The CouchExpert

 Harmeet Mehta

 15 August, 2011

Whether India wins or not, the last test at the Oval starting 18^th August, one thing is certain, perhaps, that Sachin

It's time technically superior Rohit Sharma is preferred over Suresh Raina

Tendulkar will get his 100^th hundred. India, apart from the Oval test, play ten one day internationals against England (5 in India after the current 5-match ODI series) before embarking upon their toughest tour to Australia in December. It would not have been so tough had they not lost the Pataudi Trophy in the fashion they did. If India does end up winning (or drawing) the last match, it would surprise even the India dressing room & selectors. They (the selectors) have had this coming onto them, especially after doing selection blunders like selecting the IPL star hitter Suresh Raina over better technically equipped players like Rohit Sharma. There is lot of retrospection that Indian selectors need to do in the next month or so, as star Indian batsmen from the current series should not be preferred for the Australia tour. If they want India to redeem their lost respect and hold on to the second (or perhaps third) ranking after the England series, they might just start getting their facts right about the team they form for Australia tour. Let’s look at some of them:

Look beyond Zaheer Khan

Zaheer is past the age where he could bowl thirty-forty overs in an innings and looking at the kind of attack we have now new untested ‘young’ bowlers will be as effective in Australia as Sreesanth and Ishant. With an exception of Praveen Kumar, none of the bowlers from current team should get a chance for Australian tour. Build a team for future and let Sree and Ishant build their career around T20.

Look beyond Sehwag

This is the most dreadful thought as Sehwag has single-handedly won a number of matches for India. But, seeing the trend in last couple of years, Sehwag has not been able to play immediately after IPL due to injuries. Why does he have to play IPL when he knows his body can’t cope up with so much of cricket. It’s definitely money over country’s pride. He must learn from English players and retire from either Tests or IPL (unless India does not have any test series after the premier league).

Sachin, Laxman & Dravid’s replacement 

Rahul Sharma might be given a go in place of Harbhajan Singh

When Rohit Sharma started to play, I could see Sachin of nineties in him. His technique and determination was better than many of his age. With time, IPL and selectors indifference, his true talent has not been tapped into. He has a Test future, if only Dhoni looks beyond his Chennai teammate Suresh Raina. Rohit Sharma, of the younger lot, is the best player of short ball and should be preferred for Test matches in England and Australia. He will be the perfect replacement for Sachin, when Sachin retires, but he needs grooming under the guidance of Dravid and Tendulkar. He deserves a chance.

Drop Harbhajan from Australia series

Why is Harbhajan singh a permanent name in Dhoni’s scheme of things? Especially in the overseas tours? I don’t remember when he last dominated a Test match. I would give Rahul Sharma a chance over Harbhajan or Mishra for Australian tour.

These and many more things selectors will have to look into before they can even think about the Boxing Day test where Australia will try to prove a point. After all they dominated test cricket rankings, since the ranking system was established, for 74 months by beating almost every team in their as well as the opponents’ backyards. India dominated for 20 months without winning comprehensively in overseas series. India’s dominance of 20 months is more to do with Australia’s down slide than India’s own game.