In picking the 20 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy to beheld in Colombo next month, the selectors have underlined twothings
Partab Ramchand05-Aug-2002In picking the 20 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy to beheld in Colombo next month, the selectors have underlined twothings. One, they believe that the present squad which won theNatWest series in England last month is indeed the nucleus ofwhat could be the team for the World Cup. Secondly, in selectingmore young prospects and turning their back on Javagal Srinath,they have shown that their focus remains clearly on youth.
© CricInfoThere is little doubt that while the experienced stars had theirrole to play in the NatWest triumph, the final victory waslargely shaped by youngsters in the person of Mohammad Kaif andYuvraj Singh. And with the country possessing many talented youththanks to exposure through the India A and India Under-19 ranks,it is time to look ahead. Turning back to Srinath, who made itclear that he was only retiring from Test cricket and wasavailable for one-day matches, would in the circumstances havebeen a retrograde step.The has been a gallant performer for over adecade, the best part of which period he spent as the spearheadof the Indian attack. But he has been injury prone despite takingrest by missing out on one-day competitions and is not gettingany younger. The series in the West Indies provided definitiveproof that the speedster, who will turn 33 this month, was overthe hill and this means that it unlikely that the selectors,given the events of the last couple of months, will turn to himagain. One of the selectors in fact has been quoted as sayingcategorically that Srinath does not fit into the scheme ofthings.In the meantime, thanks to projects like the MRF Pace Foundation,and through it the exposure at the Australian Cricket Academy inAdelaide, the young fast bowling hopefuls continue to grow andthe latest in the line is Lakshmipathi Balaji. The has impressed with his speed, line, length, varietyand control. The tall lad has come up through the India A ranksand recently toured South Africa with the side. At the moment, heseems to be a fairly exciting prospect and the selectors havedone well in giving him the right breaks at the right time.His is an example of talent and potential scoring a point overstatistics for his career figures are pretty modest 49 wicketsat an average of 27.26 in first class games and 22 wickets at25.22 apiece in domestic one-day cricket. Even if he does notmake the final cut, Balaji will be encouraged by the fact thatthe selectors have him in their books and that will be incentiveenough for him to keep doing his best. The young man, who turns21 next month, is a genuine trier and in addition to his talent,he has a good physique, fierce determination and the idealtemperament for a budding fast bowler.
© CricInfoIt is also good to see Murali Kartik among the probables. Besidesbeing gifted, he is in form, and is a very competitive cricketerwho can be groomed into a good utility player, particularly inthe limited overs version. First and foremost though, he is aleft-arm spinner and his inclusion will help keep Anil Kumble andHarbhajan Singh on their toes. No one should be able to take hisposition for granted and the fact that the Railways all-rounderis close to selection can only serve to spur Kumble and Harbhajanto try that much harder.”The selectors had the 2003 World Cup in mind when choosing theprobables. All players on the squad which won the NatWest trophyhave been retained,” Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the Board ofControl for Cricket in India was quoted to have said whileannouncing the list.That’s the way it should be with the mega event only some sixmonths away. And there is an added reason for choosing aparticularly balanced outfit for the ICC Champions Trophy. Afterall, India came so close to winning it two years ago at Nairobibefore losing to a Chris Cairns-inspired New Zealand.Incidentally, that performance too was largely shaped by freshyoung players like Zaheer Khan, Vijay Dahiya and Yuvraj Singh.