Avenues for experiment still open for India

Is India a better one-day side or a Test side? Going by the latest ICC tables, one can hardly get a conclusive reply to that query. The Test rankings have India sixth in the table, while the ODI ratings have India in fifth place.

Promoting Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif in the order, keeping alive the search for an all-rounder by giving Sehwag more bowling, the captain also keeping the options open for turning his arm over more than he is doing these days - all these are possible experiments.

The fact remains that the team has had mixed results in both forms of the game. The triumph in the NatWest Trophy in England and the joint-champions tag in the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka are notable achievements. But they have been reverses in various competitions, especially abroad. Besides, the irritating habit of faltering at the final hurdle continues, with the NatWest Trophy being an exception. On the Test front, India has had five victories abroad in the last two years, but a series triumph outside the subcontinent continues to be elusive after more than 16 years, even as the home record continues to be impressive.

The debate about whether India is a better one-day or Test side may continue, but there is little doubt that with the World Cup a little over three months away, the emphasis these days is, not unexpectedly, more on the team's performance in the limited-overs version. Seven one-day internationals against the West Indies followed by another similar round in New Zealand is perhaps the best way to prepare for the big event. The Indians have just two more Test matches against New Zealand to be played before the World Cup, and the focus will increasingly be on the one-day team.

Perhaps then the time is ripe to try out a few experiments without damaging the basic team structure, and it was good to see some steps being taken towards this direction in the first match against the West Indies at Jamshedpur, in the absence of Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar. The promotion of Ajit Agarkar to number three and the inclusion of Jai P Yadav in place of Dinesh Mongia are to be welcomed. The search for a genuine all-rounder continues, and if the selectors, backed by the team management, succeed in finding one before the World Cup, such experiments have to be carried out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, goes the saying, and bold and adventurous steps need to be taken. Such an approach is bound to pay off in the long term.

At the moment, the best man to fill the all-rounder slot would seem to be Virender Sehwag. The manner in which he bowled in the vital tension-packed overs towards the end of the Champions Trophy semifinal against South Africa marked him out as one to back for that role. His off-spinners, low in trajectory and slow through the air, are difficult to hit, much as batsmen found it hard to play slog-shots against Kris Srikkanth's slow spinners some 15 years ago. The immense value of Sehwag's bowling was again proved against the West Indies at Jamshedpur on Wednesday, and it was only when he erred in giving the ball air that he was hit.

I still remember the venturesome West Indian batsmen, eager to get on with their strokes, getting impatient with Bishen Bedi's ultra-slow spinners at Chepauk in January 1967. There are times when slow bowling can prove to be a tricky proposition, even one fraught with danger, especially in limited-overs cricket. Can one forget Tendulkar, with his deadly spin cocktail, restricting the South Africans to just three runs in the last over of the Hero Cup semifinal at Calcutta in 1993, with the visitors requiring just six to win? Under the circumstances, then, Sehwag should be encouraged to bowl more than just a few overs, and it was good to see him get a full quota on Wednesday ­ the only Indian bowler to send down 10 overs, and deservedly so, one might add.

With the selectors having decided that Rahul Dravid will keep wickets in the mega-event, the nucleus of the World Cup side is already in place, and it only remains to try out various combinations and permutations from among the players already in the fray. Promoting Yuveraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif in the order, keeping alive the search for an all-rounder by giving Sehwag more bowling, the captain also keeping the options open for turning his arm over more than he is doing these days - all these are possible experiments.

The issue of Tendulkar coming back to the opening slot may not be a closed chapter, and this is one more idea that could be given serious thought, if the team management is so inclined. Also, on South African pitches, the accent will have to be on pace bowling, and a decision has to be taken as to whether there will be place for only one specialist spinner in the final 11. A decision will also have to be taken about Javagal Srinath, and whether he will continue to be useful to the squad in South Africa. It is interesting to note that even with Zaheer absent, Srinath was not played at Jamshedpur on Wednesday.

Brijesh Patel and his co-selectors, as well as John Wright and Sourav Ganguly, will have a lot of analysing to do over the next couple of months. Fortunately, they have enough opportunities to collect relevant data and reach a consensus on what would be best for an Indian team that is making a serious challenge to regain the trophy after 20 years.