Stop this chopping and changing

The Indian team has been virtually playing cricket non-stop since August 1999. First it was the Aiwa Cup, then the tri-series in Singapore. After that there was the Toronto festival and the one-day quadrangular in Nairobi. After that it was Test series time as India faced New Zealand in three Tests followed by five one-dayers. Almost immediately, India left for Australia for a three Test series. The disastrous tour culminated in the Carlton & United series.

Around two weeks later, the Indians were at work again. This time the opposition was South Africa. At the end of it all, India is poised to be ranked at the bottom position in the world rankings on the basis of its performances in the last year. Add to it the humiliation of losing a home Test series after 13 years and we have a good picture of which way Indian cricket is headed now. Only up, because we can't possibly sink further.

The chairman of selectors, Chandu Borde, is quoted to have said that the players were fatigued and that too much cricket is being played. Is that the only reason for this non-performance?

In India's last 12 innings, there have been no less than six different opening pairs and the highest partnership for the first wicket was the 47 made in the second innings at Bangalore. India has not made a 300 plus score (for a completed innings) in the last five Tests.

It is high time the BCCI and the selectors realise the need to stick with a combination (specifically the opening slot) for three to four consecutive Tests. At the end of this series, is it proper for the selectors to decide that Jaffer does not have it in him to click in Test cricket? There have been so many players who have become the forgotten men of Indian cricket recently. A year ago, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Ashish Nehra were in the squad for the Asian Test Championship. Today nobody knows if they will ever play a Test again. Shukla's case is even more bizarre in that he did play a few one-day internationals after the World Cup but has not even been considered since.

No one knows the whereabouts of MSK Prasad and Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Prasad was injured during the Test series and there has been no information from the selectors on why Sameer Dighe was chosen ahead of Prasad for the one-day series following Mongia's injury. Kanitkar was in India's one-day and Test squads for the Australia tour and yet he now finds himself out in the cold.

Nobody is suggesting that Indian cricket will get back to the glory days soon. However steps have to be taken to ensure that it is on the right path at least. One of the steps is certainly to ensure some continuity.