Preview of Dhaka Triangular series

By Amit - 3 April, 2003
April 3 2003

India, South Africa, and Bangladesh battle it out in an ODI series in Dhaka this month, with the team compositions of the stronger teams quite different from what was seen in the World Cup.

The selectors seem to have kept with the spirit of April Fool's day whilst selecting the team that will play in Dhaka. Once again, they have shown a complete lack of knowledge and foresight. In short, the selection is a joke.

Murali Kartik must be at a loss for words at the moment. A brilliant fielder, competent lower order batsman, and classical SLA bowler, he still finds himself out of the team. Kartik was the best bowler during the 7-match ODI series against the West Indians in India. To not select him for this one makes no sense at all. Of course these are the BCCI selectors we are talking about, anything is possible! Instead, they decided to select Sarandeep Singh in all their wisdom, an OB bowler who has no chance of getting into the team as long as Harbhajan is around. It is obvious that Bhajji is the better of the two, as numerous matches have proved, so why are we going for a lost cause? Or do they expect Ganguly to play two OB bowlers?

Almost as bad is the exclusion of Ambati Rayudu. With Dinesh Mongia contributing more as a bowler than a batsman, this is the ideal time to drop him. The shock treatment has worked on many, including Zaheer, Yuvraj, and Nehra. Rayudu is young and talented, not to mention an electric fielder. The flat pitches of Bangladesh would have given him some confidence in facing the likes of Pollock and Ntini.

The selectors really had no choice but to go with Salvi and Gambhir, both exciting players who play aggressive cricket. Fans will watch their performances with interest. It will be interesting to see whether they can live up their reputations.

The only good decision made was the selection of Abhijit Kale. People say that at 30 years of age the man is old, yet Mr. Ganguly himself will be 31 this year, so what are we complaining about? Ganguly will be the only player above 30 in the team, and it will be good if the experienced Kale can fill the job of senior batsman.

Bangladesh has been the target of much ridicule for their pathetic showing. No, not the pathetic showing in the World Cup, nor even their pathetic showing in the Test arena. Bangladesh has been completely outclassed by every single team they have ever played. (They have, however, seem to have found Tendulkar's weakness, as the Mumbai Master averages only 18 runs against them!) With no expectations whatsoever against the opposition they are playing, Bangladesh has nothing to lose from this tournament. Cricket fans would hope that Khaled Mahmud's team can provide some degree of competition. Who knows? With both South Africa and India in weakened states, and Bangladesh desperate for a good performance, there may be some surprises in the tournament. I don't recommend placing any bets, though!

South Africa also finds itself in an unusual situation. A new captain in charge of a team haunted by an unsettling exit from the World Cup, they will certainly be tentative. Of the three teams South Africa will be mentally the weakest, and both Bangladesh and India can take advantage of this with Aussie-style aggression. However, the South Africans have a strong batting order and a good pace attack, and when on a roll they will be hard to dislodge. To combat this, both opposing teams should keep the South Africans firmly pressed down. Smith is young and inexperienced; go for the jugular and rip it out.

India goes into this tournament in the most relaxed frame of mind of the three. The decision to not rest Zaheer Khan is most surprising. After a bad final and a gruelling non-stop 16 months of cricket, Zaheer could break down if over bowled in Dhaka, another immature mistake by the selectors. Zaheer tired, Agarkar being himself, and an inexperienced Salvi (at the moment, we can't expect wonders; it's going to be a tough debut series for him) combine to form a weak pace attack, multiplied by flat ODI wickets. If Gibbs gets going, Ganguly will be going through hell.

On the plus side, India's spin attack looks promising (despite the egregious error of excluding Kartik, which I cannot overstate). If Amit Mishra, the young Haryana leggie performs well, Kumble should start considering a new career (CHEER!) More in the classical mould, it will be great entertainment to see this young bowler demonstrate the art of orthodox spin bowling. Harbhajan had a quiet World Cup and will be keen to make up for it. Bangladeshi and South African batsmen are not the best players of off-spin, and nobody knows this better than Bhajju.

Despite the absence of the usual stars, this tournament should provide some very interesting fare. Neither Mahmud nor Smith have captained before, so as far as leadership is concerned India has a big advantage (unless Ganguly chooses to rest himself and Sehwag is asked to captain). Bangladesh is on their home turf, South Africa has a lot to prove, and India wants to show the world the World Cup wasn't a fluke. This is not India vs. Australia, but definitely something to watch. Unless, of course, you prefer to see Australia walk all over the West Indies!