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Ganguly may make way for RP Singh
As things stand, Indian think-tank mull playing three pacemen and two spinners.
The debate over Sourav Ganguly's inclusion in the playing XI, the wicket and the weather are threatening to hijack this series.
There is no peace for those who want to see an oft serene, occasionally even violent, and always intense competition between the two teams.
After all, the India-Pakistan contests are supposed to be the ones in which the adrenalin flows. Games in which predicting a winner should be akin to solving a mystery.
This is what the ad world wants and this is what fans hope for. But reality never bears any resemblance to the world of dreams and wishes and an Indo-Pak Test series has rarely lived up to the hype. After the disaster at Lahore, no one is quite sure what to expect at Faisalabad.
Instead of focusing on what can and should happen to make this Test an enthralling one, the debate once again is over Ganguly. Judging by the intense scrutiny the wicket was subjected to by Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell in the afternoon and the subsequent discussion between the two, it is becoming clear that India have a problem with their team selection.
The team management has made a "great discovery" here that letting the media know the team in advance or even throwing a hint as to what the composition could be, means revealing much more than what India wants to show their rivals. In the difficult times we live in, the easy way out is to become a sleuth and indulge in guesswork.
Again, judging from a few unconnected words picked up from different sources who seem to know all — at times even the result — the Indians believe that going into the match with just four bowlers won't suffice. And intelligent guesswork or plain common sense says that if India go into the Test with five bowlers, then the axe will fall on who else, but Ganguly.
The former Indian captain had been "accommodated" in Lahore by a generous captain, a reluctant coach and a stubborn team management (some call it the Board).
At Faisalabad, the war cry of the team is "let us try to win here as who knows what the conditions in Karachi will be like?" And once that war cry has been sounded, its implementation requires throwing caution to the wind.
After looking down (at the wicket), looking up (at the skies) and looking straight (at everyone who falls in the direction of your eyes) the decision of the captain-coach as of now is: Three pacers and two spinners.
The reasoning too, after much complicated discussion, is simple: If the wicket turns, India will be ready to unleash its two spinners.
If it seams in the beginning or the bounce becomes uneven, India will be ready to utilize three pacemen.
There is much merit in this argument as this Indian team prides itself on the strength of its batting and there is no harm in testing that strength and that pride in the field of play.
So, if, in the morning, the captain still feels that the wicket still looks deceptive, don't be surprised to find Ganguly sitting out and RP Singh walking in, in his place.
When Dravid opened at Lahore, he would have had little idea then that by doing this, he was opening up a new possibility for the team. But all this we will know only at the toss, as the think tank, in its infinite wisdom, believes in revealing no secrets to the world before it becomes a necessity.
The rest of the jigsaw is hardly a puzzle and everything falls into place. Dravid's opponents, Pakistan, are led by a man who never ceases to amaze and even delight with his persona.
The word ennui may perfectly describe the way Inzamam-ul-Haq presents himself to the world — struggling to move his limbs and forcing himself to utter a few words — but in his brevity lies the essence of the man.
He is sharp and knows what his team is capable of and what his opponents are up to. Let us hope the weather holds and the wicket behaves. The rest is up to players.
