Spin to win could well be the mantra

That the Indian team has a well settled look and the bench strength is strong is best exemplified by the fact that the selection committee meeting to pick the Indian squad for the first Test against England at Chennai was over in a jiffy.
Here you had a scenario wherein the selectors had to pick a team that had two all time greats missing from the line-up that played the previous Test because they had retired. And yet there was hardly any time wasted in naming the replacements. No, the selectors were not being flippant. It's just that everything is already in place as far as the Indian team is concerned.

That Yuvraj Singh would take Sourav Ganguly's place in the middle order was a foregone conclusion. He is the leader of the Generation Next of Indian batsmen but for various reasons has not done justice to his undoubted talent, class and ability at the Test level. That Yuvraj who will turn 27 during the Test is prodigiously gifted none will deny.

But, figures of 1050 runs from 23 Tests at an average of 32.8 and only three hundreds pale when compared to his ODI figures of 6466 runs at an average of 37.2 and a strike rate of 88. There is no reason why the statistics associated with his Test career cannot match the figures connected with the shorter version of the game.

One of the reasons behind the modest figures is clearly the fact that Yuvraj was in and out of the squad thanks to the presence of the Fab Four. He only got a look-in when one of them was injured or indisposed. Now that Ganguly has retired and the selectors have made it clear that Yuvraj is the man for the No 5 slot, the man who could be the next Maharaj has to grab the opportunity with both hands. He has the destructive ability to bring the best of bowlers to their knees, his batting is the classic component of grace and power and he has been compared to everyone from Gary Sobers to Clive Lloyd to Brian Lara.

For once it can be said that this is not extravagant praise. On potential, Yuvraj has it in him to rise to the highest level. We all know that he is a match winner, an explosive batsman who can take any bowling apart a trait that he has shown now and then in his start and stop Test career. If he does not make the most of this opportunity he could well lose his place for good for there are other talented youngsters waiting in the queue. If this happens Yuvraj could well go down as one of the greatest disappointments in Indian cricket and I am sure the ambitious left-hander does not want to be associated with this unwelcome tag.

Much of the focus has centered around Yuvraj's well publicized inclusion, but the inclusion of three spin bowlers in the 15 is also an indication as to the selectors' way of thinking. Spin to win could well be the mantra against the Englishmen and few would argue against this given the past record of Indian spinners against the visitors especially at home.

Amit Mishra will be the front runner of course to take Anil Kumble's place. He bowled admirably against the Australians and given the traditional weakness of English batsmen against leg spin he is a cert for Chennai. It remains to be seen whether Pragyan Ojha too will find favour in which case a batsman will have to be dropped and this is unlikely. There is no other option for in the changed scenario there is no Ganguly to share the new ball even if the selectors toy with the idea of taking the field with only one specialist new ball bowler. Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan are bowling too well however even to contemplate such gambles.

It's a nice balanced squad even taking in the extra players - a reserve opening batsman, a reserve middle order batsman, a reserved new ball bowler and a reserve spinner. That's the impressive bench strength for you with many more waiting in the wings to force themselves in. Yes, these are upbeat times in Indian cricket best illustrated by recent results and there is little reason to believe that the upswing will be disturbed during the two-Test series against England.