From: mohan@theta.mel.dms.CSIRO.AU (Mohan Krishnamoorthy)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: Indian team for 1st Test -- Discussion
Summary: why shastri is redundant to needs
Keywords: indian team selection
Date: 26 Jan 93 23:17:10 GMT
Organization: CSIRO, Div. of Mathematics & Statistics, Melbourne, Vic., AUSTRALI


Recently, there have been a few articles on the problems of selecting
the Indian team for the 1st test, due to the absence of Shastri.  These
were initiated by Bharat Rao, who felt that Shastri is perhaps being
missed badly through injury.

His feeling was that, without Shastri's presence, the result would be an
unbalanced team.  I don't think so.  Shastri is, IMO, a nowhere player,
sitting in some grey and ill-defined area somewhere between specialist
batsman and allrounder.  This is so (IMO) because, he has not turned in a
single decent performance with the ball in the last few years to warrant
his characterization as an allrounder.  Many a time in the last few
years, he has actually CONFESSED openly to a TOTAL lack of confidence in
his bowling.  It happened when he was playing for Glamorgan.  It happened
when India was touring England.  It happened last year in Australia.  So,
to recognize him as a bowler, capable of bowling well to take wickets,
would be incorrect.  He is, AT BEST, a batsman who can bowl a bit.

Couple the above with his disruptive, non-cooperationist attitude, his
indifferent and nonchalant aloofness on the field and his inept fielding, 
and you get what is best described as a cricketing liability.

A player is not a good team man MERELY because of his scores.  If that
is the ONLY criterion, Shastri should play in the team as the opener. 
However, his form is erratic;  his application has been found lacking on
several occasions;  and his uppitty attitude is a severe handicap to
team-spirit.  In the light of the above, the selectors should look at his
injury as a blessing in disguise.  It is necessary to now experiment with
some new formations on a home tour in the natural absence of Shastri.

Still, Bharat poses a valid question on the possible composition of the
team for the 1st test.

His alternatives (and the resulting worries) in the absence of Shastri,
are:

. "...go with 5 bowlers and 5 bats plus More (why not Yadav???),
  and use Prabhakar to open the batting!!  Thats just great -- we
  ask the most consistent bowler overthe last two series to
  opne both the batting and bowling -- a good way to burn him out...

. or go in with only 4 bowlers..  Just whhat we need -- have Kapil
  bowl another 30-40 overs/inning and blow his career to pieces.."

In either of these, he added, a further problem would be that,
regardless of the permutation, we would have only ONE grafter in the
top 7 (Amre).

All of the above are not really true.  Lets consider the following
permutation which, for some reason, has not been considered.

Kambli
Raman
Amre
Azhar
Tendulkar
Kapil
Prabhakar
More
Kumble
Chauhan
Srinath

Kambli is good enough to open.  In fact, I think he will make a good
test opener.  This team (a very probable) one, would have 5 good and
capable bats, 2 real allrounders, 3 bowlers and More.  It also boasts 
of 2 grafters (Amre and Raman, in that order) in the first 7 -- IMO,
Raman can be considered more of a grafter than a `flasher'.

An alternative would be, as Bharat has already suggested, to promote
Prabhakar, the allrounder to open the innings.  This would get someone
like Kambli in at 1 down.  Although, this would put enormous pressure on
Prabhakar, it is still workable.  After all, if Shastri were a good and
consistent bowler (which he obviously is not) would he not be under a
similar `pressure'?  Would Shastri therefore, by Bharat's own admission,
be under risk of a `burn out' if he were to open?  In any case, it is not
as though Prabhakar is shirking away from that responsibility.  If
anything, he has actually been asking to open the batting for quite a
long time now.  I am not in favour of such an option as I believe it is
necessary for a strong team to have real openers and not pretenders. 
Still, for the record, this team would be:

Raman
Prabhakar
Kambli
Azhar
Tendulkar
Amre
Kapil
More
Kumble
Chauhan
Srinath

I believe the team is better off without Shastri.  It will have real
bowlers, real batsmen, real fielders, real team spirit and less
disruptive influences.

For the next test, I`d definitely like to see Maninder in the team.  
Reports I have heard seem to suggest that he is really on song and that
he is bowling much better than he has, ever before.  He is definitely 
bowling better than any other spinner around -- bar Kumble, who has
apparently developed into a quality spinner oozing confidence on the
RSA tour.

/Mohan 

-------
Mohan Krishnamoorthy, CSIRO, Division of Maths and Stats,
Private Bag 10, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia.
Phone: (Off) +61 3 542 2263;  (Res): +61 3 543 4248
Fax:   +61 3 542 2474; 	      email: mohan@mel.dms.CSIRO.AU
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket