Hope everyone is fit at the end of the 'fitness opera'

So after a lot of suspense and drama, much of which resembled a TV soap opera, the Indian team finally landed in South Africa on Monday. Whether the team does well or not in both the one-day tournament and the Test series to follow, it must be said that events leading up to the team's departure, especially in matters regarding selection and fitness, left much to be desired. It was certainly not the kind of ambience that a team would want to be embroiled in, before its departure for such an important tour.

The injuries to certain selected players, their subsequent withdrawal from the squad on grounds of fitness, the needless suspense in the Ashish Nehra case and skipper Sourav Ganguly demanding that his replacement be none other than Ajit Agarkar, were all events that must have affected the morale of the side. Ideally, a team should be selected, put through their paces at a physical fitness or training camp and then depart for the tour. This certainly develops a happy atmosphere and team spirit along the right lines and the team management would be in a good position to assess the side's strengths and weaknesses and take any necessary action. This time the selectors took the risk of picking certain players who it was not certain would be fit for the tour. Aware of the situation, they named five reserves. But then Agarkar did not even make the standbys list. So his inclusion certainly opens a Pandora's box.

From all accounts, the five selectors were for including either Debasish Mohanty or Rakesh Patel. Coach John Wright and Ganguly though insisted on Agarkar. Which brings us to the question: who should have the final say in the selection ­ the selectors, the captain or the coach. Perhaps the correct answer would be none of these, since it is the physio of the side who has the final say given the fitness problems of the team members recently. It must not be forgotten that besides VVS Laxman, Nehra and Zaheer Khan, who could not make the team, others like Javagal Srinath, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly too had to be put through the various tests by physio Andrew Leipus before they were declared fit, following consultations with the BCCI's medical adviser Anant Joshi. The latter, under the circumstances, has had to play an important role of late.

With so much cricket being played these days, fitness problems are bound to be there. And the Indian cricketers, always more prone to injuries than their counterparts in other countries, generally do have more than the average share of fitness problems. Little wonder then that the squad has a team physio and a medical adviser. These posts were unheard of even a decade or so ago. But there is no doubt that they have a very important role to play these days, what with one series being played almost immediately after another and one tour following another. It is imperative that cricket officials, the captain and the coach heed the recommendations of the doctor and the physical fitness expert. Wright put things in proper perspective when he said in a newspaper interview that he would respect the decision taken jointly by Joshi and Leipus.

"I am not competent to comment on the fitness aspect. I am sure Dr Joshi and Leipus will take a proper decision. I would only like to say that I don't want a single player to land in South Africa less than one hundred percent fit."

With the team having arrived in South Africa, we can only hope that every player is fit. For, to tackle South Africa on their home turf, that is the minimum that will be required. As it is, Ganguly is again without a team at full strength. Sure, Tendulkar, Kumble and Srinath are around and that will be heartening. But missing are Nehra, Zaheer and Laxman and the Indians will certainly miss the trio. Ganguly has never led a full strength Indian team for a year now. Unfortunately he will have to make do with a similar situation again. If it is any comfort for him, the Indian team has fared badly on the two previous visits and viewed against this background, any positive result will be a bonus.