New caps must be encouraged

In an article `This hiring and firing will not do' written some three months ago, I had said that the irrational and short sighted policy followed by the selectors in hiring and firing young players without giving them adequate opportunities was one of the main reasons behind the Indian team's recent failures. I had also pointed out that this was not a new policy but one that has been followed with sickening regularity over the years. That is why India has the most cricketers who have played just one or two Tests. Unfortunately the same policy has been followed in one day cricket too. The result is that even in the instant variety, there are innumerable Indian cricketers who have played just two or three ODI's.

In the team for the ICC knock out tourney in Nairobi, there are three new caps in Vijay Dahiya, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. All of them have come up through a mixture of talent, skill and hard work. In the opportunities they have had so far in domestic cricket and junior cricket, they have proved themselves, or else the selectors would not have included them first in the list of probables and then in the team. One only hopes that they are given enough opportunities and not thrown out after just one or two games - or worse, without even playing a match as has been the unfortunate fate of a few Indian players. The Sharjah competition follows almost immediately after Nairobi and in fact it might have been a good idea to select one team for the two tournaments. A certain amount of permanency will encourage the players to bring off their best and boost the morale of the new caps.

Unfortunately, going by history, there is little chance that the selectors will give youngsters enough opportunities. After Sharjah, India plays a Test against newcomers Bangladesh and this would be a good time to blood youngsters. But will this come about? Just last season eight players were capped in the Tests against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa - Devang Gandhi, Vijay Bhardwaj, MSK Prasad, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Wasim Jaffer, Md Kaif, Murali Karthik and Nikhil Chopra. Don't be surprised if none of them figures in the Test squad this season.