Kaun banega' selector?

With the Aussie series round the corner, it's time to indulge in that favourite pastime of cricket buffs - pick a team that can beat the Aussies.

The Irani trophy match did little to assist us in this exercise because it told us nothing we didn't know about the Test team's batting and bowling. It's a pity that a has-been like Kaif was given another chance instead of somebody like Raina who did well in the one-dayers in Sri Lanka.

Or Rohit Sharma, to get him in shape for the Aussie series in case he can sneak into the playing eleven. So the selectors hardly got a chance to weigh the most deserving options, by choosing to give a run to the less likely Kaif and Badrinath.

I suppose that doesn't really matter because everyone knows their mind is made up - there will be no change in the Test side that has lost two of the last three series, and drawn the other at home, except maybe for Sourav Ganguly.

But then, every Indian cricket buff fancies himself as a selector, and there's no harm in a little day-dreaming about the ideal team to beat the Aussies.

Let's start with the batting. The only two batsmen who batted with some fluency in the first three days of the Irani Cup match were Sehwag and Gambhir, although Sehwag gave it away with a loose shot to Kumble when he looked like getting a big one.

Sehwag would be a big thorn in Australia's flesh if only he would play a little more within himself. There was no need at all to go on an all-out attack against Kumble, for instance. Anyway, there can be little doubt about those two slots in the team.

The middle order is where India's batting got a beating in Lanka. And nothing much has changed. Although Dravid got a 46 and 69 in the Irani Cup match, the way he scratched about for nearly 500 balls to get those runs, and the number of edges that were not held, show the wall is badly cracked.

I would pick Rohit Sharma in his place, even though I was denied the opportunity to see him in the Irani Cup. He does have a tendency to give it away with a loose shot after getting set but the lad's also shown he's got a good temperament and technique. He poses more of a threat to the Aussies than Dravid in his current form. 

If the selectors do get rid of Sourav Ganguly, I won't be shedding any tears. After an impressive comeback, he again looks leaden-footed and out of sorts against both pace and spin. I think the Aussies would quite easily sort him out.

Better to throw the in-form Raina at them instead. Although Raina too, like Ganguly, likes to poke at balls wide outside off-stump, he looks more organised at the moment and also more confident in his footwork.

Laxman I would retain in the team, more by default than anything else. He performed slightly better than the other three senior batsmen in Lanka, but not by much. His slow running between the wickets is a liability, and failed twice after getting set in the Irani Cup, just as he has done throughout his career.

It's the TINA factor. There Is No Alternative. I haven't seen anybody who really deserves to replace Lakshman in the Test team. Uthappa seems to have gone off the boil, and he hasn't been given many chances to make a comeback either, unfortunately.

As for Badrinath, he has never been one of my favourites among the lot. He seems too defensive and limited in his approach, and got out in identical fashion to Ishant Sharma in both the innings of the Irani Cup. Kaif should be consigned to domestic cricket and the IPL once and for all. How many chances are you going to give him?

As for Yuvraj, I don't know what's wrong, but he looks totally at sea both against the new ball and against spinners. So that's not an option too. Virat Kohli? I have yet to see him kick on after getting set, and that tells me something. He's young and maybe not ready yet.

Finally, Tendulkar. Well, what can I say? There are no rules for him. He doesn't have to prove his fitness in domestic cricket before being drafted into the Test team. So nobody has a clue if he'll be an asset or a liability. His form has been dodgy of late and we don't know how fit he is.

Still, in the absence of a clear alternative, he stays in my team. The change I would make is in his batting position. Send him in as opener, something he's used to in one-day cricket, and save Sehwag to annihilate the inexperienced Aussie spinners in the middle order.

MS Dhoni, the wicket-keeper, was in sparkling form in the Irani Cup and is miles ahead of any other wicket-keeper batsman in the country. So that's an automatic choice.

Now the bowlers. India likes to go with two pacers and two spinners in most conditions. For the moment, let's stick with that because we don't really know much about the pitch in Bangalore, although that was the venue where Kasprowicz did us in the last time the Aussies toured India.

Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan left no doubt in the Irani Cup that they're the top two pace bowlers currently. Harbhajan Singh also just about gets in, after the win in Galle, although Pragyan Ojha should be snapping at his heels after bowling with control and some guile in Lanka.

That leaves Kumble, and I would sorely tempted to drop him. He has been going at over 40 runs a wicket in the last two series played on sub-continental pitches, and did not look threatenign at all in the first three days of the Irani Cup.

If the Bangalore pitch is pace-friendly, I would pick the impressive Munaf Patel in his place. Otherwise either Amit Mishra or Pragyan Ojha would give the Aussies something new to contend with. I would only consider playing Kumble on his favourite Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi, pitch in the third Test.

By dropping Kumble, I also gain a more dynamic and astute captain in MS Dhoni. So here's my team for the Tests.

Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir (openers); Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, VVS Lakshman (middle order); MS Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper); Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, and Amit Mishra (bowlers).

I would replace Amit Mishra with Munaf Patel in Bangalore and Mohali if the pitches there look like they will assist pace bowling.
c_sumit@dnaindia.net