After a year, India may go for 5 bowlers

It’s a problem that every world captain would queue up to answer. But not, maybe, in this exam hall, at this time of the year, with rumours, leaks and showcause notices buzzing in the background.

And when the answers were finally revealed at a team meeting this evening, it was obvious that the management would have chewed through quite a few pencils over the last three days.

The first question, it is believed, was the easiest — Dravid had already told Dinesh Kaarthick and Wasim Jaffer that they would pick up from that 153-run opening partnership that nearly swung India’s last Test match, against South Africa.

And then? Surprise, surprise. The door had shut on Laxman and Yuvraj — this time, the team is actually serious about playing five bowlers on a pale pitch that will offer more bounce.

Well then, Laxman, who anchored his team’s first Test win against South Africa last year, can count himself incredibly unlucky, once again, not to be able to offer the extra bowling option this time that Ganguly has in the bag. Or Tendulkar’s reputation and, of course, those 10,668 runs.

As for Yuvraj, who spoiled his CV during the one-day series, he might as well step back now in the queue to be vice-captain for the England tour, let Kaarthick and Dhoni nudge it out. So there you go, Dravid probably at No 3, followed by Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dhoni.

“We can’t obviously play the eight batsmen. Someone is going to have to miss out and going to be unlucky,” Dravid had said earlier, adding, “I mean it is never going to be easy to drop anyone, irrespective of who they are. But sometimes you have to do it.”

Five bowlers, and that too, for the first time after the Mumbai Test against England exactly one year ago? “We do have the option of possibly playing five bowlers in these conditions, considering the weather and the wicket and what we are trying to achieve in this game. We have a basic idea and pretty broad plan of what we want to do and what we want to achieve. The specifics, we will tie that down later,” said Dravid.

The specifics, as it turns out, is this: it could be a three-man pace attack of Zaheer Khan, VRV Singh and RP Singh — Munaf Patel is being nursed for the long season ahead — along with the off-spin of Ramesh Powar. And? “On any condition, I think Anil Kumble is pretty much a very important part of our attack. Whatever the given conditions, Anil has played a huge role for the Indian team for the last decade and a half. So I don’t see that to be any different in this series as well,” said Dravid.

Habibul Bashar’s Bangladesh, meanwhile, were struggling with questions of a different kind: a rash of viral fever. Four of the five who were in the sick bed have recovered completely, including future captain Mohammad Ashraful, leaving Bashar to take a final call on himself tomorrow morning. “I am a lot better today. I was not in good shape yesterday. I am pretty sure and confident I will play tomorrow. It’s cold and fever; some kind of a viral fever that has been going around in the team,” said Bashar.

Then again, Bangladesh have not played a Test match in the last 13 months because “our focus was on the World Cup. It will be harder for us, it’s not going to be easy but we hope we can start well from the first day.”

Bashar’s gameplan is clear though — as usual, a three-pronged left-arm spin attack taking over from pace hero Mashrafe Mortaza, even if it means leaving out the accurate left-arm pacer Syed Rasel.

But then, with his team never having won a Test against India, Bashar admitted that this is not the time to take any risks. “Yes, India is a better Test playing team. Plus, they won the one-day series 2-0, and they already have the foundation. Definitely, India will have some advantage.”