Until India landed in the West Indies, the planning for the World Cup was going according to Greg Chappell’s script. A core of key players had been developed for the tournament, Rahul Dravid had taken to captaincy well, and with the more experienced stalwarts and the youngsters shining, the Indian team was enjoying a superb run of success. Players had been experimented with in new roles, and a number of the punts had worked out - Irfan Pathan’s batting and Yuvraj Singh’s increasingly relied-upon bowling were the stand-out successes - as India steamrolled Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England in one day series.  

But in the West Indies, it all seemed to fall apart. Pathan’s bowling, the main string to his bow, fell away as he lost his nip and struggled even more to generate any substantial pace. The young, brash strokemakers struggled to adapt while Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo tucked into the bowlers with gusto. Suddenly, a second look seemed necessary. There was a clamor for change; an outcry from many for Anil Kumble to return to the side while others called for an end to the experimentation.  

The selectors responded with a conservative, but mostly expected lineup for the series in a fortnight’s time in Sri Lanka. Rudra Pratap Singh and Suresh Raina were perservered with, and Venugopal Rao and Robin Uthappa were discarded as Sachin Tendulkar was declared fit to take part, while another chance was offered to Dinesh Mongia. Of the selections, the last one generated the most furore. Was Mongia’s return a negative pick; a step backwards and a horses-for-courses decision, or did the selectors genuinely believe that he has a part to play under the blue cap.  

Problems at home? 

Mongia’s selection might very well reflect the growing concerns over two of India’s multi-dimensional players after the West Indian tour. Ramesh Powar and Irfan Pathan both featured in the team sheet, but it’s uncertain as to whether both may make the starting eleven at Colombo. Powar’s fielding had been ragged at points in the West Indies, but it was his bowling that caused concern. In India he had been superb, tying down the English batsmen with tantalising loop and sharp turn. In the West Indies, Sarwan and company charged him and repeatedly struck him about the small grounds. On the sluggish wickets in Colombo, where all the tri-series’ games will be played, Mongia may very well be an insurance policy to preserve the batting depth in the Indian lineup and provide another spinning option if Powar can’t find his lost form.  

There were greater concerns over Irfan Pathan, who was not played in two of the tests in the West Indies as his bowling and batting both fell away. Pathan surely will feature in the opener of the tri-series, given his potential and future value to the side in all three areas of the game, but if he’s unable to find his rhythm, one can only wonder what Plan B might be. Mongia’s utility as a left-arm spinner and a dangerous middle order batsman may very well have been looked at as a fallback option. The other recall for a now-fit Sachin Tendulkar, was more straightforward, and should provide India with their favoured opening combination of Tendulkar and Sehwag at the top of the order. It’ll mean a fight for spaces in the lineup though with Dravid being forced to return to the middle order, putting some more pressure on Yuvraj, Kaif and Raina - with the latter most likely to face an axe, given his non-performances in the West Indies.  

The opposition 

The Sri Lankan team taking part in this series is almost unrecognisable from the one that copped a hammering in India late last year. Then demoralised, with form issues, youngsters not standing up and selection and political problems dominating, the Lankan side resembled a rabble. There’s been a significant turn around since their tour to Australia though, with a fine showing in the VB series and recently a superb performance in England. Few expected them to draw the test series and win the one dayers with such panache, yet the Lankans managed it with Upul Tharanga impressing, and Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara clicking on all cylinders. India’s bowlers will have reason to be wary, given Jayasuriya’s destructive form in the ODIs in England, and the run glut that Jayawardena and Sangakkara have enjoyed off late - with the two recently sharing a record 624 run stand against South Africa. The main threat though will be Muralitharan, who was a shadow of his usual self in India. In England, Muralitharan terrorised all the batsmen, bar the indomitable Kevin Pietersen, and will be a far greater force on home soil if on form.  

South Africa on the other hand have regressed since their last series against India. Dravid and Chappell will no doubt be looking at their coming tour in November as their best chance to register a win in South Africa, with the toll that injuries, form and selection issues have taken on the South African team, who lost 5 out of 6 tests to Australia, failed to make the finals of the VB series at the beginning of the year, and are presently struggling to save a test in Colombo. While Makhaya Ntini has been the proverbial irresistible force at home, the more docile wickets of Sri Lanka will negate much of his threat and few of the other bowlers have seemed capable of holding up the workload abroad, particularly with Shaun Pollock losing his incisiveness with age. With both Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis presently injured, Herschelle Gibbs struggling for form and few youngsters stepping up to fill the breach (AB de Villiers aside), South Africa will stand a notch below both India and Sri Lanka in the batting ranks. But even as the comparitive underdogs to two teams better suited to the conditions and with stronger lineups on paper, it’d be a brave decision to count them out of the series.