Here are the ones waiting in the wings

As the hoopla over the tour to Australia — which was touted as the ‘Battle Royale’, a fight for ascendancy and honor, a reiteration of our grit, and all the rest — fizzles out with India going 2-0 down we seem to be missing a far more intriging point. Aakash Chopra writes. Possible candidates

As the hoopla over the tour to Australia — which was touted as the ‘Battle Royale’, a fight for ascendancy and honor, a reiteration of our grit, and all the rest — fizzles out with India going 2-0 down we seem to be missing a far more intriging point.

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This will perhaps be the last time we would be seeing the three Greats of Indian Test cricket —Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid —together in a series overseas. As poignant as that is, it is also equally disturbing for all ardent cricket fans —who would surface as the new sentinel of Indian cricket is the big question. Until now, the trio had held fort — and hence both our present and future looked secure, but with their inevitable goodbyes coming close, there seems to be a dire urgency to look for people to fill their slots. But these are rather big shoes to fill and perhaps, will never be filled with the same authority. Possible candidates

With thousands of runs scored in every first-class season, ideally we should be spoilt for choices but unfortunately, that’s not the case. Most of the runs scored are on placid batting surfaces against mediocre bowling attacks and in not-so-significant matches — we need to dig a little deeper to separate chalk from cheese. That’s what I would try to do here — have a closer look at the possible candidates to fill the middle order slots when the opportunity arises.