The record is against the tourists

It is obvious that a good deal of thinking and planning has gone into the selection of the Indian Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. If you look closely, Kris Srikkanth and his team has chosen what is expected to be the first eleven and then has added one player for each of five specialist slots – opening batsman, middle order batsman, wicket keeper, pace bowler and spinner.

Murali Vijay is the third opener in the side which will under normal circumstances have Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir opening the batting. In the middle order the first choices are Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh so Suresh Raina gets in as a substitute to cover up for any injury.

MS Dhoni has Wriddhiman Saha as his deputy, while S Sreesanth will be on stand by duty in case of injury (or lack of form) to Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Harbhajan Singh is the spin bowling certainty and will have the support of either Amit Mishra or Pragyan Ojha. Viewed like this, it can be seen that every department has been covered and overall it can be said that the selectors have done an admirable job.

Questions have already been raised on the exclusion of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara but the selectors have an embarrassment of riches where the middle order is concerned and not every player can be accommodated. There will be those who will miss out and perhaps will have to wait for their turn.

The same upbeat things can be said for the pace bowling department and while the likes of RP Singh, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel have their credentials when it comes to the Test team, it is right that Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth should get the nod. Both are ideal bowlers for cricket’s traditional format with their pace and hostility and can supplement Zaheer’s experience and swing bowling admirably as has been seen in the recent past.

Despite injury problems which have also resulted in his pace dropping Ishant remains a potent force and he should be persevered with. As for Sreesanth whatever his antics off the field and his appalling behaviour on it he is a bowler with immense potential.

However, this could be the last time for the bowler with the natural away swinger to cement his place in the side even as one wishes he has worked on his temperament. As far as spin is concerned Mishra, Ojha and Piyush Chawla are the three best young bowlers in the country today and any of them could be given a slot.

The return of Yuvraj Singh was always on the cards. No one doubts his potential as a match winner perhaps even in Tests. For various reasons he has not lived up to promise particularly in the traditional format.

His exclusion from the Asia Cup squad was a message to Yuvraj not to take his place for granted and to work on his form and fitness. Hopefully, he has done that. Despite the challenges from several young contenders he remains the best bet for the No 6 slot but could time be running out for him one wonders.

For me the only surprise is the exclusion of Dinesh Kartik who could have fitted in nicely into the dual role of second wicket keeper and third opening batsman. He came good in the Asia Cup final, winning the man of the match award with a timely knock and as such his confidence must on a high. Of course, his inclusion could well have led to the exclusion of Vijay and as such it would have been a 15-member squad which I believe is ideal for a short tour of three Tests and a warm up game in a neighbouring country.

So is it a team good enough to win a Test series in Sri Lanka, one of the toughest tasks in international cricket? The record is against the tourists for they have won just once way back in 1993, when Md Azharuddin was the captain and Tendulkar the only survivor from that side was at 20 his deputy.

Overall, they won three Tests and lost five in the island nation. The Sri Lankans at home are a formidable unit but can be beaten. Dhoni's team has the arsenal to win and prove why they are the No. 1 Test team in the game today.