Class and form both have to be considered
Form is temporary, class is permanent
Partab Ramchand
08-Jun-2001
Form is temporary, class is permanent. And while the selectors have
to keep the classy players in mind, they should not ignore form too.
Besides, they have to watch out for a cricketer's attitude, as
also whether he is injury prone, whether he fits into the scheme of
things (the horses for courses policy for example). Oh yes, a
selector's job is not easy. The quintet are going to get damned if
they pick this player or that and are really in a no win situation.
In any Indian squad, the majority of the players pick themselves. But
it is the choice of those two or three fringe cricketers that causes
the troubles, heartaches and controversy. If a player on form is
selected, the critics point to another cricketer, classy enough to be
picked. If on the other hand, the selectors go for the cricketer
who has class written all over him, they are hauled over the coals for
neglecting the form player. The selectors really are always skating on
thin ice.
Should performances on the national circuit count? One assumes they
should. For otherwise, the affected players, besides cricket `experts'
all over the country, could well argue what is the point in doing well
if the selectors are going to turn a blind eye. On the other hand,
there are classy players who are already regulars in the side and who
cannot take part in much of the domestic circuit because of the tight
international calendar. Should the selectors opt for them or go for
batsmen who score 1000 plus runs or bowlers who pick up 50 wickets
and more in the Ranji Trophy?
Players like Yere Goud, Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Satyajit Parab, Connor
Williams, Dodda Ganesh, Gagandeep Singh, Valmik Buch and Rakesh Patel
may well ask what more they have to do to even be considered seriously
for the national team. Goud was the highest run getter in the Ranji
Trophy last season - 901 runs at an average of 75.08 with two hundreds
and four fifties - while playing a stellar role in Railways coming
tantalisingly close to winning the country's premier national
competition. He wasn't even among the 26 probables called for the tour
of Zimbabwe. Orissa entered the semifinals for the first time, thanks
in the main to the form shown by Parida who scored 885 runs on his way
to notching up the season's highest average of 110.62 with two
hundreds and six fifties. He too was not among the probables. Baroda
who won the Ranji Trophy after 43 years, were indebted to their
openers Parab and Williams who scored 809 and 728 runs respectively.
Neither of them were in the list of probables.
But honestly can any one of them seriously consider himself unlucky
not to be considered for higher honours. The middle order door is
closed tightly. Hemang Badani, talented and in form, cannot find a
place in the Test squad. The openers, if not in the same class as the
middle order or possessing the same degree of permanency, have still
not done badly enough to warrant a replacement. So there is really no
scope for any batsman to get into the side - unless he runs into a
Bradmanesque run.
An interesting point however revolves around the bowling. It is well
chronicled that the Indian bowling is the weak link in the team and
there is scope for a bowler, capable of taking wickets consistently,
particularly on the featherbed wickets at home, to squeeze into the
squad. The season's highest wicket taker with 37 wickets, Dodda Ganesh
was overlooked but the second and third highest wicket takers Ashish
Nehra (36) and Debasish Mohanty (35) got the nod, first into the
probables list and then into the touring squad. And while Harbhajan is
now in the category of certainty when it comes to the Indian team, it
is interesting to note that he took 28 wickets at 13.96 apiece. Rakesh
Patel, who with 34 wickets was one of the stars of Baroda's triumph,
was summoned to the camp for the probables.
So players who do well around the domestic circuit need not despair.
Obviously the selectors make a note of their performances and besides
the classy cricketers, they do not totally ignore the form players too.