Suresh Raina not making into the Test squad has been the million dollar question that is being asked by cricketing fans all-round the country, but if we take pitches on which the first two Tests are to be played, the decision by the selectors does make some sense. These are not normal wickets but they are spinning tracks, which is sure to trouble the Aussies.
If we see our batting line-up, it looks very much balanced, but there had been hick-ups in our bowling department. National selectors have made the right choice by getting Ravindra Jadeja who picked up six wickets in his debut Test match at Nagpur against England into the 15-men squad.
Pitches are expected to be rank-turner for first two Tests and Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for sure doesn’t want to lose this series at any cost. He is already short of his main-stream fast bowlers including Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav as they are going through their recovery phase and adding to his worries is the recent bowling form of Ravichandran Ashwin. So picking up Ravindra Jadeja will give cushion to both batting as well as bowling for Dhoni if he opts to play with only four bowlers. And it’s Jadeja’s recent all-round performance (where he emerged as a bowling rather than a batting all-rounder) has earned him a place in Test squad.
As for Raina, who is in sublime form with his bat, selectors must not only have gone through his Test records in past two years, but must also have compared his bowling with Jadeja, which would have titled the balance in latter’s favour.
Raina, who is in brilliant form this season, surely deserved a place in the side but the question was at what spot will he come to bat if he was going to make his way to playing eleven. What India needed at the moment was more a bowling all-rounder than a batting all-rounder as on papers, India is strong in their batting line-up. Raina needs to be bit more patient and may be soon he might get a Test call. May be poor form of some batsman in the middle order might get him a place for the last two Test matches.
By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network