Enigmatic variations in team composition

If Indian cricketers can do nothing else, they can throw a spanner in the works with a regularity that would confound the most diabolical of grease monkeys. With the team struggling not a little to counter the conditions - and cricketers - on tour in England, selection has been a burning issue throughout, and it is likely to remain so for the entirety of the tour. But with the middle order - favourite tinkering site for most team managements - as full and settled as it has been in recent years, the Indian think-tank has turned attention to other departments.

At a press conference at the end of the Trent Bridge Test, where India eked out a face-saving draw to keep the series alive, skipper Sourav Ganguly admitted that all was not well. At his candid best, Ganguly said, "At some point we will have to look at other options in the bowling department." This was in response to a pointed question that inquired whether the captain thought the current bowling attack capable of taking 20 wickets to win a Test.

With seamers Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan going for runs by the bushel, and only the latter looking even remotely penetrative, it seems more and more likely that young Tinu Yohannan will get a game this series. That prospect appeared unlikely at best when this tour got under way. But in this case, Yohannan might just sneak in on the back of his colleagues' performances. Nehra has just five wickets at an average of over 60 and a strike-rate of a wicket per 100 balls, so one suspects the Delhi left-arm seamer, seldom fully fit, will be relegated to the sidelines for the third Test at Headingley.

Agarkar and Zaheer Khan have admittedly fared a touch better than Nehra, but neither has managed to inspire much fear in the minds of the English batsmen. Both average more than 40 and have proved expensive to boot. Zaheer Khan will hold his place in the side thanks largely to the few short bursts of genuine pace and aggression he displayed both at Lord's and Trent Bridge, while Agarkar's batting, which has finally bloomed, will be a major plus when the management sit down to pick the team for the third Test.

Putting the pace conundrum aside, there is the spinning riddle. Should India go with the raw yet promising Harbhajan Singh, or opt for the experienced Anil Kumble? Neither has distinguished himself abroad, but India will certainly have to play one spinner. After all, at a time when seamers are struggling, the captain must bank on his traditional strength to tide over the rough spots. If nothing else, the presence of spinners should help curtail the flow of runs, keep one end tied down for periods of time, and perhaps force the mistake. As a bonus, a spinner will also help the slow over-rate, which cost the Indians 40 percent of their match fee at Trent Bridge!

But all said and done, the bowling is not the trickiest of puzzles for the team management to solve. It is at the top of the batting order that the Indians traditionally struggle abroad. In the two Tests thus far, the best buffer Rahul Dravid has had at number three is 61 runs, and that was in the second innings of the Lord's Test. The other three innings have yielded "partnerships" of 2, 6 and 0 - hardly the stuff of which sterling opening pairs are made.

While Virender Sehwag has settled perfectly into his role, despite conditions being less than conducive to his batting style, the other end has proved to be shaky. Jaffer, with scores of 1, 53, 0 and 5, has admittedly been unlucky with more than one decision. Yet one struggles to see him retain his place in the side. Before the Indians traveled to Essex for their warm-up match, there was talk that Jaffer would get another go, given that he had made scores of 51 and 86 in the West Indies just two Tests before the England tour. But Shiv Sunder Das seems to have put paid to Jaffer's hopes. Making 250 in the game against Essex, Das has made it extremely difficult for even the most fickle of selectors to not select him.

Or so we speculate. Not long ago, Zimbabwe toured India, and the hosts were yet again in search of an opening batsman to partner Das. Gautam Gambhir, Delhi's stylish left-hander, slammed a double-hundred in a Ranji trophy game before the start of the series and followed it up with 218 for the Board President's XI against Zimbabwe. Consecutive double hundreds in first-class matches, and yet the selectors looked right past him. What will they do this time around? Your guess is as good as mine, but it seems safe to say that Das will probably sleep a tad better than Jaffer in the week to come.