Post Dravid’s retirement, Laxman next in line for recall

VVS Laxman must have smiled inwardly when he heard of Rahul Dravid’s decision to retire from one-day internationals and Twenty20 after the England tour. With a tough tour of Australia coming up later this year and Dravid out of the picture, the Hyderabadi veteran can now rightfully expect a call-up for the ODIs Down Under even though he last played an ODI for India way back in 2006. Here are the reasons why the selectors will ask the 36-year-old, who by the time the India go to Australia will be 37, to step in and rescue India on tough bouncy pitches that leave India for dead almost every time. [caption id=“attachment_55700” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“VVS Laxman might be next in line for a recall. Reuters”]  [/caption] Laxman’s record against Australia is superb. His record against Australia in Australia is also superb – he has scored three of his six ODI hundreds Down Under and averages almost five points higher than his career average. Given that the T20 and ODI matches are being held after the Tests, Laxman will be well acclimatised as compared to played like Rohit Sharma who will come in cold. And given the selector’s rationale behind picking Dravid, one can’t blame such thoughts. The right-hander will add a lot of steel to the Indian batting line-up for sure and his batting form these days is rarely ever bad. In fact over the last year, it’s been second only to Tendulkar. But the question that’s being begging to be asked is how exactly are the BCCI’s so-called professional selectors helping build a creditable second line – a bench that can actually be counted upon. Certainly, sending Chairman of selection committee Kris Srikkanth’s decision to send his son, Anirudh, for the Emerging Player’s tournament in Australia could not have been part of a major confidence building measure that the rest of the country has failed to see. The decision to recall Dravid for the England tour also shows how India’s World Cup win was a bit of a miracle because frankly India has no back-up. Rudyard Kipling once wrote lines that go: And the strength of the Wolf is the Pack/And the strength of the Pack is the Wolf. But right now, India seems like a disjointed group of lone wolves. Each hunting on its own – the pack just doesn’t exist. One of main functions of the alpha males of each pack is to nurture the young ones so that one day, they can take over the pack. But how do you nurture anyone when instead of throwing a young one into the deep end, the gods throw in an old, grizzled veteran who had perhaps just forgotten to announce his retirement. It isn’t that India doesn’t have players. At least, in terms of batsmen, we can’t complain. Shikhar Dhawan did creditably in West Indies. Not brilliant; not great but decent enough. In the Emerging Player’s Down Under, Manoj Tiwary just slammed 188 off 265 balls in a three-day against New Zealand ‘A.’ In the same match, Manish Pandey hit 96 off 75 balls with 11 fours and 6 sixes. There are more players around as well but if only you are prepared to look. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane have been doing well in domestic cricket for a while now but he was conveniently overlooked as well. And here we aren’t even scratching the surface. Did the selectors at least do that? Do they realise the kind of message they are sending to the youngsters all over the country? Dravid’s a great player and he’ll probably do decently in the ODIs as well. But if there is anyone to blame for this current predicament it is the BCCI. Over the years, precious few India players have been able to play in county cricket. The Board has conveniently refused them permission. Even the likes of Laxman have been asked to sit at home. The logic of the decision is never explained but it denies players a chance to get their eye in and get used to English conditions. A similar truth will hold true when India go Down Under. It would make sense to pick five, say six, youngsters with potential and have them play for teams in Australia while the Test series is on. That way if there is ever a need for a player, our guys are well acclimatised and confident even in alien conditions. But that would be asking for too much. We must realise that we are dealing with a very ‘professional’ group of selectors here, who for some reason believe that professionalism only means that you get paid for the job. In fact, the only Indian who regularly plays in the top division of county cricket, Murali Kartik, must be ruing a lost opportunity. He even made his presence known by popping in during India’s first and only warm-up game. At least, he would really know what he was getting into… it’s a wonder how the selectors missed out on that one. And the last time he was recalled was when he was playing the role of a commentator. This time, at least, a recall would have made more sense.