No one is indispensable - Shastri

Ravi Shastri, the former Indian allrounder and current commentator, has expressed his faith in India's experimentation tactics as they attempt to win in the Caribbean for the first time since 1970-71. Shastri has also applauded the Indian management's decision to breakaway from a mindset of old, opt for youth and not allow any player to take his place for granted.

"The Indian team has made giant strides in the one-day game because they have identified roles for every player," Shastri told the website, gulfnews.com. "The coach, the captain and the selectors need to be complimented for thinking along the same wavelength. Their selection of a bunch of youngsters has made the team one of the best fielding sides in the world. India will be playing one of the weakest West Indies team in recent years. The challenge before India lies on how well they perform in Test cricket during the next two years."

Shastri, 43, firmly approved of India's recent experimentation. "Whether it is [Sachin] Tendulkar or [Rahul] Dravid, make it clear that no one owns a batting position...one has to play according to the situation of the game, even if it demands that [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni bat at No.3 or open the innings," he said. "Irfan Pathan and Dhoni have shown tremendous maturity. Yuvraj Singh is now batting like a bomb. He should have been batting in the present slot nearly one year ago. Unfortunately, the Indian team was not prepared to be flexible earlier."

As for the experience of senior players, Shastri said it came down to the overall composure of the team. "You need to go back to experienced players only if there is a vacuum and there is no talent. If your strategy is to look into the future, then you need to give the youth a chance," he clarified. "They need to be ruthless in selection and no player should be considered indispensable. It is the player's current form that should be the criteria for selection. We are a country obsessed by records. For us, hundreds, ten thousand runs, and large haul of wickets are more important than the performance of the Indian team.

"In Australia, the emphasis is not on how many centuries Ricky Ponting makes, but on Australia's winning streak for the last ten years. India has given too much emphasis on players' records than on the actual performance of the team," he said. "Its not worth scoring thousands of runs if your team keeps on losing. Fortunately the trend has started to change now. India has always been a good one-day team, but in Test cricket we need to go a long way. Twice recently, when it got a little hot in the kitchen, India crumbled. Both in Karachi and Mumbai, it all happened within a span of three hours. [Greg] Chappell's biggest challenge will be to get India do well in Test cricket."