Will the selectors rise to the occasion?

At 10 am tomorrow, the five wise men of Indian cricket will put their heads together in one of the banquet halls of the Radisson Hotel in Chennai to pick the first team of the new season. With India due to take part in the International Cricket Council Knock-out Trophy from October 3-15 the selectors, as ever, have a tough job ahead of them.

In ordinary times, selectors have trouble simply because it is difficult to leave out certain cricketers. Each selector has players whose cases he wants to push. But these are not ordinary times. The match fixing scandal has gained momentum since India's last international encounter. There's severe pressure from the media and public to drop certain `tainted' cricketers. Polls conducted in various newspapers, websites and magazines show that the people have had enough of this controversy. Yet, no resolution is near.

When India played in the Asia Cup in Dhaka earlier this year, they put up a truly pathetic showing. Losing against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka and conceding 249 runs against a mediocre Bangladesh side, the Indian team won no fans. The match fixing allegations clearly took a toll on certain cricketers. None more so than the coach. He has been accused so strongly that he broke down and wept during a television programme. He was then angry for a while and now it looks like he is fed up. He was recently quoted as saying he wanted to have nothing to do with the game of cricket. With such a mindset, it would be nigh on impossible for him to discharge his duties in a manner that is acceptable to the Board. To top it all, Kapil Dev called the board `unprofessional.' BCCI President AC Muthiah responded by saying that Kapil Dev was a `disturbed man.' Tomorrow, the future of this `disturbed man' might very well be decided. There are rumours suggesting that former Australian opening batsman and coach Geoff Marsh might be the next man for the job.

Coming back to picking the team, which is certainly the first priority, a lot was evident in the ongoing Buchi Babu tournament. In a match-up between Indian Airlines and the National Cricket Academy, the difference in attitude between the stars and the wannabes was glaring. Sunil Joshi delivered 8 overs for 36 runs. That was his total contribution to the game. The India left arm spinner spent the best part of the second day of the three day game napping in the dressing room. On the third day he did not even bother to don his cricket whites. Nikhil Chopra, another star, seemed enthusiastic enough while on the field but did nothing whatsoever in the name of physical training, warming down or conditioning while off it. Young Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Mohammed Kaif were the other end of the spectrum. After spending the whole day on the field, first bowling, and then batting, Sodhi proceeded to run rounds around the cricket field - while wearing his complete batting gear. Mohammed Kaif stopped training only when coach Vasu Paranjpe dragged him away. On the one rest day they had, the NCA boys left their hotel at 7.40 am for practice.

These boys are rearing to go. They have amply proven their ability in various situations. A lot of scribes were of the opinion that some of these youngsters should have been picked to play for India right after the success in the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

Well, with all due respect to the chairman of selectors, one does not see this selection committee taking any bold decisions. Chandu Borde was a great cricketer and comes across as a thorough gentleman. However, being a gentleman has never been enough to make someone a good selector. If anything, it is a hindrance. The pressures pulling Indian cricket in various directions are too strong and too varied. People are often picked with anything but the interest of Indian cricket in mind. A rather shocking statistic goes a long way in exposing the limitations of the selectors. In the history of Indian cricket, there are 109 cricketers who have played less than five Tests. Of these, a startling 44 players have represented India in just one Test. A quick glance at the tables also tells you that 228 players have represented India in Test matches. This means that the selectors have bungled in almost fifty percent of the choices they have made!

Mohinder Amarnath, who got a raw deal from selectors through his career, once called the selectors `a bunch of jokers.' Jokers or not, the state that Indian cricket is in right now is no laughing matter. The selectors had better come up with something special if they want to get Indian cricket back on the road to well being.