One of our newspapers reported that Wasim Jaffer was shocked when he heard he had been picked for India’s one-day team. I think ‘surprised’ might have been the word he was looking for, because ‘shocked’ was a feeling that sprang up everywhere else. I really do hope that Jaffer now gets a game, because picking him would be a waste of time otherwise.

You can see the logic behind his inclusion, though. India need a solid top order player to ensure the new ball doesn’t cause too much damage on responsive tracks. It remains to be seen, though, whether Jaffer, never hitherto considered for one-day cricket, is indeed that player. You would have thought that there were only two players in contention. If India needed another opener, and a bit of a dasher, Gautam Gambhir was the man, and if a calmer presence was considered essential, it had to be VVS Laxman. Indeed given that 16 were to be picked, it might have been both.

Laxman, like Kumble, tends to have his negatives projected rather more than his ability. Indeed, he is not the swiftest between wickets or down at the cover fence and in a side full of batsmen in form, or in routine 300 plus conditions, he would not be a strong contender. But India’s batting is in the doldrums, younger players are unable to move up the order and character, rather than agility, is the need of the hour.

When skills have to be prioritised, you discuss the most critical skill first and I fear that at the moment, it was sheer batting class that should have come first. Instead, we have now been told that Dinesh Kaarthick is a better one-day batsman too.

... contd.