Email
Print
ShareMUMBAI: It's just a matter of time before India's Test side would have at least two vacancies in the middle order.
And at least a dozen hopefuls are in the reckoning for those two slots -- some talented youngsters and tried and tested ones such as Mohammed Kaif and Wasim Jaffer.
With Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble already bidding adieu, stalwarts like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman will call it a day sooner than later.
Only a while back the names of Jaffer, Kaif, Subramaniam Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa were thought of when any of the Fab Fives were unavailable.
But in a recent development, another lot comprising Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Abhinav Mukund and Murali Vijay have pushed themselves into the limelight.
Among others, Pujara has been sensational in the ensuing season. He has scored three triple tons and has a Ranji Trophy aggregate of more than 860 while Rahane - even after having few low scores - managed to top the batsmen's list with close to 1000 runs already.
A comparative study of the two most successful youngsters will give a clearer picture of how they are placed. Both have four centuries each, both have showed a lot of character and both have a hunger for big runs and long innings.
But the way the cool-headed Pujara - assisted by Jadeja and Shah - snatched the important quarterfinal win against Karnataka, was noteworthy. Rahane, however, seemed to be running out of luck during Mumbai's crucial knockout match against Himachal Pradesh, the easiest of the eight quarterfinalists. His 35 and 17 may not be enough to stake a claim for the Test berth, but he has generally been very consistent.
Next in line will be Jadeja, who deserve praise not only for scoring runs but for playing according to the need of the hour and keeping a cool head in pressure situations.
Tamil Nadu's Vijay, replacing the suspended Gautam Gambhir, did justice to the selectors' faith in him. The right-handed batsman may not have scored a century on debut, but the innings devoid of any hiccups at the top of the order impressed one and all.
Apart from these young guns, there are other veteran campaigners like Jaffer, Tiwary, Raina, Sharma, Uthappa and of course, Mohammed Kaif, who will be trying to regain their place.
Jaffer has piled up 873 runs in eight Ranji Trophy outings so far, competing well with the youngsters. Tiwary, too, had a bad season last year. His centuries against Tripura and Assam in the Plate group league this season may not have much significance considering the strength of the opposition, but his free and fluent 144 against Tamil Nadu in the knockout phase of the Super League has put him on par with others.
Sharma, in fact, has done enough to be in the consideration for the longer version, though he has not exactly scored a bucketful of runs. He has a century in his kitty, but his timely knock of 98 in the quarterfinals has surely brought him back into the rat race.
Karnataka captain Uthappa and Tamil Nadu's Badrinath, have come good in the ensuing season. Uthappa reached the three-figure mark thrice including against Saurshtra which came at a time when Karnataka needed it the most.
Badrinath also did well to turn the tide in Tamil Nadu's favour against Bengal in second innings after conceding lead. The right-hander's unbeaten 92 that steered them into the semifinals is sure to hold significance alongside two tons in the earlier rounds.
Tamil Nadu's 18-year-old Abhinav Mukund is the new kid on the block who sprung a surprise by amassing 756 runs in seven outings with three tons including an unbeaten 300 against Maharashtra in their first Super League tie.
Last but not the least, Uttar Pradesh duo -- Kaif and Raina -- though have not been in the best of touches, their gutsy performance in the bigger stages is something that every team needs.
