The Hindu : Sport : Ishant Sharma in; R.P. Singh dropped

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Ishant Sharma in; R.P. Singh dropped

Nandita Sridhar

— PHOTO: PTI

MATCH FIT? Ishant Sharma sends down a few at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on Sunday, as Dav Whatmore (middle) and trainer Paul Chapman watch.

Ahmedabad: The clamour against India’s batting at Ahmedabad has drowned the reproach at the bowling, but the selectors have appropriately made the change by dropping R.P. Singh for the third Test at Kanpur. Ishant Sharma has been included in the squad that was announced on Sunday, and will make it to the 14 subject to passing the fitness test before the Kanpur Test.

Sharma’s inflamed toe and a finger injury kept him out of the first two Tests. Captain Anil Kumble, who strained his groin in Chennai, is not completely match fit. Off-spinner Ramesh Powar, who had featured in the One Day Internationals in the recent past, has been included in the 16 as a cover for Kumble.

Munaf Patel makes it to the 16, but will most likely miss out along with Powar, should both Kumble and Sharma be fit.

Surprise inclusions

The Indian bowling wears a look of uncertainty. Powar’s 25 wickets in 10 games in the domestic season — and his subsequent exclusion from the West Zone Duleep Trophy team — has lent little meaning to his inclusion here.

Kumble has managed just four wickets at 60.25, but Powar bowling in his place is a sight least assuring.

Patel’s inclusion has surprised as well, since he isn’t backed by performances. A mixed tri-series in Australia and perennial concerns with his fitness led to his being overlooked for the first two Tests.

R.P. Singh’s removal saves the bowling and fielding from compensating for his weariness, but the problems haven’t been ironed out. Sharma is equipped to defy the conditions at the Green Park, where the wicket is expected to offer turn. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan do not promise the same.

Sreesanth has struggled to get past his wordiness. At best, he bowls two or three good deliveries, before getting caught up in his own theatrics. It might appear unfair to drop Pathan after just a game, but his bowling has been dispirited. Batsmen facing him have managed leaves with the safety of minimal movement. There’s been little danger in facing him. It is his batting that’s carried him through.

India’s batting collapse has had little bearing on the selection. The one-off performance, though inexcusable, does not satisfactorily reflect India’s capabilities at defence. Had the Indians managed a hundred more in the first innings, the batting mind-set in the second would have been different. The task was beyond even a bunch as acclaimed as this, especially without Sachin Tendulkar.

Wasim Jaffer’s place was under scrutiny, having fashioned his exits by a lack of conviction. His half century in Chennai did his cause good as it did the confidence that the Kanpur wicket would not test his reserves as much.

The rest of the Indian batting will need to dispel thoughts of the Motera.

Dale Steyn, who produced the peach that dismissed Rahul Dravid, pegged it down to a lack of application by the batsmen.

“I’m not too surprised. That’s the vibe they’ve given off to us. Once one or two wickets fall and things kind of go wrong, they are pretty weak and the batsmen to follow didn’t look they knew what they wanted to do. They didn’t have a gameplan or strategy.”

It sounds simplistic to reduce it to a lack of a strategy. Batting reputations such as the Indians have is rooted in strategy. But, part of what Steyn implied holds true. The wicket required brief vigilance. The Indians were either too hesitant in choosing their shots on the surface or failed to make the necessary adjustments after Chennai.

Batting will be less arduous at the Green Park. The conditions and the surface at Kanpur are best suited for India to square the series, but it would all come down to how the bowling sorts itself out.

The squad: Anil Kumble (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel.

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