Dasgupta must be replaced with Ratra

Events in the first Test, which the Indians managed to draw after being in danger of following on, have driven home some points which the team management would do well to ponder over. One is that Deep Dasgupta has no place in the side. I have said this before but the selectors' baffling policy of continuing to pick him forces me to repeat myself. Dasgupta is lucky to even be in the squad and it is time he is given the status of a tourist.

The first inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the first Test between India and the West Indies is that the series is a contest between two mediocre, evenly matched sides, fairly strong in batting but short in bowling. One serious mistake by either team could well cost them the series. The first Test at Guyana offered shades of the last rubber in the Caribbean five years ago and more particularly of Bridgetown where one shocking batting collapse - three hours of madness as it was rightly called - cost India the series.

Bourda in Georgetown with its inclement weather and batting friendly pitches is not exactly representative of cricketing conditions in the West Indies. And that is one thing the Indians would do well to remember. The fact that all six matches between the two countries played at this venue over half a century have ended in draws goes against the overall record of the Indians in the Caribbean which boasts of only two victories against 14 losses.

It is the faster and bouncier pitches as Bridgetown, Kingston and Antigua that have time and again proved to be the bane of Indian teams in the past and the encounters at these venues are still ahead. The crumb of comfort for the visitors is that at Port of Spain, the venue of the second Test, they have given as good as they have got, registering their only two victories in the West Indies.

Events in the first Test, which the Indians managed to draw after being in danger of following on, have driven home some points which the team management would do well to ponder over. One is that Deep Dasgupta has no place in the side. I have said this before but the selectors' baffling policy of continuing to pick him forces me to repeat myself. Dasgupta is lucky to even be in the squad and it is time he is given the status of a tourist.

Ajay Ratra has waited long enough for his Test cap and he should not be asked to wait any longer. Sanjay Bangar, an opening bat for Ranji Trophy champions Railways, should be asked to go in first with Shiv Sundar Das, who proved that while he is not a commanding type of batsman, he still remains one whose wicket has to be prised out.

The mindless shuffling of Rahul Dravid in the batting order should stop forthwith. The gallant warrior has been treated like a yo-yo for too long and the No 3 slot should be his by right from now on. With Sachin Tendulkar and Venkatsai Laxman to follow, Sourav Ganguly should be demoted to No 6, at least till he gains in confidence and till his batting average starts climbing up to the mid-forties again.

Ratra should come in at No 7 and this brings us nicely to the bowling that posed the bigger problem at Georgetown. Queries are bound to be raised when the opposition is allowed to recover from 44 for three to a total of 501. Javagal Srinath was a shade fortunate in getting those three wickets in his opening spell but there is no doubt that he is a skilled bowler who makes the most of his vast experience. On the evidence of the first Test, is Zaheer Khan though the right partner for him? The answer must be in the negative and fortunately there is a ready replacement in Ashish Nehra.

The spin bowling, traditionally Indian cricket's strength, was the cause of a bigger worry. That there is a day-and-night difference between the home and away record of Anil Kumble is painfully wellknown. But even going by this record, that has him averaging a little over 21 at home and around 40 away, the bowling of this experienced campaigner was a major disappointment. It is amazing how the country's No 1 strike bowler in the last decade with over 300 wickets in the bag is not able to improve on his record abroad. But he keeps his place on reputation if not on form and it can only he hoped that the return of Harbhjan Singh will inspire Kumble to bowl better.

The off-spinner will have, no doubt, recovered from the injury that kept him out of the first Test and he should take the place of Sarandeep Singh, who seemed quite overawed at being thrust all too suddenly into the thick of the action, though it must be said that his batting came as an unexpected bonus. Unfortunately, Sarandeep's primary role is that of a bowler and not that of a batsman.

The home team too could not have been totally satisfied with the showing at Bourda. The batting obviously hinges too much on Brian Lara, Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with Ramnaresh Sarwan displaying the promise of a couple of valuable knocks. For them too, the main worry is the bowling, but then it was always on the cards that their current pace trio would find it tough to bowl out the formidable Indian batting line up even once, let alone twice.

There were spells when Adam Sanford, Mervyn Dillon and Cameron Cuffy were hostile or when Nagamatoo needed watching. But this is not a quartet that the Indian batsmen would worry too much about. That said, of course, the bowlers were not helped by Hooper's overcautious approach that was quite puzzling given the fact that he had a total of 501 behind him.

Speaking of defensive tactics, Ganguly too was guilty of this. The captains adopting a 7-2 or 8-1 off side field ruined the game as a spectacle. If there was need for legislation to curb such restrictive or negative fields on the leg side, should there not be similar action taken to come down on such obnoxious tactics in the ostensible name of strategy - on the other side of the field?