Team for Zimbabwe must be picked at an early date

I don't think the 3-2 scoreline that resulted in the one day series accurately reflected the relative strengths of the two sides. In my first assessment, I felt that Australia was a better bet; the only chance India had depended on the type of wickets on offer. Looking back, in a couple of games Australia did not justify their ability which made the series closer than one thought. India too should have won at Pune where the wicket was so helpful to the spinners. I thought we should have driven the advantage home comfortably there but we messed it up.

I felt the exposure of Harbhajan Singh in the ODIs to the Australian batsmen, against whom he had established a psychological advantage, was not a well thought out move. When the field is well spread, however accurate Harbhajan might be, the mystery he exuded was eliminated. You can see from the last game in Goa that they didn't really fear his overspun ball or drifter. The only redeeming factor for India was Laxman's brilliant performance but I reckon the final result should have, more appropriately, been 4-1 for Australia.

I think the lesson for India is that the reserves should be given a chance, not by the principle of rotation, but just to let the Test players recoup from the strain. People like Sarandeep should have been given a break, just to see how good he is, and to assess the back-up available for our long term needs. They tried Dinesh Mongia twice but I don't think that's a fair trial. When you're prepared to select the same player continuously in Tests, why not give a youngster a couple more games here too.

Sourav Ganguly showed a little maturity and some good captaincy in patches. But he can't afford to lose his temper so easily when his teammates commit errors in the field. He may be at the helm of affairs but you saw how Steve Waugh never lost his cool even in the worst possible conditions. In the present ambience of international cricket, it's not expected of a captain to have such a short fuse. After all he has also misfielded on occasion, so how would he feel if somebody reacts to that. Ganguly has got to use his position for a constructive approach, not a detrimental one.

Ganguly seems to be getting the hang of how to set the field for a spinner in one-day cricket. But in Pune after Australia had made over 100 runs in their runchase, he went with the conventional method of a well spread out field. That was the time I expected him to attack like in a Test match. At worst, instead of getting over in 47 overs, the match might have ended in 45 overs. But two good wickets at the right time and we would have been back in business.

I haven't really been able to evaluate John Wright's impact on this team. I haven't noticed any inputs from him, watching on television. We played much the same kind of cricket that the team has been following all along and I didn't see any drastic tactical changes or strategic movements which I expected the coach to provide. The redeeming feature, I felt, was the role of physical trainer Andrew Leipus. I must pay a compliment to him because he kept the boys in good condition in spite of the fact that they were subject to various stresses. They all looked reasonably fit enough to take the load, so there has been a tremendous improvement in their physical endurance.

Now the boys must relax for the next ten days or so. But I think the selectors must pick the side for Zimbabwe at an early date, including the one-dayer, and subject the team to a conditioning camp of reasonable duration, so that they do not become stale. The team should be together so that they understand each other well. I still believe field placements are a very important factor and the team management would do well to take the assistance of some of us former players in this regard. The Indians have been playing on a turner all along but I don't think Zimbabwe will offer them a similar wicket. So the team has to prepare adequately for the kind of conditions they may expect in Zimbabwe, both physically and psychologically, and follow a planned regimen of training during the intervening period.