da dobrowin： Form is temporary, class is permanent
da wazamba： Partab Ramchand08-Jun-2001Form is temporary, class is permanent. And while the selectors haveto keep the classy players in mind, they should not ignore form too.Besides, they have to watch out for a cricketer’s attitude, asalso whether he is injury prone, whether he fits into the scheme ofthings (the horses for courses policy for example). Oh yes, aselector’s job is not easy. The quintet are going to get damned ifthey pick this player or that and are really in a no win situation.In any Indian squad, the majority of the players pick themselves. Butit is the choice of those two or three fringe cricketers that causesthe troubles, heartaches and controversy. If a player on form isselected, the critics point to another cricketer, classy enough to bepicked. If on the other hand, the selectors go for the cricketerwho has class written all over him, they are hauled over the coals forneglecting the form player. The selectors really are always skating onthin ice.Should performances on the national circuit count? One assumes theyshould. For otherwise, the affected players, besides cricket `experts’all over the country, could well argue what is the point in doing wellif the selectors are going to turn a blind eye. On the other hand,there are classy players who are already regulars in the side and whocannot take part in much of the domestic circuit because of the tightinternational calendar. Should the selectors opt for them or go forbatsmen who score 1000 plus runs or bowlers who pick up 50 wicketsand more in the Ranji Trophy?Players like Yere Goud, Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Satyajit Parab, ConnorWilliams, Dodda Ganesh, Gagandeep Singh, Valmik Buch and Rakesh Patelmay well ask what more they have to do to even be considered seriouslyfor the national team. Goud was the highest run getter in the RanjiTrophy last season – 901 runs at an average of 75.08 with two hundredsand four fifties – while playing a stellar role in Railways comingtantalisingly close to winning the country’s premier nationalcompetition. He wasn’t even among the 26 probables called for the tourof Zimbabwe. Orissa entered the semifinals for the first time, thanksin the main to the form shown by Parida who scored 885 runs on his wayto notching up the season’s highest average of 110.62 with twohundreds and six fifties. He too was not among the probables. Barodawho won the Ranji Trophy after 43 years, were indebted to theiropeners Parab and Williams who scored 809 and 728 runs respectively.Neither of them were in the list of probables.But honestly can any one of them seriously consider himself unluckynot to be considered for higher honours. The middle order door isclosed tightly. Hemang Badani, talented and in form, cannot find aplace in the Test squad. The openers, if not in the same class as themiddle order or possessing the same degree of permanency, have stillnot done badly enough to warrant a replacement. So there is really noscope for any batsman to get into the side – unless he runs into aBradmanesque run.An interesting point however revolves around the bowling. It is wellchronicled that the Indian bowling is the weak link in the team andthere is scope for a bowler, capable of taking wickets consistently,particularly on the featherbed wickets at home, to squeeze into thesquad. The season’s highest wicket taker with 37 wickets, Dodda Ganeshwas overlooked but the second and third highest wicket takers AshishNehra (36) and Debasish Mohanty (35) got the nod, first into theprobables list and then into the touring squad. And while Harbhajan isnow in the category of certainty when it comes to the Indian team, itis interesting to note that he took 28 wickets at 13.96 apiece. RakeshPatel, who with 34 wickets was one of the stars of Baroda’s triumph,was summoned to the camp for the probables.So players who do well around the domestic circuit need not despair.Obviously the selectors make a note of their performances and besidesthe classy cricketers, they do not totally ignore the form players too.
