Selectors' focus remains on youth
In picking the 20 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy to be held in Colombo next month, the selectors have underlined two things
Partab Ramchand
05-Aug-2002
In picking the 20 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy to be
held in Colombo next month, the selectors have underlined two
things. One, they believe that the present squad which won the
NatWest series in England last month is indeed the nucleus of
what could be the team for the World Cup. Secondly, in selecting
more young prospects and turning their back on Javagal Srinath,
they have shown that their focus remains clearly on youth.
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The Mysore Express has been a gallant performer for over a
decade, the best part of which period he spent as the spearhead
of the Indian attack. But he has been injury prone despite taking
rest by missing out on one-day competitions and is not getting
any younger. The series in the West Indies provided definitive
proof that the speedster, who will turn 33 this month, was over
the hill and this means that it unlikely that the selectors,
given the events of the last couple of months, will turn to him
again. One of the selectors in fact has been quoted as saying
categorically that Srinath does not fit into the scheme of
things.
In the meantime, thanks to projects like the MRF Pace Foundation,
and through it the exposure at the Australian Cricket Academy in
Adelaide, the young fast bowling hopefuls continue to grow and
the latest in the line is Lakshmipathi Balaji. The Chennai
Express has impressed with his speed, line, length, variety
and control. The tall lad has come up through the India A ranks
and recently toured South Africa with the side. At the moment, he
seems to be a fairly exciting prospect and the selectors have
done well in giving him the right breaks at the right time.
His is an example of talent and potential scoring a point over
statistics for his career figures are pretty modest 49 wickets
at an average of 27.26 in first class games and 22 wickets at
25.22 apiece in domestic one-day cricket. Even if he does not
make the final cut, Balaji will be encouraged by the fact that
the selectors have him in their books and that will be incentive
enough for him to keep doing his best. The young man, who turns
21 next month, is a genuine trier and in addition to his talent,
he has a good physique, fierce determination and the ideal
temperament for a budding fast bowler.
© CricInfo |
"The selectors had the 2003 World Cup in mind when choosing the
probables. All players on the squad which won the NatWest trophy
have been retained," Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the Board of
Control for Cricket in India was quoted to have said while
announcing the list.
That's the way it should be with the mega event only some six
months away. And there is an added reason for choosing a
particularly balanced outfit for the ICC Champions Trophy. After
all, India came so close to winning it two years ago at Nairobi
before losing to a Chris Cairns-inspired New Zealand.
Incidentally, that performance too was largely shaped by fresh
young players like Zaheer Khan, Vijay Dahiya and Yuvraj Singh.