you take Harbhajan Singh out of the side, the spin department is as bare. Our batsmen may be having a great time but till we have good bowlers, those who can take wickets, we won’t win abroad.’’

Malhotra, too, believes Mishra should have got a place in Kolkata. ‘‘He’s a genuine leg-spinner who will trouble batsmen with his ability to turn the ball. When will we play him? Not against Australia in Australia, I suppose.’’

That comes up next winter, before which there’s the world cup and the home and away series against New Zealand. Australia will be an acid test for the players but how many of those on the fringe will be ready to take on the Wizards of Oz? The selectors will be thinking of 1999-2000, when Devang Gandhi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Jacob Martin went Down Under and never surfaced. ‘‘Too many times in the past have we wasted talent. I feel this is India’s best chance to look ahead and change the system’’, says Vengsarkar.

When in Australia, do as the Australians do.