NOVEMBER 2: It is hard to reconcile India's brazenness in mocking at the interest of the cricket-watching public by not trying to force a win at Ahmedabad, with its somewhat aggressive and bold selection for the tour of Australia.It must be a record of sorts - more in embarrassment than pride - that a team decides not to force a follow-on after being 275 runs ahead, as India did in the final Test of the series against New Zealand on Monday. The excuses will be many, from the docile nature of the wicket to the tiredness of the bowlers and the need to give them a rest in the heat of the Motera stadium.But, put simply, all these defensive tactics only show how unsure the team is of itself and its lack of self belief even against an average Test team, like the Kiwis are in Indian conditions. The Ahmedabad crowd had made light of the heat on the four days, filling the stadium by thousands. And what did they get in return? The last day of the match had empty, vacant stands staring at the players. But how does that bother them? They had made their decision: to ignore the fact that sport is meant to entertain and bring people to the ground, not drive them away.India's most aggressive batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, may have the reflexes of a cheetah when it comes to playing his strokes, but in the Ahmedabad Test he has shown the mindset of a lamb in his leadership qualities. In conjunction with the legendary Kapil Dev, a bold, daring and fighting cricketer, Tendulkar was expected to usher in an era of positive cricket. Kapil's words, immediately after he was appointed coach of the team that `we need quality and not quantity' sound hollow after India's negative attitude in the series, not just in Ahmedabad, but in the second Test at Kanpur too, where they batted for more than 100 overs in the first innings to score just 73 runs.In the backdrop of this negativism from the team, it does come as a surprise that India will go to Australia with five specialist seamers, something they have never done in the past. There is going to be criticism from various quarters for ignoring spinners and putting a lot of emphasis on fast bowling but the selectors may have a point here. If Indian spinners are not good enough to run through sides in India these days, what chance do they have on wickets where the balls are not meant to aid slow bowlers. Another debating point is the choice of MSK Prasad.If Nayan Mongia is the number one keeper then he should have got the nod. But there are a lot of plus points in Prasad, the most important being his willingness to learn. He showed dramatic improvement in his keeping: From being shoddy in Mohali to displaying quiet competence at Ahmedabad. Young Prasad is a very useful bat too, which makes his selection not all that unwelcome.It is the continuing presence of Ajay Jadeja in a team where he gets very limited opportunities to play in Tests, which should raise many eyebrows. If the selectors and the team think tank believe Jadeja is as good a player of the five-day game as he is of its one-day offshoot, then why is he not given a proper trial? One match here, another there, makes no sense. And now he is being taken to Australia where he may again not get to play a Test. If that be so, then why select him at all?
