It’s been 53 days now, and the tour has exactly a month to go still. It has been tough on the cricketers, probably tougher on Dinesh Kaarthick. He’s got just one Twenty20 match in entire duration, and the man who not so long ago was a distinct certainty in the playing XI, is now staring at an uncertain future. He has been content with being behind the bowling machine at all times when he’s not carrying the drinks basket. Kaarthick is waiting patiently for his comeback chance.With slightly varied connotations, Suresh Raina is contemplating his own fate, while Manoj Tiwary is waiting for his promised day and the official handing over of the ODI cap. And they are all fighting with Rohit Sharma for that number five slot. Possibly Robin Uthappa could join this fight by trying to maintain number 6 in the batting card. They are the best of friends, they hang out together and have played all their cricket together —- but everything of past has now come down to mere rivalry for one hot seat. Admits Rohit Sharma: “It’s a bit strange, but we knew all the while that we were all middle-order batsmen and we have to keep competing with each other. That’s professional cricket, but we don’t carry all that on the field. We have just decided that whosoever gets a chance will play, try to score runs and perform. We are good friends and we enjoy each other’s success.”Rohit has got the first nod here, and he has come through a similar grind — he sat out in similar fashion through the entire England tour and cashed in on his chances through the Twenty20 World Cup, and still had to wait in the home series for the seniors to make way. “It’s definitely a big responsibility on me to be holding such a pivotal position. I am trying to stay at the wicket, concentrate hard and do well,” he assures, suggesting that he’s better geared for Australia now after getting acclimatised, and also because he’s more confident against fast bowlers, he says. Sreesanth skipped practice today after having a mild congestion, but is expected to recover in time. India, meanwhile, are likely to retain the same XI for their next match against Australia on February 10. With Yuvraj Singh now completely fit, the batting order is more or less sealed, while the success of Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma along with the utility of Irfan Pathan means that this XI is difficult to meddle with — though there’s a temptation to squeeze in Piyush Chawla, keeping in mind Australia’s weakness and the also the slow nature of the wicket.Coach Lalchand Rajput spent a long time looking over the wicket’s initial preparation. With the sun playing hide and seek after three days of steady rain, the heater was on at full blast to dry the wicket as groundsmen worked hard against time and weather to get the pitch ready after Wednesday’s domestic game at the MCG. It was difficult to say who would have gone on to win the Brisbane opener after rain stopped play. Now there’s another fresh contest waiting, and the pressure is seeping in. Every time these juniors fail, the mention of seniors and their absence crop up. Rohit feels “it’s unfair; I think the youngsters should be given their chance, they are doing well. You can’t judge them by just 1 or 2 games. If you do well in Australian conditions, your confidence level goes up,” he says. Meanwhile Kaarthick has been watching Vadivelu —-and having a laugh over the Tamil comedian’s antics. Talking about movies, the remake of Don and Devdas were a hit, but people still remembered the older versions as classics. These youngsters have a big challenge up their sleeves — they have to first become a hit, and then.
