Set aback by mass injuries to all the leading pacemen, selectors were forced to select a list of probables before the final team is selected.

Here’s the probables: Anil Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, VRV Singh, Pankaj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Aakash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir, Ranadeb Bose, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel

The final XVI should be a composition of experience and youth. It is worthless to carry people who aren’t in good form and have no set future ahead of them. Ideally the team should have 7 batsmen, 2 spinners, 5 fast bowlers and 2 keepers. Here’s my recommended team that needs to travel to Australia:
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Sir,

I am writing this letter with a heavy heart as I hold you in high esteem. However, the current situation vis-a-vis my position as the Chairman of selection committee has compelled me to write this letter to you.

I am really appalled at the way the BCCI has treated its selectors of late. The recent gag order issued by the BCCI wherein a lot of restrictions on freedom of speech or even movement have been imposed on the selectors, which I feel is rather unfortunate. It has not only humiliated us for doing selfless service to Indian cricket but also shown us in a very poor light.
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Watching the proceedings at Edgbaston where India got edged out in a familiar fashion, it calls for some changes in the batting line up. I would start right at the top with the one down position. Karthik was brilliant in the test series and showed promise in the first one dayer where he played low down; but, he is not apt for the crucial No.3 slot. We need somebody with experience at that position. As Dravid has taken on the responsibility of steadying and stabilizing the lower order, the only other man fit for that position would be Tendulkar. He has the experience and grit to carry out the job that Ian Bell has been doing for England in this series. Tendulkar needs to drop to No.3 position in the best interest of the team.

Taking Tendulkar out of the opening slot would enable Uthappa to walk in seamlessly. Uthappa is an exciting player, entertaining to watch and a great prospect for the future. He has the tenacity to murder bowlers in a Gilchrist fashion. He will surely up the ante by providing some quick starts which has been lacking so far from India.

Another change that I would recommend is going back to the four bowler formula. We don’t have a dependable batting line anymore. We need more batsmen to compensate for our shortcomings. Powar has played well but his nonathletic fielding, spilling catches and no-contact batting should be taken into consideration and dropped to make way for the debutant Rohit Sharma. India can manage with the guile of Tendulkar and the accuracy of Yuvraj for the fifth bowler’s slot. Having just four bowlers will put more responsibility on other regular bowlers and that’s how it should be.

Subhash Chandra announced the formation of the Indian Cricket League mainly to make money from the cricket crazy Indian public. He hoped that BCCI would support him in his venture and take a share of the earnings as well. But, the money hungry board that single handedly rules over any cricket activity in India was not ready to part a piece of it’s pie. The great Indian cricket tussle had begun.

BCCI never felt that ICL would be able to kick off as they maintained their authority over all cricket stadiums and domestic cricketers who aspired to play for the country. They even made fun of ICL when retired players started signing up with lucrative deals. BCCI had the biggest shock of the century when several domestic players started signing up for the league despite life ban threat. The sleeping giant had woken up to the biggest Indian migration since the partition of India and Pakistan. This kind of switchover is not found in the political circles as well.

BCCI had to do something really quick, or the cards were turning square. They put together a great format for Twenty20 which involved other countries and a professional firm like IMG. They called it Professional Cricket League. There would be some foreign cricketers presence in this BCCI league which should add color(literally) and variety to the cricket played. The same professionalism and quality will gradually be moved over to the domestic ODIs and test matches to be played.

It does not matter whether BCCI wins this battle or ICL manages to squeak in the glory; the obvious winner is Indian cricket. BCCI had done nothing to the game but to update their personal passbooks. Money that came from the game was not spent for the game which is ideal scenario but was used for personal satisfaction. Finally, we can see a small fraction of the BCCI money spent on cricket. It has already announced 200 crores for training facilities.

Kudos to ICL for initiating a revolution in Indian cricket history. There is no doubt on my mind that Subhash Chandra is set to face the biggest loss of his business life through ICL but he has done a great favor which should be recorded in the history books.

India leading a test series outside India with one test to go is a rare matter. But when it happens once in a blue moon, the situations should be taken seriously and dealt with duly. On Thursday, India play England at the Oval hoping to wrap up the series in style. England on the other hand have no intentions of losing this war. England have not lost any of their home series since the Ashes loss in 2001. A draw in this test or a loss at worse would be an embarrassing one.

India should go positively into this match with no changes to their XI from the last test. The current side looks balanced and have tasted victory before. The batting trio of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly should hold fort against the English bowling. Openers have been impressive and Laxman has been erratic more than once. Recharged Zaheer backed by RP Singh should provide optimum seaming options. Sreesanth who has great potential should get another chance to prove his critics right. Kumble, the lone spinning ranger is quite adept at taking on the opposition single handedly although England has not been a happy hunting ground for him.

England is boosted by the return of Pietersen. His presence adds greatly to the team’s morale. The spinner friendly wicket at the Oval should excite Panesar and maybe Vaughn could chip in a bit. But, the England batting looks shaky and unstable. Bell, Collingwood, Cook and Prior haven’t delivered in the first two test matches and look out of sorts. Bowling looks healthy with swinging options of Sidebottom and bouncy Tremlett. Anderson has looked weak with his out swingers and this test could be his chance for redemption.

On the Indian standpoint, India should be aggressive and look to win the test match rather than a stalemate. Bowlers shouldn’t lose their concentration and should continue where they left off at Trentbridge. Sreesanth will have to put the last test behind and concentrate on hitting the target consistently. India is not an aggressive team in the test matches as they fail to score runs in a hurry. They are always content on accumulating runs than going after the bowlers. Strategy should change in this test match and the matches to come in the future. The batsmen starting with the openers should look to score runs from ball one.

On the English standpoint, they need to bat well; really well. It is their batting that has let them down on all occasions. Bowlers have looked positive and effective. If the English batsmen can come good, there is a good chance of them leveling the series and saving their pride.

The Oval test has all the ingredients to become a historical test match. It is left to the people who matter the most on the field to act out according to the script. This blockbuster should be won with heart and grit to be deemed a great success.

While India seems to be doing fine with no specialist big name coach, BCCI president Sharad Pawar has quoted that a new big profile coach will be selected for team India in less than a month. He said this while addressing the members of KSCA at Bangalore. BCCI feels that it’s top priority would be to find a foreign coach and they have duly sent mails for recommendations to Australia, England, West Indies and New Zealand.

India needs a brilliant strategist than a coach who can teach Dravid on cover drives. Ravi Shastri fitted into the mold perfectly but his contractual stipulations kept him out of Indian cricket. Pawar and party should try and find a strategist in India or abroad who has a great knowledge about the modern game.