Four questions for India's selectors

The big three
Phasing out Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid is expected to be the moot point, and the selectors need to decide what direction to take. The clamour for youth has turned louder, especially after the World Twenty20 win in South Africa, and the selectors realise that giving in will allow them to groom a young and athletic side for the future.

The most logical option seems to be to play two of the three per game, resting the third on a rotation basis, but it's a move that's unlikely to be approved unanimously. Leaving Sachin Tendulkar out may be too thorny an issue for the selectors to handle; his scintillating one-day form - he has averaged 47.55 since June this year, with eight half-centuries - also works in his favour, as does the fact that he's tipped to be offered the Test captaincy.

Sourav Ganguly, averaging 40.12, with six fifties, since June, doesn't have similar leeway but his bowling, some selectors feel, adds an extra dimension to the side. However, the one whose spot is most under threat is Dravid, who has struggled in his last ten ODIs, with an average of 8.88.

Dravid has reached double figures on just three occasions, and missed out on the final one-dayer against Australia in Mumbai, where he was replaced by Dinesh Karthik. With promising middle-order batsmen like S Badrinath and Rohit Sharma pushing for slots, the selectors, it is understood, are inclined to "rest" Dravid, for the opening two matches at least.

The Test captaincy
The other big announcement concerns the Test captaincy - though the selectors have decided to defer that a bit. When the moment arrives, it is widely expected to be a two-horse race featuring Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Tendulkar. A two-captain policy, one for Tests and the other for the shorter formats, is unprecedented in India but the chances of Tendulkar being given another shot at the job, one that he last held in 2000, look increasingly likely at the moment.

With a big home series against Pakistan and an equally important away assignment in Australia coming up, the selectors might decide to offer the reins to the most experienced hand in Indian cricket. Tendulkar's Test captaincy record, spread over two terms, is a woeful one - he has won just four of 25 Tests - but the respect he commands from the entire side, and his talismanic value, would work in his favour. The selectors have three other options in front of them - India's winning-est captain, Ganguly, legspinner Anil Kumble, and middle-order batsman VVS Laxman - but these seem to be candidates only on paper.

Opening gambit
If Tendulkar and Ganguly keep their places, as is expected, it would be interesting to see which other opening options are considered. A few cracking cameos in the World Twenty20 gave Virender Sehwag an opening, but he faces stiff competition from his Delhi team-mate Gautam Gambhir. Robin Uthappa is the other opener in the fray but his ability to adjust to the middle order, and to up the ante when the field is spread out, should win him a place in any case.

How to spin?
The England tour saw the emergence of Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla as India's new spin-combination but a lot has changed since. Both are fighting for spots with a couple of experienced hands, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik, who have brought themselves back into the picture. Harbhajan has used the Twenty20 format to resurrect his one-day career while Kartik, varying his pace and length, turned in one fine spell after another against Australia.

Chawla, a revelation in the one-dayers in England, has recently returned from injury, but it will be surprising if the selectors recall him straight away. Powar was India's best bowler in the ODI series against England but insipid in the first three games against Australia. He might need to do more, with both ball and fitness, to regain his berth. A few months ago the Indian spin cupboard appeared bare; suddenly, it seems, the selectors are spoilt for choice.