Dinesh Karthik and dilemma at the selection table - Who will make it to the XI?

They say a problem of plenty is a good problem to have. When all batsmen in the squad are staking a claim for a place in the starting XI, they would have us believe that it is a headache the selectors like, nay, want to have. What complete and utter rubbish. As a selector, I imagine there’s nothing more annoying than spending hours deliberating, fighting and asking that guy to pass the biscuits, picking the best combination and then having the reserve batsman play a match-winning innings. 12 players, 11 spots, you do the maths.

The Indian bowlers got taken to the cleaners, the Indian openers failed to put on a substantial partnership, Virat Kohli scored a wonderfully paced century and MS Dhoni batted too low. Yesterday’s warm-up game followed the usual script, well almost. Dinesh Karthik did not play the most eye catching innings, that accolade surely goes to Sanath Jayasuriya Kusal Janith Perera. What he did however, was play the ideal knock by a number 6, scoring quickly early on without taking too many risks and then finishing off the game, making 102 richly deserved runs, and on his birthday too.

The only problem is that Karthik was considered the reserve batsman and/or keeper. Dhawan, Vijay, Kohli, Rohit, Dhoni, Raina, Jadeja/Pathan were thought to comprise the best top 7. All that changed yesterday; surely Karthik must be seriously considered as a frontline batsman after that knock. It is tough to ignore a player in that sort of form, and if he performs well in the next warm-up, he should force his way into the starting XI. The question then is, who misses out? The best laid plans of mice and men oft go a-gley; it seems to be one of those instances.

By now, Virat Kohli probably has his name printed beforehand on every team sheet. Even juggling monkeys on tricycles would not consider dropping him, and I’d like to give the team management more credit than that. MS Dhoni is the captain, he may bat too low for someone of his ability, but he isn’t going anywhere either. Suresh Raina has done enough to solidify his place in the team and Rohit Sharma is protected by the fact that although some of his innings last as long as a power nap, he can bat like a dream. That leaves us with Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay and the elusive number 7 batsman.

Let’s deal with the number 7 batsman first, one of Irfan Pathan or Ravindra Jadeja. Pathan seems the better bet given the fact that he bowls left-arm medium and has the ability to get exaggerated swing. Jadeja has the moniker of ‘Sir’, is a wonderful fielder and has developed into a good limited overs bowler with his left-arm spin. On the batting front, Pathan seems to be the better batsman but Jadeja has produced a number of eye-catching displays with bat off late. With the new ODI rules, surely one of them must play so that Dhoni has 5 bowlers to call upon.

Back to the openers then; it may seem harsh given that both of them are making comebacks, but it appears as if one of them must go if Karthik is to play. Will it be Shikhar Dhawan, he of the impressive moustache and flowing stroke-play, or Murali Vijay, the man from Chennai who can tell a story with his bat if he so chooses? That is a difficult decision to make; perhaps the final warm-up will be a shoot-out between the two?

There are some tough calls to take, will Karthik play? If so, which of the openers will miss out? Will it be Jadeja or Pathan? There is a tournament to be won, better pass those biscuits then.