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It is a young man’s game this Twenty20 and it is no surprise that many
elder statesmen of various sides have either indicated their
unavailability or have been dropped. But even here a certain amount of
experience is not misplaced and that is the message the selectors have
conveyed in their picking the squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World
Cup in South Africa next month.
The selection of Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag
underscores this. The three are the only members of the squad to have
made their international debuts before the start of the new millennium
and all of them have played over 150 ODIs. There is no point in talking
about the squad’s Twenty20 experience for the country itself has played
only a solitary ODI – against South Africa in December last year which
India won by six wickets with one ball remaining.
Given this background one cannot be optimistic about the team’s
chances. My mind goes back to the inaugural World Cup in 1975. Test
matches still held a very special place in the hearts of the Indian
cricket fan and there wasn'’t much interest in the team’'s fortunes in
England. The Indians having played just two ODI’s till then – losing
both to England – were given little chance of doing well. Predictably
enough Srinivas Venkatraghavan’'s squad failed to make the semifinals
despite being placed in an easier group.
The scenario is slightly different this time around. The fortunes of
Dhoni'’s team will be closely followed thanks to a metamorphosis in the
involvement of the media but expectations will not be high. Not that
there have been too many Twenty20 international matches played but
three decades ago there were not too many ODIs played either. And one
remains skeptical whether the interest in Twenty20 matches the
following of ODIs which are still very popular in India.
In a way this could work out to India’'s advantage. So often these days
have unreasonable expectations been placed on Indian teams and the
result is that unable to withstand this pressure they have come a
cropper. The foremost example is of course the disastrous World Cup
campaign in the Caribbean this year.
So Dhoni’'s team can land in South Africa with that much less pressure
on them. All the same one must have a team capable of pulling off
something special and it is a moot point whether the Indians are
capable of providing a surprise or two. They are in group D along with
Pakistan and Scotland so their passage to the next round can be taken
for granted (I will stick my neck out on this one despite what happened
in the World Cup!). After that India will have three matches in the
Super Eight against the qualifiers from the other groups and making it
to the semifinals from this stage will be a difficult proposition.
But then the Twenty20 game as we have seen is even more unpredictable
than ODIs. The cliché that on any given day any team can beat the other
is absolutely true when it comes to the newest fad in the game. The
selectors, give or take a couple of minor surprise inclusions and
omissions, have picked the best available side and it is particularly
gratifying to note that Irfan Pathan has been given an avenue to make a
comeback to the bigger stage. Yusuf, Irfan's elder brother who is the
only representative in the squad yet to make his international debut
gets his big break. The emphasis as to be expected has rightly been on
youth laced with a touch of experience as pointed out. Dhoni is an
exciting choice as skipper as he can be trusted upon to lead from the
front and hopefully inspire his teammates to great deeds.
As far as the one day squad to play England in seven ODIs is concerned
the omission of Sreesanth is about the only surprise. Even if Munaf
Patel was certified fit it was expected that a bowler already in
England, with the experience of two Tests and ODIs behind him would
retain his place especially when he has not done badly. One wonders
whether it is some sort of disciplinary action following his appalling
behaviour at Trent Bridge. The suspense will continue to haunt
Sreesanth while presenting an intriguing question for Indian cricket
fans.
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More Views by Partab Ramchand
