Dravid’s return to ODI frame is not a surprise

He has no recent one-day numbers to go by but with great players you only look for clues. After a fairly lengthy struggle in Test cricket,Dravid now averages 64.2 from the time he got the century against England at Mohali—an innings some thought bought him some time. And in New Zealand he got runs everytime he went out to bat. It was in a relaxed state of mind therefore that he approached the IPL and,at the other end of the playing spectrum,he showed the ball could leave his bat quite sweetly. With players like Tendulkar,Dravid and Ganguly the only debate can be of form,not of ability and convinced of that the selectors have pressed the button.

There is an interesting parallel in international cricket. In 2005 after a poor Ashes series,and without setting the one-day series that followed on fire,Matthew Hayden was dropped from Australia’s one-day squad while still averaging 40. A year later he had forced his way back and as if to prove a point,he scored at 54.1 till his retirement. Again,like with Dravid,the selectors didn’t have numbers in their mind,not even age,merely an assurance that he was hitting the ball well again.

Clearly the fact that the Champions Trophy is being held in South Africa has had a bearing on the recall. Word has gone around the world that India’s flashy young guns don’t like the ball around their throats and the selectors have reacted to the expectation of more of the same. If I was a young man,say Rohit Sharma whose place Dravid has taken,I’d look in the mirror and ask hard questions of myself. If I represent the future and have just lost my place to someone 14 years older,the outlook couldn’t be too rosy.

Sharma isn’t exactly the new kid on the block having played 41 one day games for India,many of those at a pretty good batting position. In spite of that he averages a mere 24.8. By numbers alone he has been a disappointment but he is clearly a far better player than the numbers he has accumulated. There is still a buzz around him and I have little doubt that if he handles himself well,he could be a very fine player for India. He mentioned Yuvraj Singh and his early troubles in one of his interviews and that seems a fair comparison since there was a similar,if not greater,sense of anticipation around Yuvraj. But by the time he had got to 41 games Yuvraj was already averaging 29,five points is a significant difference,and had played some breathtaking innings.

In spite of that I am still bullish about Sharma. A lot of young players become better after small setbacks,after a reality punch,because it teaches them to understand themselves better. Certainly Yuvraj went on from there to become one of India’s greatest one-day players and if Sharma can create a good working relationship with the short pitched ball,he can go that far. From what I have seen of him,he isn’t frightened by it,merely confused about how to handle it. This break might give him the opportunity to work on it.

I believe therefore that the selectors have picked well. You must choose the best eleven at any time,fitness and form must be the dominant criteria,and only all things being equal do you go for the younger man. Sharma has handed his place to Dravid,now he must seek to take it back.But while he does that he might want to observe Dravid carefully!