Disappointed on 2 fronts with the Indian team selection. Firstly, our 2 reserve fast bowlers seriously lack in experience - Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh. If one of the 3 fast bowlers get injured, we might have to play one of Sharma and Singh in a test in Australia. Agh. Munaf Patel would have been a better option IMO. He may be like Akhtar in that he finds it difficult to play all tests in a series but if we used him properly, he could have been a good reserve option at least. Inzamam talked in an interview how he used to save Akhtar for crucial matches and not play him every time. Perhaps we need to do some thing similar with Munaf. Pankaj Singh is a tall fast bowler who has taken 5 wickets v Mumbai recently but really, do we want to blood or try some one like him on a tough tour like Australia.
If I was Chopra, I would be pissed. This guy has been making runs after runs after runs and yet, he can't get into the Indian test team. Sehwag hasn't done any thing of note recently to deserve a place in the test side right now. He doesn't fill me with confidence. Given that he is Sehwag and he might deliver some of his old magic, it is okay if the selectors feel that they should select him. However, they should have then gone for a reserve opener in the form of Chopra (or Uthappa). They should have been brave enough and dropped one of Karthik and Dhoni from the team or taken a fast bowler less. If Sehwag doesn't work, we would have the real possibility of Karthik opening again and that doesn't fill me with any confidence. Just don't open with Dravid - I am hearing every one talk of the real possibility of Dravid opening from honestbharani to Chetan Sharma. Even trying out Yuvraj to open (though I am not adverse to the move of Yuvraj opening as I have said several times) for the first time is not an ideal scenario in a tour like Australia but that is what happens (agh again) when you do not choose some one like Chopra in the side.
Over all, this team might work if people are firing. The weakness with the squad, however, is that the bench options - a strength of India over the past 12 months, is not solid enough. So if the first XI or the 12th option doesn't gel, we would have to look at carrying a player like Ishant Sharma or Singh in the XI (Forget Singh, even Ishant Sharma, while he might be a decent option for the future but really, do we want him to play in a first XI in a test in Australia) and that is inviting trouble as Sri Lanka found out by playing Fernando in the test XI.
