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Mohinder Amarnath wrote a piece recently where he argued that it was a mistake to pick two wicket-keepers (Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik) in the playing eleven. I don't think that's where the problem lies. I'm old enough to remember the time India played both Farokh Engineer and Budhi Kunderan. Kunderan played as a batsman and he was picked for the same reason that Karthik is: he showed promise as an opener, a position India has always had trouble filling. Karthik has scored runs every time he's been given an opportunity and I don't think it's a good idea to unsettle the team's best batsman, Dravid, by making him open.

No, the reason this experiment is meaningless is that Dravid and Ravi Shastri have picked Sourav Ganguly over VVS Laxman. If India were to play six batsmen, Ganguly walks into the team. He has made a brave return to the Indian team in both forms of the game and he deserves his place at number six. As a Test batsman Ganguly is still twice the player Yuvraj will ever be. But in a line up of five, after Karthik, Wasim Jaffer, Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, surely the fifth has to be Laxman. His recent form in Test matches, his overall record, his average, his ability against fast bowling are all superior to Ganguly's. Were we to play Australia or England or South Africa on quick pitches I can't see anyone rooting for Ganguly over Laxman and if it's Bangladesh and slow bowlers we're talking about, nobody sane is going to argue that Laxman is less than masterful against spin. Or that Ganguly is immeasurably the better fielder. I could argue the reverse: Laxman is a fine slip catcher.

So why did Ganguly get the nod over Laxman? It doesn't seem to be on account of the 'process' that Dravid was once so keen on. If 'process' is shorthand for a rational long haul strategy systematically implemented regardless of short term setbacks, the dropping of Laxman seems the very opposite of process: it seems an example of how expediency trumps merit and reason in Indian cricket, it seems, in short, a political decision.

It seems a political decision forced upon the team management by its complicity in the selectors' decision to 'rest' Ganguly (along with Tendulkar) from the one-day games against Bangladesh. My guess about the reasoning behind Laxman's exclusion goes like this: World Cup gossip, a television sting operation and the rumours about Dravid's difficulties with senior players made it clear to everyone that they were being punished for having been recalcitrant, awkward and subversive of the captain's authority. In this context dropping Ganguly from the Bangladesh Tests would have seemed like vendetta so the tour management dropped Laxman instead.

Ganguly, with composure and courage, compiled a century in the Chittagong Test which meant that Laxman was benched for the Bangladesh Test series. So if Dravid is serious about a five batsman team in the long run, the current series has entrenched a batsman who is dodgy against the short ball at the expense of perhaps the best player of fast bowling in the Indian team. If he isn't, if the five-batsman strategy is designed for the sub-continent's slow pitches, then he needs to explain to us (and perhaps to his erstwhile team mate, Laxman) why the batsman the team turns to in difficult conditions, is denied the opportunity to consolidate his place in the Indian side and fill his boots in easier ones?

Dravid has form in the business of dropping Laxman from the side. He has chosen Yuvraj over Laxman in a home series during Chappell's regime as coach which, in Test match terms, is close to sacrilege. But to drop Laxman (and remember that Laxman was vice-captain in the last Test series we played in South Africa) because it was inexpedient to drop Ganguly is worse because it seems to indicate a willingness to politically finesse a cricketing choice. To exile Laxman to the margins of the team, to make an extra of a batsman who by right should be seen as one of the anchors of India's Test match batting over the next few years, is inexplicable especially when the captain who has made that call had the privilege of playing glorious second-fiddle to Laxman through his great, match-winning innings in Kolkata in 2001.

It is easy to see why Amarnath called our selectors a bunch of jokers. As the article rightly points out, Laxman is the best batsman in the test team after Dravid. The embarassingly out of sorts Tendulkar (despite his ton) is only a shadow of his former self. It is pathetic to see him struggling against short bowling from Mortaza and worse still, Rasel!
In an era where good test batsman are hard to find, India has made a huge blunder by not playing one of it's finest.
There is no way that either Ganguly or Karthik should be playing ahead of VVS. Now that everyone has made a good score in the Bangla series, they will most likely be playing in the England series and perhaps contribute towards making the hapless Harmison a confident bowler again!

itz worst of talking esply dirty, politics filled (till the neck) cricket team playing for the great nation (im not taking the "indian" cricket team cos i dont want to talk bad about our nation).total team is worstly composed, thatz y now a days the cricket is loosing itz crazy in india.... so my humble request to viewers is dont follow the our dirty teams very occassional wins and very regular failures, dont hurt urselves... itz very worth of following and enjoy the NEAT cricket of kiwis, aussies, proteos and some new teams like irish people... cmming to laxman's case is nothing but "laxman is bhali ka bhakaraa" of dirty politics and favourism of this dirty cricket team........ finally lets forget this cricket and concentrate on cmming up TENNIS mega events....... so eat tennis, sleep tennis and dream tennis......good luck to fedex,andy,our sania,sharapova, justin, william sisters and other stars....

I understand where you are coming from and agree with you that Laxman was desperately unlucky to miss out in this series against Bangaldesh. However, I sometimes get the feeling that we get a little misty-eyed about Laxman, thanks to that 281. (No I'm not forgetting what he did in Australia in 2003-04). Best player of fast bowling in the Indian team?...Really? I, personally, think when it comes to playing fast bowling in the Indian team, there is Dravid, daylight, and then the rest. Admittedly, now with Tendulkar clearly on the wane, Laxman would take up second spot, but I still don't think we can elevate him to a pedestal where we call him our best player in tough conditions. At least, not so long as the man who partnered him, and indeed bettered him, in perhaps India's greatest overseas victory ever at Adelaide, is still going strong.

im an aussie. vvs has the best record of any player against us in the past 10 years.

i think ganguly has only one decemt score against us at brisbane a few years ago.

if india dont want vvs we will have him

BCCI will find it difficult to find sponsers , very shortly.
We can't expect anything more than dirty politics in cricket when BCCI head himeself is a dirty politician.
God Bless Indian Sports other than Cricket.

In my personal opinion, VVS Laxman is the best batsman in India when in full flow. When he is in good touch, his batting looks like MF Hussain painting a master piece.

Unfortunately, we have two more senior players who cannot be dropped because of their Iconic status in India. If VVS Laxman is picked ahead of those demi-gods or Dada' he we will be under tremendous pressure to deliver. If he fails, there goes media uproar over his selection ahead of those demi-gods.

This is why Team Management hasn't picked him.
Coming to Five Bowlers theory, I ridicule people who criticise that theory. We have only Anil Kumble who can be called as Match-Winner. If he has ordinary day then who else will pick up the wickets ??? We need 20 wickets to win a test match.
Actually, R.Dravid's aggressive approach is in fore here. It just shows he is going for win and not draw.

VVS Laxman should seriously find some ways to open for India. This is the only way he can get consistently into Team India.

I guess, if India wants to go with five bowlers, then fifth one has to be an allrounder, as all other tems are having. Pathan may fit the place once he proves his bowling skills. Coming to Laxman's omission from the team, I can just call it a blunder, if there is anyone in the team who can play good solid innings is only Laxman after Mr. captain. Ganguly is all fine in ODIs, but test cricket means serious business and he does not fit to it as every team would not be Bangladesh and every country would not have flat pitches as are in sub-continent.

I dont think the reason behind Laxman's expulsion is politically motivated. Ganguly has superior average to laxman in SA series(43 & 36 respectively). One cant bask in the past glory. Yes Laxman hit some memorable innnings down under and a fluke of its kind in kolkata. But its ages back. Even Gavaskar is a fine player against fast. Can we pick him now?? Am a ardent fan of your posts. But dont drag the viewers into your mould of unreasonable thinking with all that crap.

I completely agree with MK. Irrespective of the political expediency of the selection team (read Rahul and Ravi, with may be Robin and Venky), if one were to pick five batsmen + WK + five bowlers, then where does Dhoni stand? I would not say that Dhoni is a better "Test" batsman than VVS or a better keeper than Karthik (at least as good). So, with Karthik willing to fill in the openers' slot, the choice should have been VVS at No.5 and Sourav at No.6. And going by the way, everyone who knows how to take a stance scores a century in Mirpur, Ganguly might never get to bat, and you end up only batting five of them!

Its sort of depressing to watch Sachin potter around, nudge, tickle and struggle for runs against a slightly-better-than-club-class bolwing attack. When Dravid and Karthik (and to a lesser extent Jaffer and Ganguly also) are going on the attack, or at least batting aggresively to push back the bowlers, it is painful to watch Sachin at the crease.

If anyone, it should be he that is dropped in favour of Laxman. Sachin's strike rate, in both matches so far, has hardly been indicative of the kind of attack he is playing against, and perhaps slowing down the innings at crucial times. At least Ganguly comes in with an aggressive intent, and has been in good nick of late. On the England question, he would be the right candidate to take Panesar (the only effective English bowler) apart.

Best bowler against fast bowling in the Indian team? Dravid + Tendulkar > Laxman. I have many a memory of Laxman's stumps cartwheeling, from many a pace bowler...Being bowled through the gate is as natural to VVS as a cover drive.

Mr.Kesavan seems to have conveniently forgotten that Ganguly was the top scorer in the previous series against South africa, and if he can argue that Karthik should be persisted with taking current form into account, then why not Ganguly, yes he is right about the 5 batsman theory being farcical but his argument holds no ground as to Laxman being better than Ganguly at least in current form, he has shown the determination to fight it out even in tough bouncy conditions, it would have made more sense if he had written about Sachin and Laxman, as Laxman probably ought to have got the nod over Sachin on current form, but it seems that is not his concern here, though I must say barring that I completely endorse his views of Politics taking precedence over cricket more often than not in Indian cricket.

The Aussies, South Africans and the English would only be too happy if Laxman is benched. He is THE BEST crisis man after Dravid. The rest are all travellers in a safe road, Tendulkar included.
We need to show courage...it is a pity that Shastri and Dravid chose not to show it.

Personally, Laxman is not the best against fast bowling in the side. That, is Dravid. The toss up though is between Karthik, Ganguly, Laxman and Yuvraj, with three on offer. I dont think Karthik is an opener. Playing in timid subcontinent conditions doesnt make you an opener. Let us not go gaga over a few of his performances. The same thing happened with Akash Chopra. Where is he now?
Ganguly deserves a spot primarily on performance. My pick would be to drop yuvraj/Karthik instead of Ganguly.

This is a classic case of being obsessed with individuals. and we, the indian, are "MAREEJ" of paralysis by analysis...

if practice session reports which appear in media are anything to go by Laxman was not even properly knocking the local bangla bowlers and was not showing enough confidence that he as overcome his illness nor was he in any sort of touch...

the selection purely is horses for courses...anyway our middle order bears the same look for past 10-15 years and somebody someday has to be replaced...

the fault lies with Laxman too coz somehow he has not being able to cement his place to the extent of being 'untouchable'. i feel somewhere down the line he will be regretting those "glorious" 30 something innings he used to play given his class and touch he is known for...

VVS may be the so called best player of fast ball, but he is no way better than Ganguly or Tandulkar. Even if you compare his test record with Ganguly, he doesnt stand a chance as VVS is useless in field, can not bowl. Only batting can not take you places. It is a game where you gotta field and may be if you can, bowl too. VVS will always be remembered for his couple of innings where as Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar will be remember as legends. Mark my words, you wont find anyone rememberin VVS but everyone will remember these three great players on indian cricket of our time.

I don't think Laxman has done enough with his prodigious, tremendous batting talent to truly cement a place for himself in the Indian team. In 80 tests, he has an average of 42 with 10 centuries and 27 fifties. Kesavan's argument clearly misses an important point here, and thus, sounds like the sentimental musings of another journalist idiot, needing to write something to keep himself busy. We need players that perform to their best of their abilities - period. Ganguly is currently doing that. Let's now focus on winning. Enough said.

I agree that Laxman is very unfortunate to sit out in this series, but if we look at it practically and on the basis of current form the decision seems justified. Picking Laxman would have meant dropping one of the five batsmen playing currently. The 5 bowler strategy is a right one as on these wickets its easy to score runs but difficult to pick wickets. So in that case, let us look at the options one by one -
1. Karthik - He had to play as he along with Jaffer was the only specialist opener picked for the tour. Besides, he has done fabulously well in all the limited opportunities he has got. So the lad deserves a place.
2. Jaffer - Again he had to be picked with the same reasoning as above. Even in the domestic circuit, Jaffer is more consistent than Laxman currently.
3. Dravid - He is the captain and India's best player in tests.
4. Tendulkar - Although he has lost it off late, but still tendulkar with such record and ability is anyday a better choice than VVS. besides, he can also roll a few over and get crucial break throughs (we saw that in the 1st test)
5. Ganguly - Agreed that VVS is a better test player than Saurav, but we must not forget that Ganguly was the highest run getter for India during that difficult tour of India. So on merit and current form, he deserved a place too.
6. Dhoni - Its ridiculous to drop him as he is the only player who can increase the scoring rate whenever required. Plus he is a very good form too.

So Looking at it this way, the decision is fair. Now Laxman can only come in when India decides to play 6 batsmen or one of these five fails.
I trust Shashtri and Dravid. They have played their cricket fairly and would always be fair in their decisions.

I completely agree with you MK. If they had to choose among ganguly/laxman , i think laxman would walk in without doubt. But strange are the ways of indian cricket.

It is simply amazing to see the journalists like Kesavan pleading for the inclusion of Laxman. I am not a great fan of Ganguly but he has shown courage under immense pressure while making a come back. He looked the best test batsman in the last Pakistan (away) tour. After all it is not his fault to have scored an aggressive stroke filled century in the first test.

However the real fact is: Yuvarj is much much better than both Laxman and Ganguly particularly in the long term. May be his fans (like me!) are either not so good at writing articles in English or may be they are not much intereseted in the academical (just talking and writing about) side of Cricket! No wonder, you will find more articles written aobut dropping of Laxman (and always mentioning „that“ outstanding innings at Eden Gardens six years back!) than leaving out Yuvraj!

Well, Yuvarj is much more an aggerssive batsman with a proven record even in tests. He is a left hander (only Ganguly is the other lefthanded recognised batsman in the Indian team!), is a brilliant fielder and almost 7 years younger than Laxman. As far as the temperament is concerned he is far ahead of Laxman! Admitted, he did not do too well in the WC or in the recent ODI’s. But in the WC he was the best Indian batsman on show as long as he batted. He also was just coming back (after quite sometime) from an injury. This actually would have been an ideal time for the team management to help Yuvraj come back to form against a poor bowling attack instead of giving further chances to impove records of the superstars (read Tendulkar!) who have batted slowly to accumulate runs to improve personal records rather than attack like Ponting, Lara etc. in the interests of the team!

Well, regarding Karthik we have to wait a bit longer to make an opinion. This England sereis will prove how good he is!

I agree with one of the comments above that if anybody was to be replaced in favour of Laxman, it would have to be Tendulkar and not Ganguly. That's absolutely true. How long are we going to keep Tendulkar in the team because of his PAST record and not current performance? I have an answer - I guess that would be till Sharad Pawar is heading BCCI !!! That's Indian cricket! Let Laxman go to Australia since he will never find a permanent place in the Indian team in the near future.

VVL is treated very badly. On the question of his fielding, how many catches has be dropped and how many has he taken? On his batting, what is his performance against strong teams as against the others? India did not choose the best man who would have adorned our President's office in rejecting CD Deshmukh and this political policy has been the bane of sports in India.
VVL you are a joy to watch and that is how people who know cricket will remember you.
c r natarajan

i love vvs i have a signed potrait of him on my wall i love watching him bat its a pleasure when he is in form.

Indian cricket has hit its lowest point.

What a nice guy to take all this crap. Over and Over again.

Dravid is a noob.

Make VVS captain.

5 bowler ploy is a farce. When 4 cant do it, no way 5 can do. This ploy wont work in England and Australia. You need to get your 6 best batsmen + 1 keeper and 4 bowlers to compete in a test match. Karthick wont help in longer run and Sehwag should be back as opener in Tests for England.

Laxxman ? What is he good for ? When was the last worth innings he played ? His last 100 came ages back. He hasnt won a game since long. Whats his credit to be in the team ? 281 ? Thats long gone. 6 years. he couldnt repeat on to that form and his modest record thereafter shows his inconsitency and fallacy......I feel his time is up for India colors.

It's a disgrace that VVS has not been incledued in the team.Had the opposition been Australia,South Africa and the grounds had been sligthly greener all the so called STARS would have comeup with one injury or the other.
Sacinandsauravsould be axed from the team for the bettermentof indiancricket.

It is getting painful to see a master like Sachin on the wane. Yes, runs speak for itself..but the day is not too far off when that will dry up as well. For God sake, pick the team on merit. Ganguly has done well against SA, which justifies his position. Maybe Karthik donning the wicketkeepers gloves and VVS being slotted into middle order would not be a bad idea.

Interesting how everyone here seems to believe that it is the ganguly - laxman choice.

Ganguly was India's best batsman in our last test series at SA. Vulnerable to short stuff or not - he peroformed (better than the likes of Tendulkar) in SA - on fast pitches against fast bowlers.

I strongly believe that the top 3 middle order batsman for India are Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman - on form, class and ability. Watching Tendulkar hop around against Mortaza (bowling at 130kmph) on a low-slow pitch only confirmed that Tendulkar is closer to the end of his career than most thing he is. I am quite sure he is completely incapable of handling a half decent fast bowling attack.

Yes - Laxman should have played - but, in Sachin's place - not Saurav's.

ha ha ha the same thing is happening again,they play all the so called stars against teams like bangladesh,kenya & zimbabwe and allow them to score so that their places can be cemented.this is not the first time they have dropped laxman against weak teams.but when the team is in real need,laxman is our crisis man pls check the details for confirmation.he is the one who is being made the scapegoat.

I completely agree with his views on vss over Ganguly. In fact I say drop Dhoni, get Kartick to keep, then U have a slot free to use as appropriate. This will anyway not be the team against England where we will go with an extra batsmen as we have to save the series :-)

More seriously, we should hope for pathan coming back to form by them & Munaf being fit (hopefully he will be honest). Hopefully we will not have to go back to Agarkar.

Folks, Karthick was picked as people (players/coaches) who interact with him indicate that he has a keen mind and is very situationally aware. He is a very ugly player to watch but he is gritty and is a fighter. He reminds me of England's Nasser Hussain. In effect, he is being brought in to gain experience. If he can hold his place on merit, he is India's next captain.

Now, onto VVS, I'd pick him over Tendulkar on current form, and pick on of Ganguly/Tendulkar. I agree that he has been given a raw deal by the selectors. Ganguly/Tendulkar are "untouchable", ergo I don't see what Dravid and RJS could have done except pick the team that is currently playing.

I almost forgot, MK your comments regarding Pathan are misguided. Greg did nothing to destroy his bowling prowess. In fact, I'd suggest that Greg was incapable of doing so.

I remember watching Pathan bowl in Pakistan, and one of the commentators (I forget who), pointed out that Pathan's action makes him susceptible to a side strain. And, sure enough some time later he did develop a side strain, and it has been downhill ever since for him as a bowler.

Well I dont think the team for this test is being chosen looking at English tour. The conditions are so widely different that it doesnt make sense. On a batsman friendly pitch, playing 5 bowlers was mandatory, even if they wouldnt do it in bowler friendly England. On the question of not playing Laxman, well theres nothing much to choose between him and Saurav, and the latter being the best batsman in SA should've got the nod anyway.

I completely agree with MK except where he goes in for some overstatement. Dravid is among the world's finest players of fast bowling, period - let alone in India's house of cards. And hey, where are the outraged bhadralok comments about their 'heeeroo' being targeted yet again by biased writers despite his being India's greatest leader after Subash Chandra Bose. I mean, hey, didn't any of you know that? He must phlay phorever...Laxman, Karthik, Yuvraj and the rest be damned.

Well sai Mukul. Laxman will be liked only by people who know cricket and who are impartial.Laxman deserves to be born in a country like australia not india where politics take precedence.If Laxman had a few endorsements ( he would have got them if he was representing bobay ,calcutta or delhi, punjab perhapps even UP).
To me he is second best batsman afer dravid.
He should also be selected for ODI as a no.3 batsman.His absence is definitely felt in the one dayers where the batting looks so fragile and unstable. The reasons cited for his non inclusion are only excuses by people who care less for team and country. It is ridiculous how Ganguly in testes and Mongia in one dayers are picked ahead of him. The team selection and the performance of indian team is really both frustating and appalling. That is why real cricket lovers and people who want indian team to perform well have lost interest in the game.
Come england tour we will know who are the real HEROES!!!

Laxman is a great batsman, whatever his record may be, and so is Ganguly or Sachin or Rahul. All these four shoud be in a test team, irrespective of the conditions and opponents. Wasim Jaffar and Dinesh Karthik deserve places in the team due to their recent performances. I guess no good team in the world ever thinks of playing two wicket keepers now a days. Krathik seems to be a better test player than Dhoni( though I am not sure whether he will be effective in foreign conditions where the ball will do a bit at the early stage of the innings, and don't forget cape town condition was not a typical south African condition as it was in Durban or Johannesberg), and Yuvraj can never survive at test level. So play these six batters and try to find a genuine opener immediately instead of karthik. As a whole, i am quite sure that Rahul is going to play seven Batters and 4 bowlers in any future test matches. And talking about Ganguly's test record? His record is as good as Viswanath, Vengsarkar, and many greats in the world. Are you not Going to include them in your test team? So why not Ganguly( whose average outside India is 45, and has got 8 hundreds out of his 13, 3 against Englad in England, one against New Zealand in Wellington, one against Australia in Brisbane.He averages 39 against australia, which is not so bad looking at his no. 6 position, 71 against England, 56 against New Zealand, 48 against Sri Lanka and so on. Tell me the name of few batters who have average 41 or more batting at no.6 position,you will not find many. One is gilchrist who has scored lesser no of runs than ganguly playing same no of tests. God knows how many ganguly would have averaged had he batted at no. 3 or no. 4, one thing, ganguly averages 61 in no. 3 in 15 test innings he has played with 3 centuries. So do not disrespect your stars so easily.) Sachin, rahul and Sourav are 3 legends and Laxman is a great, great player thats all i can say, you may agree, you may not.

Hi Mukul kesavan, I liked your article more for the articulation of your speech than for its content. I dont understand how many people really understand cricket in India, but everyone thinks he understands. for all you support for vvs I need few questions answered from you especially if you consider yourself an astitute follower of the game

Question 1: After India won the 1st test in the last SA series, and going into a second test match with a high probability of winnning, what was your great vvs doing playing out 20 runs from 120 balls and only to save his face afterwards by completing a half century in 150 balls, his was the defining innings of that series which turned series upside down. Compare it with the innnings that ashwell prince played for SA in same test that was also a slow innings but it set-up SA for victory, whereas vvs's innings set-up for loosing not just test match but the series itself. wasn't that clear he is desparately playing to cement his place in the side, and imagine if he could do this in an all important test series like SA and one where India could have completed first overseas test series victory against a strong nation in 20 years. Even a moment so strong has not inspired him to play positively and to play for teams cause. Forget about playing for India I even dont think he should be living in India after that.

Question 2: After his magical series in Aus-2003 did you count how many times your great slip-fileder vvs dropped catches - all of them in slips -, and most usually he drops players like ponting, gilchrist, inzamam kind and some times even dropping same player twice in the same match, and those players go on to do a carnage that has put the heads down of so many millions of indians.

Wake-up! your argument of Laxman being better than Ganguly doesnot hold any water at all, for both of them donot deserve place in India 100 - not just India 11 - we need players who play positively and those who play for the country.

Please go back on your words sir....VVS or Ganguly???? Why this comparision? I think Ganguly has proved what he is while VVS has still miles to cover even befor he reaches the toes of Ganguly....

Dear Sir,
your Mr.Dodgy was the top scorer in SAfrica, lest you forget that. VVS Laxman is a class player, agreed, but has not been in the best of touches recently. moreover, if you pick a team on form, then surely Ganguly makes a better case than VVS. also, VVS is a better player than any other Indian batsman on pitches with bouncy and carry. but in places like SL, we have seen him struggle at times.

These centuries do not mean a thing for a true cricket fan like me. Play Australia in Australia and if India can win one match out of 5, i will stand up and clap. I think the current Australia B team and account for Team India regardless of whether they play 4 or five bowlers. What India needs is new players with some hunger and killer instinct. These players are all posting centuries against a very weak team on perfect batting pitches. I hope the Indian public remembers the humiliating Bangladesh handed to us in the World Cup. This series is just a comeback for all the fallen heroes of team India. I am actually supporting Bangladesh, and I am just hoping something would stop team India from winning this series whether it is Bangladesh, rain or bad light.

As far as Laxman's ommision is concerned it is definitely a great blunder (if it is unintentional). We need to consistently play a batsman of his class and panache.. imagine not playing him in the 11 in english conditions... harmison cud well be back to his best bowling against someone like ganguly... plus even if u keep ganguly wat is dhoni doing in the test team.. kartik has proved himself to be one who has great temperament and who can make runs... so y do we need dhoni in the test team ?? ideally india shud play 5 bats + wk +5 bowlers---kartik jaffer dravid ganguly laxman tendulkar kumble harbhajan zaheer munaf srisanth but in english conditiond we can opt for an extra batsman at the expense of harbhajan (no dropping kumble ).... and i cant fathom as to why the selectors are not looking at mohd. kaif.... he is suach a fine and composed player... he definitely needs to be bought back....

Dropping Laxman time and again is not fair on him. Dhoni should be dropped, Kartik should keep wickets and Laxman should be included. If Dhoni is to be taken then Sachin should be dropped.

It is because of you reporters that people start idolizing cricketers from their past records. Laxman has class, but so does ganguly. In my eyes both of them are old...and have lost touch with reality (pace + speed + stamina).
Laxman followers having ganguly + tendu is a lost case....anyways....add or subtract laxman it is the same thing....the nexus of selection should just be on grounds of being able to prove on being an athlete with age kept in mind. Tendu has been like God Status to every Indian and therefore not to have riots is the only reasonable answer I see of him playing. Read the commentary...what the hell is he doing...thinking...and playing...

You just have to look at Tendulkar's strike rate in the current match to see that this isn't the Tendulkar that once was. May be he is also giving maximum exposure to his sponsors or he is too selfish to make one more century. All players' statistcis should be judged against the best current team. Put the same team against Australia & see what I'm trying to say.
It's a disgrace that VVS can't find a place in the current test team. I have seen some of VVS's best innings here in Australia including the one dayer's here against the best bowling attack in their own back yard. What more you can about a man?

Indian Cricket is ROTTEN to the core with money dictating players & management alike. Indian selectors & think tank is pig headed. Ravi Shastri/ Rahul Dravid, your selection STINKS. Rahul Dravid you should give up the captaincy if you are fair dinkum about Indian Cricket.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH.

u can not drop sachin.big player are always big.thay can play any where any time.big player also have bad time.every player have bad time.like donbrand man to.so india must keep playing sachin.

I agree with you 100%.It can happen in indian cricket only that in one test u r vice caption and in the next he isn't good enough to be among the top 5 batsman.
When Dravid took over from Ganguly, all of us had great hopes but decisions like this does not go well with that perception.And to be fair to Ganguly he is a much better ODI batsman than a test player and he was not included in the one day team.Decisions are made on Adhoc basis without any long term view. I am not very sure if indian team will really persist with Karthik on tours to England/Aust. I hope Dravid doesn't falter on this one atleast

In my personal opion VVS is a better slip filder,better player of pace & spin not like Ganguly trying to run alway from the wicket.Follow the Aussi series where India drew 1-1.Ganguly played only one good inning & rest he was trying to hit @ everything out of the ground that shows he does not have balls to place long innings againts top class bowlers.VVS is a better captian even then Dravid.when Tendulkar VVS realy suffered with his batting postion so did when Ganguly was & also when Dravid is the captain.It's high time these bunch of selectors I call them a bunch of jokers as they have no cricketing brain at all should have the balls to drop Ganguly who is untouhable I don't why.Looks like it's Dravid v/s the Indian Dressing room????.

2001 and 2003 were many yeas ago. In recent months, Laxman has almost always failed despite many chances. Why drop Ganguly, on current the form the most consistent batsman over the past year? Dropping Ganguly will be the real dirty politics. Let's not forget all his recent failures and just focus on Laxman distant past performances. If Adi the Aussie want him, they can have him, we'll take Ponting instead.

The very fact that you had to go back to the eden innings (6 yrs ago) to give finishing touches to you article proves that your poitns are not well founded. Be in present. Sourav did better than ALxman in SA. Why did you not mention that? Or why did you conveniently forget it? Cricinfo has been venonmously agaisnt Sourav for alst couple of years. Atleast find some good reasons to attack him.

How many times has Tendulkar got out in his nineties and how many times has he got out as soon as crossing 100. I believe that extra 10 runs he scored each time has been of no use since it takes away the momentum as he scores them at such a slow rate. He claims now the coach shouldn't be questioning his attitude. If he carries on like this the whole country will be questioning for which he will find it very dificult to come up with an answer. He has got most of the records. I can't understand why he can't just go on to the field and enjoy himself. If he can't he should seriously consider retiring. He is batting as if there won't b any other chance to get a century. If Dravid & Karthick can score quicker than him there are serious doubts.

Dear MK,
Im sensing double standards here..

The following is with the view that the vouching is for a middle order position for Laxman(which is obvious for thats where he is best).
Lets start the dialogue stating the assumption- we choose 5 batsmen in the team, which shall be later also dwelved over.

You criticise politics in Indian cricket but cant flush it off from within..
Why wasnt the question - Sachin vs Laxman as is Ganguly vs Laxman ? With the apolitical ideology being professed in the article it seems rather hypocritical when Ganguly has performed well, atleast recently. The only scrutinizable aspect may be - the selfish play insinuations against him (in the world cup), but atleast he was selfish, what about others? Neither self nor team could motivate them enow. So Laxman replacing Ganguly in a 5 bat squad seems a bit fancy. The question might well be up against Sachin.

For a compltely different reason -
Sachin (to his credit) seems completely oblivious of the drama about his slow S/R, struggle against B'desh bowling and hard-working-long innings, which irritate the media/viewers more than anything else.
Its probably a team ploy, and personally I think Shastri has a lot to do with it. If his admiration of Sachin during commentary stints was anything to go by, he has let Sachin be!, to do whatever on the crease to help him resurge. I wont blame Shastri and Co. either, because if HE gets back to the Sharjah ways of '98..or even half way there ...well do I need say..these are the perks of being the best in a genration that is aging now(sport-ingly). Therein lies the heartache for Laxman presently. He is confronted with a in-form Ganlguly and hopefully-re-rising champion. But because it is the think tank's 'hope' that Sachin might resurface there is room for Laxman's case, and apparently, the 'Management' has made its choice for the moment.
Think of this as a strengthened bench strength rather than a missed trick because it seems like a coin flip decision.

The Dwelve -
Need for the 5th bowler has been felt so many a times abroad. Repeatedly, we as viewers have felt, "if only we had picked one more bowling option" (which was a reasonable point to ponder).
Being within the team on most of those occasions, Dravid clearly feels it to be the best option too, and where better to try it than in Bangladesh.
But it would hurt to see him revert to '6bat-4bowl' strategy right after the first test is 'if-lost' in England.

May Rahul stand steady, and by himself ! as is the inherent nature of a ROCK.

email : amitkhanna49@yahoo.com

It should be Wasim Jaffer who must be axed and Guatam Gambhir given a chance in stead. It is all a Mumbai policy of keeping Mr.Pawar and the Bombay boys happy. Gambhir has scored well when given a chance. Jafffer on teh contrary has just a few good innings.....too few n far between. As far as Ganguly's form is concerned he's been peerless. To drop him in favor of Laxman would be a folly. Perhaps Sachin should now be told to pack up or return to his old glory days, rather than occupying his spot merely cos he's Sachin. We also need to groom our bowlers n tell them to boel flat out rather than have Batting coaches instructing bowlers to drop pace for line n length. Maybe we can drop all of Sachin, Dravid n Sourav n build on a team for the future like Yuvaraj, Sehwag, Karthik, Gambhir, Dhoni...... I say get rid of deadwood like Sachin

I'm sorry, but you've got it all wrong about the team selection. The presence of politics in almost every aspect of Indian cricket has never been doubted, so all in all your article though cogent, neatly avoids the real issues, and will appease only the star-obsessed fans.

Here's something to think about:
Name--------------------Age
Anil Kumble-------------36 years 221 days (say 37)
Saurav Ganguly----------34 years 322 days (say 35)
Rahul Dravid------------34 years 135 days
Sachin Tendulkar--------34 years 32 days
VVS Laxman--------------32 years 206 days (say 33)

After their woeful and controversial performances in the world cup, it is hard to understand why, despite being directed (apparently) by the BCCI, the selectors did not chose a younger side for this series. They got it right by dropping Sehwag, but even there they compromised and put him in the ODI squad. Selection should not be about compromises, it should not be about appeasing the public or preventing riots. Selection should be the art of choosing your most appropriate players (from a central pool) for appropriate matches. Of all the above players I listed, only Dravid and VVS should have been picked for this tour, Dravid because he is captain and VVS because he was vice captain on the last tour and deserves a permanent spot (particularly after the alleged shenanigans of the other senior players in the world cup). Kumble perhaps does not deserve to be in /that/ senior group because its hard to not see him give his all, but there is no point in playing our best spinner against Bangladesh.

Yes we are playing Bangladesh, and yes they beat us in the world cup, but this isn't exactly in the same league as the aussie's ashes revenge. This was an opportunity to bring out and prime the younger batch, it should not be the get-out-of-jail card for Sachin and Saurav. Sashtri, for all his talk (while commentating) about encouraging youth has hypocritically ended up complimenting the system. If Yuvraj really is on the fringes of team because he is the next best in India, then he should have played in this series. Where is Piyush Chawla? We need to prime him, anyone who saw him in the U-19 world cup against pakistan will realize that give guidance, direction and opportunity, he will be among the best, if not the best, of spinners in the near future.

The opportunity has been wasted, the series might have even been exciting if we had sent a younger squad. Personally I believe Sachin should go back to domestic cricket, and if he can prove he's still among the 11 best, he should return. Australia do it very often, Hayden (more than once), Martyn, Clarke all came back stronger.

Oh, and I did notice Mukul, that you actually referred to an Aussie as matchless! I'm glad the world cup has made you swallow some pride (or is it prejudice?)

I think VVS is not in a good form.The team management has done the right thing by not picking him up.Ganguly has fought his place in the team.Let VVS do that with a string of good scores whenever he gets a chance in the first class games.Though Sachin is definitely not in the same league that he once was in, still he is the best batsman we have today and he still has to offer a lot for our country.Thsese two back to back centuries have come at the right time for him and this will help him and India to do well in UK

I'm reading all these comments from idiots trying to justify ganguly's place in the test team (die hard ganguly fans i'm assuming).

Did any of you actually watch the test series when India toured South Africa?? Previously when there was alot of commotion about ganguly's (dis)ability against the short ball, ganguly kept getting out by trying to pull short balls. In that particular series - he didn't get out to them, because he took most of the shots on the body! he was not in decent form, and was let of the hook a few times too.

Now on to the talk about facing fast bowling - have you watched laxman on fast bouncy pitches - he's one of the best players of the cut and pull, plus he can drive too (both sides of the wicket).

No way is dravid a better player against pace. Dravid is a more composed player (leaves a lot of deliveries and plays percentage cricket), if you saw what laxman did to brett lee in sydney (Jan 2004), you wouldn't doubt his ability against fast bowling.

The fact is, india has three very good players suited to the positions of 3,4,5 - dravid, tendulkar (his form on fast wickets can't really be decided till he heads to england) and laxman.

Ganguly should stick to the one day format (his one day and test average is pretty much the same - not a good thing) where they have the one bouncer rule.

Laxman should become an Australian citizen and play cricket for them. Clearly, the Indian team doesn't deserve someone of his caliber.

VVS is good and would have scored if given an oppurtunity.. but when it comes to 5 batsmen there are others who deserve to "fill their boots" before him. However personally I would have had Tendulkar dropped because he is not playing for the team for a while now and the paying public might keep away from hot , humid stadiums if he is batting these days

I think there is some politics in the team and I can say the biggest culprits are Rashul Dravid & Creig Chappel. These 2 have spolied the Indian Team. They are wasting the huge talent of VVS Laxman, Mohammed Kaif & Irfan pathan and same was done with Sreesanth even. Laxman & Kaif are performing for India better then anyone but still they are seated for the batsmen like Ganguly and Dinesh Mongia. Can anyone see the way Sachin is batting nowadays, poor-slow only looking to hit 100 that's it........If I was the selector I wild have dropped Rahul, Sachin & Ganguly. the only reason is because of these players the youngstar's are missing a chance in the team

Being Indian --- I'm sick of Indian Cricket Politics.

VVS Laxman who is rated as one of the best batsman by the Aussies (world champs for 10+ years) and lots of great cricketers, has been given VERY ROUGH treatment by BCCI, Ganguly, Dravid & Chappell for the last 3 years.

If VVS was from Bombay, think what might have happened ????

If I were VVS Laxman, I will announce my retirement & go public blast BCCI, Dravid, Chappel & Gnaguly in public. Then go to England play County cricket & retire peacefully.

Please read my

There is no way Laxman should be dropped based either on current form or past record. If you go by current form alone, Tendulkar should have been dropped. If you consider past record, Ganguly should have been dropped (Ganguly's average is 41).

Don't forget that Laxman's centuries / fifties have often resulted in India winning matches unlike Tendulkar's or Ganguly's. Those who don't agree check the records. Laxman and Dravid are the best slip fielders we have. Even diehard Tendular/Ganguly wouldn't dare to disagree.

Selection is because of political compulsions. Nothing more. Nothing less.

First of all, Laxmans recent Test record is not better than Gangulys. Sourav was the best batsman in the SA series, and he did a great job against Ntini & co. He also has a better record in England, and I think most people would agree that he is our best chance of negating the threat of Monty.

I dont think Dhoni and Karthik should be playing in the same team. I think Laxman should come in for one of them. Of course if he replaces Karthik there is the question of the opening combination. I think him or Dravid could easily open with Jaffer. In the last 2 years, Dravid has been batting within the first ten overs so often that he is virtually an opener anyway.

And finally, Laxman the best player of pace bowling in India? I know played beautifully in 2001-02 & 2003-04 but lets not forget that McGrath was missing from the 2nd of those series, and Brett Lee didnt play either of them. The Aussie pacers screwed his happiness in 2004-05 in India.

we should play 6 specialist batsman, and Dhoni
leaving four bowlers, karthik is still young, and i dont think he has the technique or the skill just yet to tackle good fast bowling (flintoff, lee) so i personally think this should be the order

Jaffar
Ganguly (ganguly has opened in the past) Dravid Laxman Tendulkar
Yuvraj Dhoni Kumble Sreesanth Zaheer Munaf

loads of batting and capable bowling
we dont need a second spinner
Kumble is good enough and we've got plenty of part timers like tendulkar, yuvraj...

I agree with MK. By looking at the previous perfomances of the past series i.e in South Africa, the first Test being a tricky one, the winning tempo was created by Ganguly, Laxman and Sreesanth in the first inning. Come the second inning, when most of our pampered stars failed with the bat, it was again Laxman who rescued the ship by scoring a half century and led us all the way to achieving first-ever test victory on South African soil. The matter of fact was that a test batsman do not necessarily have to score a century to be of a worthy perfomance but how he bats for the interest of his team is what stands out best.To me his half century knocks in the first test was a winning perfomance. According to my opinion, Laxman should have been included in the playing eleven for the second test in Bangla in place of Dhoni as Dhoni has not given any perfomance worth any attention leave alone the match winning one. The last time Dhoni performed well was in the test series in Pakistan more than a year ago when he led the team in achieving a draw by scoring a century. No doubt Dhoni is a good batsman. He is a good batsman in One day format but has not produced a good perfomance in test cricket for a long time while taking into conmsideration that test and one day formats are two very different aspects of cricket with their own set of rules and commitment. And to add more to this issue, the team has able wicket keeping skills in Karthik. Since setting his feet in international cricket, Laxman has always been on the recieving end of injustice meted out by Selectors and BCCI as whole

Anybody who has played any form of serious cricket would know what VVS is.

VVS saved / won India a number of games even after the two famous Australian series.

I can't remember Ganguly playing a single match saving / winning knock.

I think VVS should retire and become a commentator.

VVS Laxman should have long ago left Indian cricket and play county cricket. In a warm up match he could have beaten India hollow! That would've been a fit reply!

Personaly, I am not a big fan of the 5 bowler formation, unless atleast one is an allrounder in the Flintoff, Oram or Shane Watson mould. 5 bowlers would expose the tail too soon esp with the ball seaming around on the first day of an English (or Australian or SA) greentop.

Laxman does seem to be an easy scapegoat for the Indian selectors. While he has played some memorable knocks, he has never quite achieved the status of Dravid or Tendulkar due to lack of consistency. Best batsman of pace bowling....hmmm - I'm not sure he's better than Dravid, but he is miles ahead of the likes of Tendulkar (of late) and Ganguly. He is probably our best second innings batsman and a fine slip fielder (as was noted in the article).

On current form, my test 11 would be Gambhir, Jaffer, Dravid, Laxman, (2 of either Tendulkar, Ganguly or Yuvraj depending on conditions and fitness), Kartik, Sreesanth, Munaf, Zaheer & Kumble. Dhoni does not find a place in my test team simply because of his failure to score outside the subcontinent. Pawar is simply outclassed by Kumble. It will be interesting to see what Manoj Tiwary and Piyush Chawla have in store for us!

Hi Mukul,
Another misty eyed bigoted article from the best known site for Ganguly bashing. Last time I checked, South Africa was home to some good fast bowlers bowling on good fast pitches. And from what I did see, Ganguly and Laxman had equal opportunities to score there. Ganguly's 46 in the second innings of third test was setting the match up for India, while the Sachin and Laxman ran scared shitless to come out and face Ntini, Nel and co. bowling with the new ball at 6 for 2. Guess whose bat did the talking then? Do you remember what the "second best player" of fast bowling, not to mention "Bradman" did after Ganguly got us out of jail? An inconvenient truth which would undoubtedly expose the double standards of voicing support for Laxman as well as bickering about political compulsions of team selection, don't you think?
If you really are so concerned about picking the team on current Test match form, why not compare Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Bradman's average and performance in South Africa? Maybe you'll understand the exact nature of the "politics" as some of the more astute readers have already pointed out here.

Dropping laxman 4m bangla series... very good idea.Plss continue da same thing for all rest of series vs AUS,SA,WI,PAK.... U'll find da diff..wat happens if laxman is not in the test squad." U'll know da importance of laxman in test cricket if u watch da matches ".Jst blindly dont compare him with other's stats.I'm not a laxman fan ,i'm a fan of indian cricket....

Hi guys, india is too big than laxman ganguly and tendulkar, accept fact they were good player and not anymore.

Karthik , dhony,Yuvraj, tiwari,gambhir is future have potential just not getting chance because of these dada's so bat for them;

Please do not touch karthick, raina due to attitude which is very rare in indian narrow minded crickters.

Mukul, I agree with you on some counts. VVS is indeed a very fine player, an artist in Azhar mould. However, how can you justify dropping Saurav after the last test series in SA where he topped the averages against one of the better fast bowling attacks. He may not be the best player of fast bowling but he did show great application and that is what test cricket sometimes is about.
According to me Rahul, Sachin and Saurav could not have been dropped from the current series. If he indeed is a better batsman than Karthik then he should take up the challenge of opening the innings. A good batsman will be good anywhere and if karthik can do it so can he.
That said, I still think he is one of the better batsman in the world however he is unlucky to be in the wrong country with one of the stongest middle orders (at least on paper).

Well done Sachin on your 37th ton. Pity that of the four batsmen to make centuries, this was the slowest. One would expect that as the game goes on batsmen will score faster. Strange that at a score of 500 + he and Ganguly put on the slowest partnership. When will these guys play in the team's interest which surely at this stage must be to score runs QUICKLY to give the bowlers the max time to take the 20 wickets.

Are the two icons, T & G, playing for team India or for themselves. It increasingly looks like the latter.

Rest both for some more time. Their long stints in the middle are good for neither them nor team India.

Why people do not question about other's continuity in the team. Did Mr. Ganguly played in the SA series second match. What about the other front line batsman in that loosing match. They are still in the current team playing for India and the batsman who scored a 50 plus in the loosing match is still not given oppurtunity. Therefore the theory is that, you score slowly and remain not out until your bowlers come to bat and loose match, you get dropped for further matches and series. Other players who loose their wickets early in a lost match are selected for playing team. Great selection theory. How many chances Mr. Dada is been given despite low scores. Please do remember that Dada and Tendulkar are playing for themselves and for their sponsors and not for the team any more. Dravid is now joined in their bandwagon. They are also teamed up with manager who was an individualistic player when he was playing for the National team. Great team combination and management. BCCI wakeup.... before it is too late. Time to review and have players in the team on a rotation bais with playing coniditions which will lead to their automatic disqualification if they do not perform even in one match. Otherwise we see players like Mr. Wasim Jaffer who is consistenly scoring in the last match of the seires so that he will be selected for the next series automatically. Look at series in West Indies, SA series and now even with Bangladesh.

VVS is the typical "clutch" player. A professional who performs most when it is required. To drop him and treat him shabbily reflects the general disregard we have for match winners and the high "unreasonable" regard we have for the accumulators and record seekers.

We play to win. Pick players who stand up when it is wanted the most. Ganguly, Sachin - thank you, you did good job, now, please make way.

Once again...forget Ganguly and Laxman, oh yea Tendulkar too! It's time for Kaif and Yuvraj to step up and take more responsibility. And the Bangladesh tour is the best opportunity to nurture our future stars!

I don't know if VVS should have played or not but what I do know is that Mukul you are no one to suggest that Yuvraj cannot ever be half the test batsmen Ganguly is - what nonsense where did you conjure up this rubbish - shows that you have a strange and a bit warped mind at work!! First give Yuvraj a CHANCE to prove himslef - if he get's as many oppurtunities Ganguly or Sachin have had you may have to eat your hat!

Nirbhay Singh.

Let us not forget who lost us the world cup. We need players who play for the team/country. We do not need players who play for their averages and records irrespective of the situation. I do not care whether it is Tendulkar, Ganguly or Laxman. I want players who play for the team's cause like Aussies and be ready to throw the wicket when needed. Or else, it will be usual "Operation succesful, but the patient is dead".

Laxman is a victim of indian politics. If Ganguly is dropped right from West Bengal Chief Minister to the Speaker of Indian parliment may big noises, people in Bengal create abig uproar and the communists even force the government to see that Ganguly is included in the Indian team. Whereas if Laxman is dropped no boby speaks about it or supports him, in his own state are any where else. This is just an example of how strong PR / support from politicians can make Ganguly be part of the team. When was Laxman given a chance to prove himself? He is always used in go between times. If any matches are there with smaller / smallest teams like Bangladesh, Ireland etc, Ganguly, Tendulkar , etc are made to play. These people than score centuries and are projected as demi-gods. Compare Ganguly's record against Australia, South Africa, West Indies against Laxman's record. Even a small child can know that Dada is worst. If anyone is supporting Ganguly it is only because ONE BENGALI SUPPORTS ANOTHER BENGALI or the supporter is another communist from communist Bengal. .

Laxman is the favourite fall guy in Indian cricket. A player who has more often than not been instumental in Indian victories has to vacate his place for high profile non-performers like Sachin & Saurav. Both Sachin & Saurav are top class examples of the undeserving occupying places which rightfully belong to more committed performers like Laxman. MK is right when he hints that Sachin & Saurav would have proven their 'extraordinary' prowess against B'Desh & players like Laxman have to prove their mettle or even their place in the side by playing aginst teams like England, South Africa or Australia. It is another matter that invariably Laxman comes out trumps compared to Sachin or Saurav when it comes to playing a role in winning a match !

VVS LAXMAN is the one of d worlds greatest batmen
DRAVID is responsible 4 all going on we dont require
2 wicket keepers in test side more over both r very agressive players, best fit in one day side ,one hv 2 b kept a side .
VVSlaxman sir come back 2 team made me very happy but this dirty politics going on is very bad

Laxman may not be as great as Sachin,Sourav and Dravid. But He can be given some chance to get good practice against teams like Bangladesh to come back in to form. I think we recall him only when the pressures are high and put additional pressure on him to do well. I think he needs some encouragement instead of criticism.

Whew..... so many comments against so many people.

Hey... u know what?? Shastri is the only brain in Indian cicket (those who think this view is wrong: name 1 commentator who is on the telly irrespective of the channel beaming the match LIVE...like DD, Star, Zee, Ten...). He's all over the place thanks to his shrewd thinking. Have u guys heard him out patiently? Try it once. He's the best strategiser (as I would like to place his position) any team can get. BCCI heads make note. His thinking is a class apart.

Club this with Dravid's example as a performer at the lead. That's enough motivation for any team member to perform. Under the circumstances if the others don't rally around....switch channels by all means.

Coming to VVS, the guy isn't given a decent continuous run. He's OFF now ON then... I agree he's one of the best Indian batsmen. PLEASE show TENDULKAR & GANGULY the way back to their homes. They've done enough for the country and themselves. Rest them forever.

Shastri, Robin, Venky are the best bet for the team. Players should come & go....

Just quickly, if there is one reason Laxman should be picked it is the off chance that he might play an innings like he did against Australia when he and Dravid destroyed the Aussies. I would kill to see two batsmen play like that again.

It seems you went way off reality in your post. Laxman the best player of fast bowlng n India?? when did this happen!!??

Obviously it seems you revere Laxman a lot (to the point of it completely lacking objectivity). When was the last time Laxman scored consistently and won a match for India? Occasional 50s, 60s and 70s are not good enough as he had gotten into a terrible habit of getting. The problem with Laxman is that he perenially he has been the one with "prodigious potential" but only a few times such as in Kolkatta (which was eons back) has he actually realized this potential. One cannot live on past glories alone as another reader has pointed out very correctly. Please be more objective in your posts.

Why 5 bowlers in Bangladesh? Well, do you want to kill 4 bowlers in this kind of weather? All ye folks just writing comments here - have you tried bowling 10, just 10 overs in a day in humid climes?

For sure, only 4 will play in England - and not just because of the weather ;). Its a pity about Pathan.

I cannot imagine how any sane cricket captain or selector can pick Ganguly over Laxman or for that mattter the waning Tendulkar, let us not even talk about Karthik or Jaffer. A lot of people think Ganguly played well in South Africa and
keep quoting his average. I watched the second innings of the second test in South Africa. I watched Ganguly bat and should I say I was embarassed as an Indian supporter the way he played, he got his runs thru streaky edges and I saw him make one wild swing with not a clue of what he wanted to do. VVS was at the other end and the commentator Bishop I think said that VVS should farm all the strike. Bishop went on to comment that "There should be an easier way to make a living."

Life is not fair and seems to be more unfair to Laxman. We still don't seem to reward merit, this would not happen in a team like Australia. I wish they had a 10 match test series in Bangladesh, Ganguly and Tendulkar could get all the hundreds they need on the flat pitches and retire soon, this is not to devalue Bangladesh, they are a pretty good side as they already showed in the world cup.

some body wrote that only ganguly have the good record against australia,it is wrong i will make it correct,the only person who scored 5 100 s against aus in aus is Very very special laxman,the forgotten hero of indian cricketers ,time will tell that when we tour aus in dec .the only man is laxman,all other players acan only play against bangladesh not against aus.

Actually, I raised this issue of Laxman in the last test match and the author conveniently ignores the subtleties pointed out by me. In any case, Laxman needs to be in the team and both Tendulkar and Ganguly need to slug it out one for the opener's slot (which Kartik has done admirably well) and one for the middle order spot.

Laxman is perhaps the most unlucky and unfortunate player to have ever represented India. India has always turned to Laxman in crisis situations both overseas and at home and have shunted him up & down the order according to the team management's convenience whereas lesser players have boosted their aggregate and average playing against weaker teams.

A player of Laxman's class and caliber comes once a blue moon and if anything India would only regret the day he calls it quits ! If only he had been given a consistent run and the confidence to boot, Laxman would have been next only to Gavaskar and Tendulkar in the history of great Indian Test Batsmen.

If at all there is any consolation for Laxman for this harsh treatment that has been meted out to him time and again, its that he has at least been treated not as badly in Tests as he has been in the One-Day arena. What a pity !!

the worst politics am seeing in cricket, i thought dravid is fine man, his attitude wise, but now am coming to a conclusion, that he wants to stabilise as a captain, he has forgot how he was paired with laxman with many match winning inninges with laxman,
as now most of them has done their centuries against bangla,now the considers that they are the best and try to continue in the further series.this is the worst part, consider the talent in laxman,or else it will become a worst to the indian team, because the people cannot play against the fast pitches in england , australia,and south africa.

I do not understand why people write onthese issues. It is very clear that the 3 or 4 middle order plaes will be filled from within Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman & Yuvraj. Hence, either 1 or 2 of these guys have to sit out. It is simple - Laxman has to open if he wants to maintain his place. Thsi he should have done long back.

Just one thing, Mr. Keshavan. Ganguly fared better than Laxman in the Test series in South Africa -- even in testing conditions, on quick wickets. Ganguly was compact in that Test series. Also, Ganguly has a better record than Laxman in England.

Your arguments are sound... except that the reason why the six-batsmen philosophy has worked for Australian is that they had Warne and McGrath. Let's see how things pan out, now that the two have retired.

Also, Laxman perhaps needs to replace Mr. Tendulkar on the same grounds that you mention. Consider the master blaster's recent record on foreign tours. Laxman seems more compact in technique (see the number of times Tendulkar has been clean-bowled in a Test match in the past 4-5 years). Also, Laxman is a more reassuring presence at the crease than Tendlya, at the moment.

It doesn't matter if Laxman is India's best batsman against fast bowling or not. Simply ask the Australian's who they fear the most?

Just as I thought the Indian management got some sense - picking Laxman as vice captain, they have gone and dropped him for no fault of his. It just continues to show that they do not care about an individual, Pathan being another example of the same nonsense. The Australians will drop you if you don't perform, you can choose to fight back, but either way you are IN or OUT - not in and out all the time!

Just wanted to add, while Laxman Averaged 36 V Gangully's 43 - Laxman scored a match winning 100!

VVS has time and again been made as scapegot for the whims and fancy of the team management. One can hope that he is not being neglected (fall guy?) and will pay play against the tuffer opposition like England (in England), Austrialia and South Africans. Have anyboxy seen VVS playing the game for his exclusive benefit (scoring centuries only) as is usually done by Great Scion of Indian Cricket i.e. Tendulkar and Ganguly. The selectors will never learn from past mistakes and will take Indian cricket into dooms if no corrective measuers are taken immediately to remove these "Greats" from the Indain Team.

Match Winners: When they hit, they win matches. But they hit less often.

Consistent Batsmen: They may not win matches all the time, but they score something to save the match first and score in some to win matches too.

VVS & Virendra Sehwag may be a Match winners, but we definitely need consistent batsman who can score runs most times and save matches.

Ideally, we need a combination of consistent batsmen and also match winners. The question is whether to drop consistent batsmen when they are not in form or drop match winners when they are not in form.

It is a difficult question to answer, but I feel the current selection is alright as we need to give some easy matches for Sachin & Ganguly so that they can play freely in upcoming difficult matches as they are match winners too and far more consistent then VVS and Virendra Shewag.

Like how we cannot continue to bank on old laurels of Sachine & Saurav, we cannot bank on the two important knocks of VVS.

When the top 4 become more consistent, we can have a match winner as the 5th batsman. When the consistency is poor overall, then we are forced to have the people who are the most consistent among the available pool. This is exactly the reason why Dravid is forced to go in for 5 specialist bowlers as our bowlers are not consistent enough to win matches for us.

To me, the effect this might have had on Laxman's psyche is more disturbing than anything else. Over the past two years he has pretty much known that he would be the fall guy whenever "young blood" and 5 bowlers became catch words. I think this was seen clearly in his batting, where he was starting to grind out his runs rather than play his normal game. I thought I saw a return to those ways in South Africa, perhaps because of the confidence the team management showed in him by appointing him Vice-Captain. Yes, he was not the highest run scorer there, but the way he scored those runs, and the time they came at did make a significant difference to the outcome of those matches.

Fact is, Laxman is a year or so younger than the idolized trinity of Indian cricket, and will have play an important role in the rebuilding of Indian cricket, when the trinity (Dravid, SRT, SCG) retire. Especially if what Vengsarkar says about the talent cupboard being empty is true. Destroying his confidence at this stage is not going to help at all.

Keep in mind he is not suitable for one-day cricket either and that lessens the opportunities he gets to stay in public consicousness, thus increasing pressure on him.

To those of you who claim he has miles to go before getting near the trinity, well if averages where your criteria, keep in mind he spend quite a few years shoehorned into opening the batting, a role which did not fit him at all, subtract those years and it seems his numbers stack up pretty well given his role and where he usually bats. Those who say he cant play spin, take a look at the farcial Mumbai test against Australia (yes the one on the dustbowl) and take a look at who scored for India to make a win possible.