Short-term gain for long-term pain?

	Is Rahul Dravid being looked at merely as a stop-gap fix for India's short-ball woes? © AFP
Related Links News : Dravid among Champions Trophy probables Player/Officials: Rahul Dravid Series/Tournaments: ICC Champions Trophy Teams: India

India's preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy included usual suspects, a handful of young hopefuls and one oddity - the reappearance of Rahul Dravid in India's 50-over plans. Dravid last played a one-day international in October 2007 and was jettisoned from the team after a torrid home series against Australia, in which he scored 51 runs in five innings.

He was out of form and looked out of place in an Indian team that had transformed into an athletic outfit filled with power-hitters after the World Twenty20 victory in South Africa. Since that defeat against Australia, India had a terrific run in ODIs, winning seven out of nine series: at home against Pakistan and England, in Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the most recent one - in West Indies - was the fifth success in a row.

So, even though the pool of contenders for the tournament in South Africa is as large as 30, why is Dravid among them? Is his selection merely whimsical, to make up the numbers? Or is there reason and rationale behind a move that appears to be a step in a direction opposite to the one in which the one-day unit has progressed under MS Dhoni?

The key may lie in the answer to the question: what does Dravid possess that the current Indian middle order doesn't? He may not be endowed with bowler-shredding skills that the current middle order formed by Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan possess but Dravid has a water-tight technique, one that has brought him success on various pitches, fast or slow, across the globe. And he has rarely been fragile against the short ball, a weakness currently dogging the Indian batting line-up. A weakness that caused them to crash out of the World Twenty20 in England and one that troubled them during the first two ODIs in the Caribbean.

Two of India's newest batting success stories, Rohit and Raina, have been most susceptible to the rising ball. They were prolific in the subcontinent, on small grounds and flat pitches in New Zealand, and on slower pitches during the IPL at the end of the domestic season in South Africa. On a spicy Lord's surface against England and West Indies bowlers targetting the body, however, Rohit and Raina had severe problems. They were pinned in their creases, given precious few balls to drive or cut, and eventually done in by deliveries that reared off a length, denying them time and space to play to their strengths.

Rohit and Raina were not alone in their struggle - Gautam Gambhir, who favours stepping out of his crease to alter the bowler's length, and Yusuf were also contained by the shorter line of attack. The malaise did not go away when India left England's shores either for several batsmen came undone against the rising delivery during the first two one-day internationals in West Indies.

The word has inevitably spread and bowlers everywhere will target the bodies of India's young brigade until each individual is able to make adjustments to overcome the problems caused by short-pitched bowling. There are only two months to go before the Champions Trophy kicks off, and the inclusion of Dravid in preliminary plans is possibly aimed at solidifying a batting order which will be tested on lively pitches at the start of the season in South Africa. He could be back-up - if the likes of Raina and Rohit fail to show sufficient improvement in form and technique.

His inclusion is a warning to the young batsmen who took over the slots occupied by the likes of Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. They took India to dizzy heights, winning the inaugural World Twenty20 and the CB Series in Australia but now their adaptability, which the aforementioned trio possessed in abundance, is being tested. Since Dravid was excluded from India's one-day plans, four batsmen have played five innings or more at No. 3, a position that belonged to Dravid in his prime. Of those four, only Gambhir has succeeded, averaging 44.35 in that position, while Raina (23), Yuvraj Singh (18) and Rohit (14.50) have been more comfortable lower down the order.

Dravid's inclusion, however, is likely to be a short-term solution, possibly aimed at papering over India's weaknesses for the Champions Trophy rather than a long-term answer. If he were to be selected, it would mean that possibly four out of India's squad will be on the wrong side of 30 - Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan being the other three - marking a compromise by default on the standard of fielding that has lifted India's performances in recent times.

Whatever the reason behind the selection, the Indian selectors must convey their intentions to Dravid. They have to tell him what they expect from him and whether he is merely on stand-by in case India's current young batsmen continue to unravel on tougher pitches overseas against bowling attacks intent on exploiting their weaknesses. Since his exclusion from the limited-overs side, Dravid has moved on as a player and person, dividing his time between Test cricket, IPL and a young family. His inclusion among the 30 probables was a bolt from the blue, and it is likely that he was as surprised as the rest of us.