Opening blues for Team India

Gautam Gambhir has been shown the door, but failure against Australia can lead to Sehwag’s ouster too.

Not so long ago, the incumbent opening pair’s performance was considered as one of the chief reasons why India made it to the top spot in Test rankings. On one end was the insanely talented maverick who changed the way the openers looked at the prospect of facing the new ball. Partnering him was his best friend and the man touted as India’s new wall. The fire and ice combo of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag at the top of the order was a settled deal and the duo seemed destined for greatness.

Things are much different now. Both suffered a slump in form but their reputation demanded a longer rope from the selectors. Their form, however, refused to improve and the lean patch continued to get leaner. After the Test series loss to England, the voices calling for a change in personnel at the top of the order were too loud to ignore and Gambhir was made the casualty. A bad series against Australia and Sehwag, who was recently dropped from the ODI squad, too will find himself in the cold.

But it wasn’t a straightforward decision for the selectors. The fact that names of former Test discards like Wasim Jaffer and Murali Vijay kept cropping up shows the shallowness of the bench. Eventually, keeping an eye on the future, Vijay and Gambhir’s Delhi teammate Shikhar Dhawan made the cut for the first two Tests against Australia.

Speaking strictly in terms of performance, one feels that Jaffer should consider himself unlucky. After scoring 835 runs at 75.9, including a century in the final, to lead his side to its 40th Ranji title, the Mumbai opener scored an unbeaten century and a polished 80 in the just concluded Irani trophy. The only thing that could have gone against the 34 year old is his age and by overlooking him, Sandeep Patil and Co have made it clear that they are building a team for the future.

But keeping the current form of Aussie quicks and a tough away tour of South Africa in December in mind, is the immediate future secure?

Vijay, who is most likely to feature in the starting XI in Chennai, has a Test century against Australia against his name but his recent performance graph has more downs that ups. After failing in the Test series against West Indies, where he played his last international game, Vijay endured a poor Ranji campaign (138 runs at 17.25 with a best of 42) and his selection for the Rest of India team also raised a few eyebrows. But a timely hundred in the Irani Trophy and lack of options tilted the scales in favour of the Tamil Nadu opener.

A timely century in Irani Trophy after a cold domestic season for Murali Vijay led to his selection.

Shikhar Dhawan, on the other hand, has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit and it was about time that he was rewarded with a spot in the Test squad. The aggressive left hander, with 461 runs in the Ranji competition, has had a fruitful season so far and it will be interesting to see how he performs on the demanding terrains of Test cricket.

Apart from the aforementioned names, there are very few who have made the selectors sit up and take notice. Another Delhi lad and former under-19 skipper, Unmukt Chand, impressed one and all with his temperament and stroke-making ability in Australia but his average show in the domestic scene suggests that he is still far from being a complete product . A young opener from Punjab, Jiwanjot Singh, ended up as the top run getter in Ranji Trophy but fast-tracking him to Test cricket on the basis of just one season won’t be a wise decision.

And if everything fails, the team management can go back to their favourite errand boy, Ajinkya Rahane. As an opener, at number 3 slot, in the lower middle order or a permanent feature on the bench, Rahane has been in the squad for quite some time now but his role in the team is still not clearly defined. Don’t be surprised if Mahendra Singh Dhoni, given his penchant for springing surprises, decides to send Rahane along with Sehwag to face Peter Siddle and Co come 22nd February.