Strong at the top, fragile in the middle

Winston Churchill once said "this is no time for ease and comfort. It is the time to dare and endure." The Indian team management should take a leaf out of Churchill's wise words and take bold decisions. One concerns the batting order and here it must be said that the right decision for the team will be to play Sachin Tendulkar at No 4. There are valid reasons for this.

That Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly should open is the general opinion of the pundits and the public. No doubt they are the best opening pair in the world and have been highly successful. But the team picked for the ICC Knock out tournament wears a new look and the best available talent, some of it young and experienced, looks pretty vulnerable in the middle order if the two were to open. The players fighting for a slot in the middle - Sridharan Sriram, Rahul Dravid, Vinod Kambli, Hemang Badani, Robin Singh and Yuvraj Singh - do not constitute a line up that will scare the opponents.

Sriram, Dravid and Kambli may have to fight it out for the No 3 slot. Dravid and Kambli have an excellent record at this position with the Karnataka player having a slight edge over the Mumbai left-hander. Dravid has played at No 3 in 78 matches, scoring 3040 runs at an average of 41.64 with a highest of 153, while Kambli in 31 matches has scored 1101 at an average of 40.77 including a century. Incidentally Badani has played at No 3 in his only match, scoring 35 while Sriram has played at No 5 in his only match so far scoring 12. Given this background and the need to provide solidity at this pivotal spot, Dravid should be retained in this position. There is a case for Tendulkar not coming in at No 3 if he does not open and one has only to look at the table below of the performance of the players at No 3.

For the crucial No 4 slot, it's again Kambli, Dravid, Badani and Sriram who may fight for a place. But neither Kambli nor Dravid have been successful. Dravid, at this slot, has made 492 runs in his 21 innings at an average of 24.60 with 2 fifties. Kambli has played ten innings less than Dravid, compiling just 264 runs at an average of 24.00. Surprisingly, Tendulkar has been impressive at No 4. He has played far more innings than Dravid and Kambli scoring 1369 runs at an average of 37.00. These figures show that there is a case for Tendulkar to bat at this position and give an extra edge to the fragile middle order.

For the No 5 lost, looking at the previous scores, Kambli fits the bill perfectly. He has played 40 matches scoring 803 runs with 106 as highest at an average of 34.91. Being a natural striker of the ball, he will be ideal at this position, either building up on a good start or playing a leading role in retrieving the innings. Having played together as kids, both Tendulkar and Kambli can complement each other at No's 4 and 5.

There can be no such arguments about the No 6 slot as it well and truly belongs to Robin Singh who has been the backbone of the side for the last few years. Coming in at this position, he has won a few games which seemed to have been virtually lost. Robin has made 1202 runs at an average of 27.31 in the 68 games he has played at this position with an highest of 75. Though he has a decent record at No 3, for the benefit of the side he should be retained at No 6.

It would be wise for the team management to consider the option of playing Tendulkar, who can do the double act of rotating the strike and accelerating the scoring, at No 4 and not go by sentiments. It will be a testing time for Dravid in the ICC Knock out tournament in the absence of senior players like Azharuddin and Jadeja. If Tendulkar and Ganguly open, the responsibility of propping up the middle order will rest largely on Dravid's shoulders.

Though Dravid has been solid in the middle, he has, in the past, been dropped or criticised for slowing down the run rate. But the question is does he have the ability of Azharuddin, who could rotate the strike and of Jadeja who can cut loose at any time. Therefore the best lineup, given the circumstances should be Ganguly, Sriram, Dravid, Tendulkar, Kambli, Robin Singh with either Badani or Yuvraj at No 7 to provide further depth to the batting. "Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong," is an appropriate saying and may well be directed at the Indian selectors as one looks at the fragile Indian middle order.