Letter of the Day

The tour Opener –Does it help or compound India’s worries – Spin or seam – Dasgupta or Ratra – openers? A lot to think about!

The Indians managed to win the tour opener against the second string team Guyana’s President XI – their only game before the Test match series commences with the West Indies on Thursday 11th April. While there is still time for the playing XI to be announced for the first test in Georgetown, it is time to get the Indian think tank going and see the best options for the first Test.

Contrary to everyone’s belief, India fielded a full strength team against the second string team of Guyana’s President XI. While this was unexpected by most people, I think it has both its advantages and disadvantages, and this tour opener in particular was not the best thing that India would have wanted starting a two month long duel with the West Indies. At least one other match with a stronger team would have had the Indians thinking about testing the bench strength.

With just one match before the series, and India fielding its full strength, I think India has not really gained anything. Firstly, fielding a full strength meant that India was never going to have the option of testing the bench. India has not had the opportunity to their most vulnerable aspect of the game – Openers, and bowlers. This also means, that at least 4 players are going to be just travelers for the first couple of matches at least, or unless someone from the current playing XI was injured.

This would also mean that genuine good seamers (Tinu Youhanan, Ashish Nehra) whom we are planning to groom with the world Cup in mind, were not going to get the all important break that they were looking for. I think this tour of WI is the best place and time to start the preparation for the next World Cup, even if we wish to have the remotest possibility of going through the preliminary rounds, leave alone winning the cup at all. But the tour opener has not really helped India’s cause.

Now, with the win under their belt, and Kumble having finished the game with 7-55 and Harbhajan doing equally well, means, in all probability that we are bound to have two spinners in the Indian team for the first Test match, which I think could spell doom for India, considering the fact that players of the likes of Carl Hooper, Shivnaraine Chandrapaul, and Brian Lara, are all excellent players of spin. I think, that India’s best bet is to play just one spinner and give the seamers the break. There have been talks about the slowness in the pitches in WI of late, but I can bet, they are still better than the ones that we find in India.

While some may think, that by playing a full strength team has given the most probable candidates for the playing XI, a chance to acclimatize to the conditions in WI, I think it has anything but helped India. India could have done better by resting their key players and giving chance to players like Tinu Youhannan, Ajay Ratra, probably even Wasim Jaffer. It is time we realize that we need players to play for the upcoming world cup, and there is no way we can be there with two spinners, and this is the time to let go off our over dependency on spin. I know this is the “Test” match, and ODI is a different ball game altogether, but then, this is the “Test” match, so its time to “Test”.

This tour openers has left the selectors in the “almost always” “Double Jeopardy” frame of mind. It leaves them with no option but to have two spinners (since they did extremely well against a second string state team??), which is a dreadful idea in itself, and the opening pair still vulnerable and undecided, which also means that we will have a wicket keeper who is remembered more for his let offs than dismissals.

While most teams try and test the various options they have with them in a tour opener India has only just proved that they can beat a second string state team. With the opening match over, and as the time approaches for the selection of the final playing XI for the first test match against the Windies, one can only hope that our selectors can see through the disadvantages of this tour opener and come up with a team that can actually beat the WI.

While a lot has been said about the poor form of the current WI team, a contest between Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, I think we still need to come together as a team and beat the WI. It will still take some clever thinking from the selectors, a good team work from the players to beat them. Sitting on the laurels of having won the tour openers with two spinners is not going to help India’s cause in any way. Will India win a series abroad? Only time will tell.

Abhishek Mathur