Chance for hopefuls to stake claims

Australia A are in town. The first of two three-day games against India A, which precede the triangular limited-overs series with New Zealand A, starts on Wednesday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Should anyone care? A lot of people should, as it's not just another pointless three-day affair that the boards indulge in to show they are pumping in money for "development and the future". Australia are touring India for a Test series in six weeks time and there are spots up for grabs.

The two men leading the teams best capture the tale of the contest. S Badrinath, perpetually in the reckoning and who just had a whiff of international cricket in Sri Lanka; Simon Katich, the man on the comeback trail, waiting for fortune to open up a spot for him in the national side.

Badrinath stormed into national consciousness in 2005-06, when he scored 636 runs from seven Ranji Trophy matches at almost 80 and followed it up with 436 in the next season. In 2007, he produced a run deluge for India A in their series against South Africa A, Zimbabwe and Kenya. He then received his maiden call-up to the national side in the last leg of the home ODIs against Australia, though he failed to get a game.

After repeatedly being ignored by the selectors, Badrinath spoke out, and though that might not have been the reason, he was finally given a break in the ODIs in Sri Lanka. This was the chance for him to show everybody that the fire was still burning, and he did as much by scoring a solid unbeaten 27 on debut to complete India's win in the second ODI.

Meanwhile, Katich, 33, has been on another rollercoaster ride. In and out of the Australian team, many thought his best days were behind him. But he forced his way back by scoring heavily in the Pura Cup and in what would be his final season with Derbyshire. An injury to Matthew Hayden meant the opener's slot was up for grabs on the tour of West Indies, and Katich hit two big hundreds to prove that he deserved to be picked as the extra batsman in the squad.

The men under them are no different. This series is the story of disparate characters trying to materialise their dreams. There are a couple of 19-year-olds in Virat Kohli and Philip Hughes, the New South Wales opener, and you have the 36-year old legspinner, Bryce McGain, trying to move from his bank cubicle to the Australian dressing room. Australia have a solitary spinner's spot up for grabs when they come to India in October and McGain is in the race with two other men - Beau Casson and Jason Krejza.

India have their own battle for the third spinner's slot and it's being fought by two legspinners - Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra. Then there are the known stories of Sreesanth, Mohammad Kaif, Robin Uthappa and Parthiv Patel, all of whom are trying to retrace their path to the national team. Sreesanth, however, is a doubtful starter for the first game, hampered by a stiff back. The rest is a motley crew of talented individuals, including Ajinkya Rahane and George Bailey, both of whom have shone in their respective domestic competitions and are eager to take the next step.

Their first chance begins tomorrow in Bangalore, a city drenched by evening rains for the past fortnight. The wicket though, has remained dry, looks hard and offers to be the clichéd "sporting wicket." The pitch will be shaved of its grass on Wednesday morning, a typical move by an Indian curator before the start of a match.

Both captains know very well what's at stake. "This is a great opportunity for some of us to get the runs and try to get in to the Indian team. The selection is not in our hands but we can score runs against quality opposition and get into the best frame of mind and form when the call comes," Badrinath said.

Katich echoed his counterpart's thoughts. "There is no doubt that the selectors will be looking closely at the performances of the guys in this series."

A useful spinner, Katich did not bowl in the nets in the run-up to the match. "It would be wrong as the captain to be bowling myself, he said. "We have picked so many bowlers on this tour as the selectors want to have a look at those guys."

It is learned that Rahane, the Mumbai opener, and Parthiv might open the innings for India while Katich might walk out with Hughes for Australia. The only pity is that the contest is restricted to three days, perhaps not enough time to get a result.

But Dav Whatmore, the India A coach, puts things in perspective. "These are developmental games and it takes money to put these on. The important thing is the boys get the opportunity to showcase their potential for the future. The A team competition is about that."

The setting might not be perfect but provided the dark clouds stay away, the stadium will burn with the ambitions of the twenty-two men in whites.