Crunch time for Sreesanth

Sreesanth steamed in at the nets in Rajkot, bowling quickly, with a fluent action and good carry through off the pitch. While he went through his paces bowling to pretty much the whole Indian top order, the memories of his incisive spells in South Africa were very much on the mind, but equally, his performances in the one-dayers since were not far away.

When you look at Sreesanth bowling in one-day internationals, it's hard to see what he is doing differently. The action is very much the same, the rhythm seems to be alright, the intensity is inevitably cranked up, and yet, for some reason, he is neither the wicket-taking threat that he was in the Tests, and nor is he able to control the flow of runs. Against West Indies, in two ODIs Sreesanth picked up only two wickets from two games, at 73 apiece and an economy rate of 7.82. In the last match against Sri Lanka the rains came down when his figures read 4.2-0-36-1.

Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of the national selection committee, and a man who will be watching Sreesanth closely in the next game before picking the 15-man squad for the World Cup said: "Sreesanth needs to adjust his length in the one-dayers. He bowls full looking for swing, but when there isn't a lot of movement in the air or off the pitch then the batsmen are able to hit through the line." And that sounds entirely logical, although Sreesanth did get a bit of tap even when he was bowling short of a good length in Kolkata, being cut and pulled by Sanath Jayasuriya. But surely, if it were only a matter of shortening his length, then Sreesanth and the brains trust within the team would have worked that out and made the necessary adjustments.

About a year ago, India had a strong group of young fast bowlers coming through the ranks, led by Sreesanth, and now, all of a sudden, it's the old firm of Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar who are shouldering most of the burden, especially on the trying surfaces on which one-day cricket is played in India. When asked about this, Dravid was sympathetic to the lot of the young fast bowler. "In these conditions, you are going to take longer to learn and adapt. I think the young bowlers probably take a bit longer than the experienced ones," he said. "We have got a happy blend of youth and experience in this squad, especially with Ajit and Zaheer. Munaf probably been one of our better one-day bowlers in the last 10-12 games that he has played. He seems to have found the right length and line to bowl."

At the same time, Dravid conceded that not every one has found the solution as easily as Munaf has. "Some of the other younger guys are finding it a bit difficult and finding it a bit of a challenge but that's true of everyone. Any of the fast bowlers I have played with, whether it's [Javagal] Srinath or Venky [Venkatesh Prasad] or even Zak and Ajit, they have taken a bit of time to get used to these conditions and that is but natural. The more they play and learn quickly the better it is. It is up to them to analyse their own bowling quickly, it is going to be better for them and for us."

In recent matches, Dravid, who stands in the slips to the spinners, has been taking a visibly proactive role when it comes to speaking to his fast bowlers from either mid-on or mid-off. When asked about this, he explained what he was talking to his young quick men about. "We talk to them about what we discuss in the team meetings - about the lengths and lines that are ideal for that kind of wicket and particular batsmen," he said. "It's mostly to reiterate what we have already discussed and keep reminding them and sometimes just to give them a bit of encouragement. There's sometimes not much you can do when a good batsman is going great guns - even good balls get hit for fours. The important thing for these guys is not to panic when good batsmen are hitting them for runs. It's important not to try too much and keep focussing on the basics."

Sreesanth, though, seems to be struggling, inputs from his captain, coach and selectors notwithstanding. With Irfan Pathan still not finding form with the ball, Sreesanth could have a big role to play in the West Indies if he is picked. There's one match to go before that decision is made, but he'll be hoping that he can at least keep things quiet against Jayasuriya and Co. on Sunday. After all, he may not be able to bowl himself into a sure place in the World Cup squad, but he certainly won't want to bowl himself out of contention.