India battle with rotation issues
With India still in with a chance of levelling the series, the think-tank have to decide how to rest key players without compromising on their victory chances
Anand Vasu
12-Oct-2007
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When the Indian team for the first three ODIs of this seven-match
series was named, the one big name missing was Virender Sehwag. With
Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan returning to the team on the basis of
performances in the ICC World Twenty20, it was widely assumed - and the
selectors speaking privately did nothing to dispel the notion - that there
was no reason for Sehwag to worry and that in the course of the one-day
season he'd get a look in. As of now, though, there's still no place for
him.
"This is the best batting line-up we've got. Sachin, Sourav, followed by
Rahul, then Yuvi, myself and Robin," said Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian
captain, at the end of the fifth match, when asked about why the line-up
was changed around. "It just didn't work today. We didn't get the
partnerships we wanted early on." Obviously he was referring to the
line-up he had on his hands, and not whether Sehwag figured in the plans, but it's interesting that the talk over Sehwag has died down almost completely as the series has progressed.
What's more, with India still in with a chance of levelling the series
3-3, although that's unlikely given just how hard the Australians have
played each of these games, it makes it extremely difficult for the team
to think about resting one of its senior batsmen. The results, however, do
not change the fact that India have a large volume of cricket - both ODI
and Test - in the coming year. In fact this was the rationale behind the
selectors and the team management contemplating a rotation policy in the
first place. In the 12 ODIs India would play against Australia and
Pakistan, it was believed that each of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly would
sit out at least one match.
With Dravid struggling for runs, and he's hardly been at the crease enough
to judge what kind of form he is in, the selectors have a tough decision
on their hands. In different circumstances, with the series decided one
way or the other by the time game six came around, Dravid would have been
rested. But now, with only 44 runs from five matches, there's hardly a
case to rest him, and dropping him in the first series after he stepped
down as captain would be cruel to someone who has served the team's cause
exceedingly well in both forms of the game for several years now.
If India win the next game then the temptation to rest someone will
recede further as the seventh match will provide an opportunity to level a
series that once looked gone for all money. If India
lose, then again it will be hard to consider someone like S Badrinath in
place of one of the senior batsmen, for a solitary win from seven games
would hardly be acceptable returns for Dhoni in his first series as
captain. However, the temptation to play Badrinath will be strong, for
Dhoni will remember how Rohit Sharma could barely get a knock in England,
and delivered so brilliantly when drafted in the ICC World Twenty20.
Robin Uthappa's case was no different, with him sitting out the best part
of the one-day series in England, only to turn matchwinner at the first
opportunity he was afforded. In short, it's a tricky conundrum, and one
that Dhoni will have to deal with delicately and sensibly.
Australia, for their part, have their own selection dilemmas, but
typically have their own way of dealing with these things. Brad Haddin
might have scored 156 from his two innings, scoring half-centuries in
each, but when the time for Ricky Ponting's return from injury came along,
he was left out, with Brad Hodge, the more senior batsman, retaining his
place in the team despite a string of poor scores. Few teams other than
Australia would have chosen this path, and on top of this they've even
sent Adam Voges, who was in the squad as cover for Ponting, back home.
Already, he's in action, playing domestic cricket for the Western
Warriors.
Anand Vasu is an associate editor on Cricinfo