Almost fair

The selections for the India A squad to tour England can be described in two words: almost fair. Most of the players selected brook no argument. But a couple of strange omissions and inclusions have marred the process.

The selectors began by getting the captain right. Shiv Sunder Das, despite his tender years, has plenty of experience in captaining Orissa. And his appointment sends the message that he is still at the heart of the national selectors' plans for the future. Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar are not quite a sure thing as long-term Test openers - Sehwag, in fact, batted at No. 7 in his last Test. The opening slots are still open, and Das is the man most likely to grab that slot.

His strongest competition for that slot in the Indian team comes from two men who accompany him to England: Wasim Jaffer and Gautam Gambhir. There is a fourth opener in the squad as well - Satyajit Parab of Baroda. One might have expected Parab's opening partner in the Ranji Trophy, Connor Williams, to be selected - Williams had a good tour of West Indies with India A earlier this year. But Parab is younger, and had a better domestic season that Williams, and those are reasons enough. Akash Chopra, who also had a good tour of West Indies, was recuperating from a knee injury, or Parab might have had to wait a bit longer for his break.

The selections of Rohan Gavaskar and Vijay Bharadwaj, and the omission of Abhijit Kale, are baffling. Kale's good performances in the India A tours of Sri Lanka last year and West Indies this year saw him earn his first India cap during the TVS Cup in Dhaka. It is strange how he was being tried out for India just a few weeks ago, and has been discarded so soon, and so cruelly, from the India A team.

Gavaskar's inclusion indicates that regionalism is still rife in the selection committee. He made 416 runs at an average of 41.6 for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, while in two Duleep Trophy games he made 52 runs for Elite B. Kale, who plays for Maharashtra, piled up 683 Ranji Trophy runs at an average of 85.37, and in his only Duleep Trophy game, for Plate A, made 101 runs.

And what about Vijay Bharadwaj? Clearly, the selectors have picked him on the basis of the promise he showed years ago, when he got an extended run in the Indian team. He has had an average domestic season and does not merit a place in the side. The selectors have apparently picked him as an allrounder, and that is laughable. The conditions in England will be seamer-friendly and Bharadwaj's offspin will not make an impression.

If the selectors had to pick an allrounder, Ramesh Powar of Mumbai should have been the man. Powar's rearguard actions were one key reason why Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy this season; as was the legspin of Sairaj Bahatule. Bahatule was unfortunate to miss out on selection. But if the selectors wanted just one legspinner in the squad, they cannot be blamed for picking Amit Mishra. Mishra did well in the India A tour of West Indies, picking up 26 wickets at an average of 24.42 and a strike rate of 50.6. Besides, he is younger.