Indian cricket begins its home season by showing disrespect to one of its most honourable torch-bearers. Rahul Dravid has always done everything asked of him, including in the last five one-day games he played in. And now he has fallen prey to a whimsical hire and fire policy. I hope there are a few people feeling embarrassed by what they have done, because otherwise we are in for more bad news.

By picking Rahul Dravid for Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy, the selectors had sent out a clear signal that they were unhappy with the younger players. I don’t think they saw enough in five games to change that perception. Meanwhile, Dravid scored runs, played the role that was assigned to him and did nothing to suggest that he didn’t belong in a one-day game. So either the selectors were wrong to pick him last month or they are wrong to drop him now.

Maybe they were picking horses for courses hoping Dravid’s superior ability would be handy in South Africa. And maybe they have gone horses for courses again by picking free-striking nimble players in home conditions. If that is indeed true, and it seems obvious, it is sending a terrible signal to the young guns in the squad; that it is okay to play only in favourable conditions and that you don’t really need to learn how to play elsewhere. I worry about a system that encourages such thought and devalues superior all-round players.

... contd.