The selectors have picked the ideal team for the South Africa tri-series

To be a National selector, one must first of all have a thick hide. This helps a great deal in warding off the generally unfair criticism that is traditionally hurled at them. It is not possible to please everyone but it is always easy to poke holes in the selectors' arguments. One selector told me years ago that he had grown immune to criticism. "I suggest what I believe is right; whatever the critics may say after that does not bother me for I know I have done my job as honestly as I can."

Selectors are a much maligned lot. I have always tried to take things from their viewpoint and generally have come to the conclusion that most of the criticism against them is unwarranted and unfair. To be sure, generally about 12 players pick themselves. It is the selection of the remaining three or four fringe players that invites all the selector bashing.

Viewed from any angle, there should not be much of selector bashing when analysing the latest team they have picked for the one day tri-series in South Africa ­ incidentally the last squad the present quintet has picked. By the time the team for the three match Test series is selected, a new national selection committee will be in place, following the BCCI AGM on September 29.

Of particular attention is the selection of Deep Das Gupta. The young Bengal stumper has been in the news for some time for the right reasons. Over the last season, he has made giant strides towards earning the India cap and national recognition was round the corner. That it has come sooner rather than later is a feather in the selectors' caps. With Sameer Dighe, never a first rate wicketkeeper, having a poor tour of Sri Lanka, a replacement was mandatory. Ideally, with an eye on the future, it should have been Das Gupta or Ajay Ratra. Full marks then to the selectors on this score. And I would also give full marks to them for making it clear to Javagal Srinath that he cannot pick and choose the matches he wants to play. The country needs his experience in both Tests and ODIs.

I am not very sure though of the wisdom of selecting Shiv Sundar Das. As far as I am concerned, he has the correct technique and temperament for Test cricket and it may be a dangerous move in fielding him in the shorter version of the game. Players with the special skills required for Test cricket alone are getting rarer and rarer and Das is one of these. I agree with Chandu Borde's view that he is in form and playing in the one day series will give a taste of the environment for Das is a certainty for the Test squad. But with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Shewag already there as openers, where does Das fit in the scheme of things? Only in the middle order, one can assume and I am not altogether comfortable with a specialist opener like Das going down the order and being forced to have a bash around the 40th over of the innings. In the long run, Das could serve the cause of Indian cricket better by being preserved for Test cricket.

There is really little else to analyse about the squad. Hemang Badani did not make the most of the chances that came his way but it is good to see him in the stand-byes. That should be a source of encouragement for him for he certainly has a future. The axing, at last, of Ajit Agarkar is to be welcomed. If the batting is strong, the bowling too gives enough room for optimism. Four pacemen and two spinners plus the back up bowlers is just the kind of attack any captain could ask for. And for once, Sourav Ganguly has a full strength team at his disposal ­ provided all the suspects pass the fitness tests. With this squad, one feels that India has a chance of winning the tri-series. But then again, one of the opposing teams is South Africa!