It is not everyday that the focus on the eve of a Test is on how well Subramanium Badrinath is timing the ball, on how skipping helps Murali Vijay stay light on his feet and why Rohit Sharma has all the time in the world to play his shots.
On Friday, at the practice wickets just outside the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha, it wasn’t the exchange of notes between Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Mahendra Singh Dhoni that was eagerly watched.
What needed urgent attention was the area around Badrinath’s lower ribs. Zaheer Khan had breached his defence. Badrinath ended the session immediately. He wanted to make sure everything was alright.
This could turn out to be the most important 24 hours of Badrinath’s career. The domestic giant who has piled tons of runs is on the cusp of taking the big step. At 30, an age at which many a talented player has been overlooked simply because they were considered too old to play for India, Badrinath could get his Test debut come Saturday.
And he better make it look good. For this Test will be only the second time that Rahul Dravid misses one since his debut some thirteen and a half years ago. It’s not often that a place is available in the Indian middle-order. Yuvraj Singh had to wait for half-a-decade or more to become a regular member of the playing XI.
Now, with both Yuvraj and Dravid missing the first Test due to injuries of different kinds, it presents an opportunity for the next-in-line to showcase their talent and temperament against a South African side that has nothing to lose and everything to gain in this battle for the No.1 ranking.
Two of the three among them are set to feature in the starting line-up. Vijay, who has impressed whenever he has played, and Badrinath should be the front-runners. Rohit Sharma is a cover for VVS Laxman (stitches to left hand), who batted in the nets on the eve of the Test.
Skipper Dhoni said the team management was to take a late call on whether Laxman, who was seeing the physio, would be fit in time. Even if he plays it looks unlikely that Laxman would stand in the slips, his preferred and specialist position. If Laxman is fit and Sharma doesn’t get a game, the youngster can still take heart from the fact that he was thought of as a back-up to a batsman who has played some momentous innings.
Badrinath and Vijay spent considerable time in the nets but it will be a different ball game once the Test starts. A good showing against this South African attack that has in the past shown they can take 20 wickets on Indian soil will earn them points in the selectors’ books. While Vijay has shown the potential to make the shift from domestic games to Tests, Badrinath, for all his runs, remains an untested commodity at the most demanding level. This is a golden opportunity to succeed in the big test.
For it is not everyday that there is a slot open in the Indian middle-order. And it is not everyday that Rahul Dravid watches a Test from the sidelines. And it is not everyday one gets a chance to play instead of Yuvraj Singh.
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