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A baffling team selection

Sambit Bal comments on the selection of the Indian Test side at Antigua



Harbhajan Singh: If India picked their four best bowlers, he'd be playing © Getty Images
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India surprised their supporters at the start of the Antigua Test, going in with six specialist batsmen and four specialist bowlers, deviating from their earlier strategy of being aggressive and playing five specialist bowlers. Sambit Bal, Cricinfo's editor, tells Amit Varma that he is shocked by this negative selection. However, he points out that while the Indian think-tank has been conservative regarding the balance of the side, they've been adventurous with the bowlers picked: VRV Singh and Munaf Patel play while Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh sit out.

Bal is not happy with Harbhajan's exclusion, though. If teams pick their best batsmen regardless of conditions, he says, so should they pick their best bowlers.

Listen in.

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Irfan PathanHarbhajan SinghIndiaWest Indies vs IndiaIndia tour of West IndiesAntigua Recreation Ground