The Paper Round

The opening conundrum, and cricketers campaigning

Wisden Cricinfo staff

April 12, 2004

Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to report today:

Sourav Ganguly: creating problems at the top? © AFP

Rusi Surti, the former Indian player, has lashed out at Sourav Ganguly for his decision to play in the third Test at Rawalpindi and alter a settled opening combination. According to Mid Day, Surti says: "The team's interests should always take precedence over that of individuals, even if the individual happens to be the captain. There's no way Ganguly can claim he is fit for the match ... he could barely stand up after he fell awkwardly in the one-day match at Lahore. I just can't see how he can be fit so soon."

Commenting on the move to drop Aakash Chopra, Surti says: "It is most unfair on Chopra who, along with Virender Sehwag, makes the best opening pair India have had for a long time."

Surti isn't the first former cricketer to find fault with the decision. Bishan Bedi, who isn't exactly Ganguly's greatest fan, suggests that Ganguly himself lead from the front and open the batting. Press Trust of India quotes him as saying: "If Ganguly is to come back into the side ... he should find a place on merit. Ganguly has opened in one-dayers for long and he should not hesitate to open the innings in this Test."

* * *

With elections around the corner in India, political parties are keen to cash in on the goodwill generated by the Indian players on the tour to Pakistan. Virender Sehwag, among the biggest success stories of the series, had already been roped in by the Bharitiya Janata party (BJP) to campaign in Delhi, but The Asian Age reports that Arun Jaitley, the union law minister and president of the Delhi District Cricket Association, threw a spanner in the works when he asked Sehwag - and all current cricketers - to refrain from actively supporting a political party. This means that Sahib Singh Verma, the current BJP member of Parliament from Delhi, would have to satisfy himself with only a felicitation function for Sehwag.

* * *

Yousuf Youhana has called for the Pakistan board to offer central contracts to players to avoid burnouts and repeated injuries. According to The News, Youhana explains that lack of contracts meant that cricketers often played in the English county season to earn more money. "We have to protect our bowlers in particular. I am not in favour of allowing the bowlers to go and play in county cricket because it means extra workload for them in the year. But because of the money they have to go. I would also go if offered a contract by any county in England." The solution, he says, lies in the board offering enough compensation to the players so that they didn't need to play in England.

* * *

The Test series may be intriguingly poised at one match apiece, but surprisingly, the crowds are still staying away. Dawn reports that the sale of tickets, which started on Sunday, drew a poor response, with none of the long queues outside counters that were seen before the one-day international which was hosted here.

© Cricinfo

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