 |
| Gary Kirsten |
Colombo: Gary Kirsten accepts that the Yuvraj Singh/Suresh Raina dilemma has, in terms of decision making, been the toughest for him in his two-and-a-half years as the Team India coach.
“It’s the most difficult decision to make. In a way, though, it’s good to be in a position where such a choice has to be made,” Kirsten told The Telegraph, at the P. Sara Oval, on Sunday afternoon.
Grinning, Kirsten added: “Yes, who plays in the final Test is the million dollar question... I realise that... Rest assured, I won’t be the only one making the decision and I’ll definitely be taking the views of others...
“The eventual decision may not be the right one, I don’t know, but one will have to live with it... Nobody stands to be a winner... Neither the one who has to sit out, nor those of us who’ll be involved in deciding... For, if we get it wrong, there will be plenty of flak.”
He couldn’t have been more candid.
Kirsten, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag are in the same boat. With the Test beginning Tuesday, there’s little time left to choose between the experienced Yuvraj and Raina, an impressive centurion on debut.
Yuvraj began the three-match series as first choice in the XI, scoring 52 and 5 in Galle, a Test India lost by 10 wickets. Raina, who made his debut at the SSC after Yuvraj fell ill, registered a superb 120.
Cause for much celebration and a headache, too, for the think tank.
Nobody has given a hint, but the quality of Raina’s innings and the temperament he showed, with the team in really big trouble, appears to give him the edge over Yuvraj. But...
The wicket at the SSC had been placid, yes, yet the pressure immense. Full credit to Raina, then. At the same time, the general feeling is that Yuvraj isn’t anybody’s blue-eyed boy and the Establishment is often out to fix him.
Six years ago, Yuvraj had been on the other side of the fence, so to say. He scored a very creditable 112 in the first innings in Lahore, standing-in for captain Sourav Ganguly. Sourav returned for the next Test (in Rawalpindi, the final one) and, to accommodate Yuvraj, Akash Chopra was dropped and the batting order changed.
The logic: Somebody with a fine hundred, albeit in a losing cause, simply had to be retained. India, by the way, won in Rawalpindi and created history.
Quite understandably, both Yuvraj and Raina looked somewhat tense during the day, especially during the nets.
Yuvraj, in fact, was the last to finish, with Kirsten and mental conditioning expert (in effect the assistant coach) Paddy Upton keeping a close watch.
“Are you happy?” Kirsten asked, to which Yuvraj nodded. It’s then that the coach called it a day.
“I’m fully fit... No problems,” Yuvraj remarked, as he walked towards the dressing room. Nothing else was said.
Yuvraj’s ODI debut was almost 10 years ago, but he’s been a Test regular since as recently as late 2008, after Sourav’s retirement.
The wicket at the P. Sara Oval had a fair amount of grass and there also seemed to be plenty of moisture. It will be interesting to see how it looks on Monday.
What’s pretty clear is that Sri Lanka, ahead 1-0, are just waiting to unleash Lasith Malinga, once again. He didn’t play at the SSC.