Bring Back Jumbo

The Indian Cricket Team has returned home empty handed; not for the first time though; albeit this time after a decent show in the Malay Islands. "Decent" because for most part of the tournament the team found itself on the wrong side of the Rain Gods. Duckworth and Lewis' complex calculations did them in in the first match; So did they in their second outing as well. Lara gifted them the third and in the fourth, a fiery antipodean dragon spat fire and reduced the Men in Blue to unrecognizable ember.

Experimenting with the team combinations and batting order is not a bad idea – but to do that without letup doesn't augur well for the team in the long run. Using Irfan Pathan as a pinch hitter at first-wicket down might work well as a one-off strategy – but continued pressure on the 21 year old – whose primary job is to trade his skills with the red cherry – to make his bat do the talking has clearly taken its toll on the young lad who sometime back was being celebrated as India's answer to a long and seemingly unending search for a bowling all rounder since Kapil Dev hung his boots in 1994.

The enormous clout that Emotion Quotient still enjoys with the Indian Cricket selectors has come to the fore once again. Pathan, in spite of indifferent form, makes the Champions Trophy team while Sreesanth, promising spells of bowling notwithstanding, finds himself in the cold for the ICC event. How does Greg Chappell explain this atypical decision by the selectors when he has always claimed to be an uncompromising advocate of performance-based selection? The implications of this selection blunder are far-reaching. Sreesanth's confidence is bound to take a downward spiral and Pathan, who in all probability will be cooling his heels in the pavilion during the Champions trophy, will also feel the negative impacts of being the 12th man for too long. This is definitely a lose-lose situation and a chance squandered to rejuvenate both of them. The selectors could have patted themselves on their back if Sreesanth had been given Pathan's place in the team and Pathan given a much-needed break to consult some specialist in swing bowling to bring back the old magic.

Now aren't we deviating from the topic of discussion? No, definitely not. For the uninitiated, this essay seeks to delineate the gross inconsistencies in the selection policies of the Indian Selectors and its direct reflection on the performances of the Indian Team by exemplifying Kumble's case.

For instance, take the India Vs Australia contest which was a virtual semifinal – The bowlers did a great job in restricting the Aussies to 213 (though our bowlers have yet to learn to clean up the tail) but the impudence of the batsmen sans 'my-Leicester-form-is-continuing' Mongia showed up in the course of the shoddy batting display. Mongia played a chanceless innings but unfortunately was left lurking at the non-strikers' end as he ran out of partners. It is in these kind of situations that Kumble's absence is keenly felt. That his bowling adds teeth to the Indian Bowling line-up is an incontrovertible fact; but his batting is an intangible which is often overlooked. The smiling assassin is no mug with the bat and is capable of putting up a solid and dour display with the willow whenever required.

Talking of India's rain-hit match against WI, Dravid can definitely blame ill-luck for losing after having piled up a 300+ score. The main reason for their loss was the inability of the inexperienced pace men to stem the flow of runs from the broad blades of the marauding Caribbean batters during the Power Play overs. The presence of Kumble in those circumstances would have been handy in checking the fusillade launched by the West Indian top-order.

Also, with the World Cup in mind it is imperative of the selectors to find a core group of around two dozen who would stand a chance to play in the Caribbean Islands, come March 2007. And it definitely should include Kumble. The selectors can't keep coming out with statements like "We know when to bring Kumble in" and "Kumble has been rested" when the team needs him badly. After all, once he superannuates out of the game, he will be forced to take rest in the cozy comfort of his Bangalore residence. Why give unsolicited rest to an important player when he is raring to take the field?

Also with the pitches in West Indies slowing down over the years, Kumble will definitely prove to be a handful for the opponents during the World Cup, as was evident during the recent Test Series there. I really feel the selectors are erring by keeping the war-horse in the paddock a bit too long. Further Kumble, with truckloads of experience behind him, will have a sublime influence on the new chaps in the team; His knack of reading the pitches will help the think-tank in selecting the eleven for a match and his never-say-die attitude and insatiable hunger for success will help lift the overall morale of a side which has been starved of a ODI series' win for sometime now.

BRING BACK JUMBO... Bring back Jumbo....

Are the selectors listening? I suspect not... They have feigned to be deaf all this while and there is no reason why they wont continue to do so...