No place for laggards in Team India

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">var server = '203.197.64.235'; var sitepage = "www.timesofindia.com/india/index.html"; var position ="Bottom1"; if (! (RN)) { var RN = new String (Math.random()); var RNS = RN.substring (2, 11); } var oas='http://' + server + '/RealMedia/ads/'; var oaspage= sitepage + '/1' + RNS + '@' + position; //the belladpart starts here function lrTrim(thestring) { thestring = thestring.replace(/^\s*(.*)/, "$1"); thestring = thestring.replace(/(.*?)\s*$/, "$1"); return thestring; } var xyz=0; var sss = lrTrim(bellyad.innerText).split(/^/m); strpart = new Array(sss.length); for (i=0;i<sss.length;i++) iflrtrimsssi.length=""> 60) { strpart[xyz] = lrTrim(sss[i]); xyz = xyz+1; } } if(xyz > 1) var xcounter=1; else var xcounter=0; var ifirstsub = bellyad.innerHTML.indexOf(lrTrim(strpart[xcounter]).substring(0,30)); if (ifirstsub == -1) ifirstsub=bellyad.innerHTML.lastIndexOf(lrTrim(strpart[0]).substring(strpart[0].length-15,strpart[0].length)); var sfirst = bellyad.innerHTML.substring(0,ifirstsub); var sSecond = bellyad.innerHTML.substring(sfirst.length , bellyad.innerHTML.length); if (doweshowbellyad==1) bellyad.innerHTML = sfirst + '<a href="' + oas + 'click_nx.ads/'+ oaspage + '" target="_top"><img align="right" vspace="10" hspace="10" src="' + oas + 'adstream_nx.ads/' + oaspage + '" border="0" alt="Cliquez ici !" /></a>' + sSecond;</sss.length;i++)></script><br />With India right up there with Australia in world cricket, the race to get into the Indian squad has become hot.Not even the big wigs in the squad can take their place for granted given the awesome bench strength that Indian cricket can now boast of.<br /><br />And just like the Australians, all cricketers in India are under the microscope in terms of fitness, form and utility to the team.<br /><br />Australian cricket has already seen great players like former captains Mark Taylor, and Steve Waugh left cooling their heels when they didn''t measure up to the exacting standards of Australian cricket. <br /><br />The latest casualty of this process is the ODI specialist Michael Bevan a match-winner in his own right who might miss out the Australian ODI bus.<br /><br />Is Team India, seeking to reach the heights that Australia has climbed through a similar professional approach? <br /><br />The answer is yes, although the powers that be in Indian cricket are still to wake up to this fact. After all, what we do today is going to impact Team India''s performance in the series to come.<br /><br />The names that crop up among those who are under scrutiny include both established and new players. But it is among the new comers that the attrition rate is the highest. Talking about both Tests and ODIs we have Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Aakash Chopra, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Aakash Chopra, and S Ramesh. <br /><br />While some of these players have delivered the goods on more than one occasion yet injuries have made a lasting impact on them. The problem for them is that they have fallen woefully short of the goals they were meant to achieve. <br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh are the trio who have been missing from action on and off since the 2003-04 Australian tour. <br /><br />While Zaheer was injured during the Australian tour, Harbhajan, who was carrying an earlier injury, pulled up short when it flared up again. In the crucial series, he was an ace up skipper Sourav Ganguly''s sleeve, and his absence was the difference between a series victory and the ultimate draw that was achieved. The same applies to Ashish Nehra, whose frequent injuries have prevented his services from being fully utilised.<br /><br />Then there is the man who has made numerous comebacks. We are referring to Ajit Agarkar. In spite of his services found wanting on numerous occasions, he always gets selected for both ODIs and Tests. But how many times can you allow the same man to come back, why can’t you get a raw but promising youngster and insert him in the side? Surely, a nation of billion people must have talent in abundance.<br /><br />Irfan Pathan has filled in the void admirably, but it remains to be seen whether the talented left-arm seamer can stand up to the rigorous cricket calendar.<br /><br />Also, the Test opening combination in batting is still undecided. India has been experimenting with makeshift openers and specialist ones. But the winning combination is still elusive. We have had S Ramesh, SS Das, and Aakash Chopra who came in, played a few prominent innings only to be sidelined soon after. <br /><br />Ironically, in the one-dayers there is the problem of plenty with Ganguly, Tendulkar and Sehwag vying for the opener’s slot. <br /><br />In Test matches, makeshift openers just don’t work in the long run. Given this fact, India would be well served to look for a specialist opener rather than ask someone like Parthiv Patel or even Yuvraj Singh to open. And if Aakash Chopra is not what India wants then the idea should be to replace him with another specialist opener. <br /><br />Just to set the record straight, Chopra has notched up four opening century stands with Sehwag in eight Tests! <br /><br />The selectors then have their work cut out – they have to make the best of the new high that Indian cricket is experiencing and take this opportunity to build a team that can take over from the Australians as champions in both forms of cricket.</div> </div>