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DEAR REDIFF

Testing times ahead

The players are ready for the gradual yet intensely demanding grind of a five-day contest -- they are fit (well, as fit as they can be) and gone is the rustiness one normally suffers from in the beginning of October.

Approaching a busy season, the Indian team is beset by a host of problems, mostly related to team composition. At home, traditionally, India's strength is spin -- but this time even spin is thin, the bowlers are missing. Confronted by this stark fact, India will resort to the usual -- and unfailing -- ploy of preparing underprepared tracks. On such treacherous wickets, the ball takes off alarmingly, and in the process make even mediocre spinners look like world-beaters.

This often results in extremely poor cricket because batsmen don't have a realistic chance, the ball is all over the place, the wicket-keeper needs a helmet, an appeal per delivery is the norm and the poor batsmen at the crease is merely waiting for the ritual execution. Still, in one sense it is fair enough, because what matters these days is victory, and India at home becomes virtually unbeatable which pleases the crowds, the sponsors, the players -- so virtually everyone except maybe the visiting team is smiling.

But nothing can mask the real problems of Indian cricket today. Srinath is still not on the mend and Prasad, notwithstanding loud denials, is far from peak condition, his injured shoulder requires specialised attention. And without these two, the new ball attack is friendly, the youngsters on the scene possess more of enthusiasm than serious talent, flat pitches blunt effectiveness and in the absence of the kind of movement enjoyed at Toronto, Mohanty/Kuruvilla/ Harvinder are unlikely to trouble many batsmen.

The emphasis, thus, will be squarely on spin. Hopefully, Kumble will rediscover himself and focus his bowling radar on off stump. Despite his indifferent recent from, he remains India's most destructive spinner, his quickish leggies will torment batsmen unsure of what the wicket will do. Regrettably, no young spinner seems to be coming through, there is nobody on the periphery pushing for a place, and while one-dayers present an opportunity to try out young medium pacers, there is no place in such contests for inexperienced spinners. On the contrary, current wisdom says spinners need to be nurtured and protected -- not exposed to the murderous assaults of the likes of Jayasuriya and Ejaz Ahmad. Which in turn means that given the plethora of one day games we play these days, we are not likely to unearth any promising spinners for the Test side in the near future.

Given this extreme paucity of talent, Nilesh Kulkarni should hold on to his place. In adult company, he has not discredited himself, he is steady and ungenerous, keeps to off stump and strives to deny batsmen the chance of striking half volleys through the off side. The third spinner's slot could go to Chauhan provided he keeps away from the batsmen's legs. If the line is wrong and the offspinner drifts down leg, wickets are impossible and punishment, inescapable.

What all this means is that in the absence of real quality, you have to look for quantity. And this means playing five specialist bowlers, rather than four. And this in turn makes adjustments to the batting order, especially at the top, unavoidable -- more so because quality openers are unavailable, nobody has been groomed for the slot in the past few seasons. In these circumstances, Jadeja is difficult to ignore -- he is vice captain, has made a huge amount of runs, his utility value is undisputed. His personal preference is to bat at six in Tests and open in one dayers -- but thus far, keeping the team's interests in mind, he has been forced to go up the order, or not play at all, at the Test level.

Often, Jadeja is slammed for a weakness outside off stump -- but that failing bedevils every opener who has ever played cricket. On Indian tracks, without movement off the seam, Jadeja will happily cope, especially when confronted by bowlers who are less than the best.

Whether Sidhu partners Jadeja is a bit of a question mark -- the sturdy Sardar is in the midst of a lean trot, has slowed down in the field and suddenly finds runs difficult to make. Sidhu made a double hundred in the West Indies, but recently hasn't had much joy. With age against him, the selectors could just dump Sidhu leaving the door open for either Khoda or Laxman -- forgotten after a promising start -- to establish themselves.

Apart from the openers the other batting positions are occupied. Dravid and Ganguly are secure, as are Sachin and Azhar, the only likely threat to their positions is from injury and these four lend a lot of style and solidity to the Indian batting. Whatever the type of wicket, they will be difficult to dislodge.

Playing at home, as they will be for the rest of the year, India is a different team -- cricket conditions are obviously helpful, there is enormous crowd support, victories are achieved without much sweat, it is not unusual for Tests to end in three days. But the Indian team awaits the arrival of an opener and a quality spinner to be able to battle on equal terms with the best in the world.