THE 15-MEMBER Indian squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka carried few surprises. Or maybe one. Dinesh Mongia finds himself back in the limelight. For the rest, Anil Kumble is still out as the selectors have decided to treat him with kid gloves after giving due credence to his age and looking at a long-term perspective. At least that is what they say. What Kumble, who has looked more charged up this last year than many others just over half his age, might say, is another matter! Sourav Ganguly, expectedly, is still out. A question about him elicited the usual response from the selection committee chairman Kiran More. Without actually taking Ganguly’s name, More deadpanned his standard reply: That performances always counted and anybody could always make a comeback. It is quite clear by now though, that the former India skipper is not anybody.
Still Ganguly has no performances to speak of in the recent past, so his case is somewhat iffy. But why Zaheer Khan is still in the doghouse after some outstanding performances on both the county circuit just now and in the domestic circuit last year begs questioning.

More, incidentally, did acknowledge that Zaheer had done very well and had been among the wickets but did not elaborate on Zaheer’s exclusion, except to say that his time would come. Perhaps it will, though the grapevine has it that Zaheer is paying dearly for reasons other than purely cricketing.

Logically though, despite the selection committee’s emphasis on the very young, Zaheer’s experience could have come in handy especially given two factors — both admitted by More. One, Irfan Pathan’s worrying slump and two, the fast bowling performance during the West Indies one-dayers.

More himself said that the batting and fast bowling let the team down in the ODIs in the Caribbean. While adding that while Pathan’s form was a concern, he said they were not panicking yet and were hoping he would come back strongly.