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CRICKET Sports and Spoilsports India's lack of will to win against New Zealand and whimsical selection policy befuddle many. By Rohit Brijnath Geneticists are myopic. Didn't they see it, buried up front in the Indian brain, that cricketing gene? Where else in the civilised world would a Pope be cast aside, a cyclone ignored, Bofors shrugged off, just because Sachin Tendulkar didn't enforce a follow on? Like The Bold and The Beautiful, cricket in India is a soap opera with a few stars, a mediocre supporting cast and a worse script, but everyone watches. Here then are last week's episodes. First J.Y. Lele, the pint-sized Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, decided coach Kapil Dev's decision to call Ajit Agarkar to the nets in Ahmedabad despite being refused permission "was the worst precedent, and if he thinks he can undermine me he's grossly mistaken". Alas, there was no footage of Kapil falling down laughing. Later, the coach said, "I have to do my job. If I haven't seen a player for some time and I'm not using the bcci's money but my own, then ... Also, I'd rather Lele came to me rather than go to the press." Then India couldn't bowl out New Zealand in 135 overs in Mohali and over a day and more in Ahmedabad, which gave a new definition to the term "home advantage". At this rate we might as well cancel the Australia tour, quoting fear-of-foreign-lands, which we know might be right. Finally, in a two-hour special, Tendulkar didn't enforce the follow-on in Ahmedabad, resulting in steam emitting from Bishan Bedi's turban: "If we're afraid of losing to New Zealand we might as well pack up. I'm disappointed in Sachin." Known for his special appearances, Bedi fumed again when the team to Australia was made, flummoxed that Sunil Joshi, a left-arm orthodox spinner like him, wasn't going. Subtle as usual, he said, "My only 10-wicket haul in Tests was at Perth. Joshi's omission is bloody stupid." Then, as a sort of postscript, Chandu Borde, chairman of selectors, decided to end the week in a lighter vein, saying, "I'm not saying Nayan Mongia is not the No. 1 wicketkeeper," only to then add, "In the formation of the team we found M.S.K. Prasad better." No one was quite sure who was the villain, but start with the selectors, who are used to the role. Only four bowlers in Ahmedabad, said Arun Lal, "was playing safe", and that was classic understatement. He was not finished: Our inability to bowl out New Zealand, he said, "Shows our lack of penetration." Furthermore, the fact that Indian bowlers wanted a rest after New Zealand were out for 308, chasing India's 583-7, was hardly helped by Javagal Srinath spending 28 minutes of the two hours India batted in the second innings scampering singles. There was rumour that Srinath might be pencilled in as a future villain, for a former squad member recited a strange story to the scriptwriters. Apparently, when Pakistan were 23 for 6 in Calcutta earlier this year, Srinath returned to the pavilion after taking five wickets citing a strain, and was pushed hurriedly out on to the field by his disbelieving coach only to emerge with eight wickets. But considering he and Anil Kumble, heroically and almost alone, bore the workload this series, that might be film left on the floor. Alas, as usual, there was more to it than what you saw. The Ahmedabad groundsman is not to appear in subsequent episodes for he told the team the "wicket will turn on the third day", when it wouldn't have 14 days later. Kapil, part of the star cast, then defended the follow-on, saying, "With so much bowling, we didn't want to risk injury to the bowlers." The cunning Indians also wanted to bat so that they could run on the wicket and leave helpful footmarks for their bowlers. Being gossip, it was left out of the script. Kapil gave another perspective lost to viewers when he said, "It's important that Sachin made runs in this series as there was talk he didn't make runs as captain. His performance is very important as he has to take charge from the front." Yet viewers felt, all that's fine, but a little more aggression from the Indians would have raised the TRP ratings. The final episode was selection, and two actors sacked from the soap opera merited special mention. Mongia, injured, healed, then ignored, says: "I'm paying the price for my injury and that's why players like to hide them." Mohammed Azharuddin's exile was so strange that it even bothered Bedi, who it is darkly rumoured used to play darts against a poster of the stylish batsman. That Azharuddin (Test average 44.88) is superior to Ajay Jadeja (28.15), V.V.S. Laxman (26.31) and Vijay Bharadwaj (11) is not even worthy of debate. But a team member said, "His support wasn't there when Sachin was captain, he used to just play and sit back." It's common knowledge that Azharuddin and Mongia aren't out of the team for cricketing reasons. Time the BCCI said so. Maybe in next week's episode.
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