Dravid comes into his inheritance

[Ashok]

It has been a while in coming but at last Rahul Dravid was anointed captain in his own right rather than as a gap-filler as he had been used over the last couple of seasons. Every time Sourav Ganguly missed a game for injury or suspension, India would turn to Dravid. Little wonder therefore that the Karnataka stylist's record is a mixed one — five wins to six losses — in 12 one-day games as leader so far.

Though there has been a predictable hue and cry at the change of guard, it is clear that the selection committee was left with few options given the uncertainty over the Ganguly ban. With a new coach at the helm, it was absolutely necessary to make a clean -- and clear -- transition, giving coach and captain both time and space to put together a strategy that looks to the future. It would have helped no one's case had uncertainty over who will occupy the captain's chair continued.

For all that, the selectors have kept the door open for Ganguly by including him as the 16th member of the team in the event the Board of Control for Cricket in India appeal on Ganguly's behalf is upheld by South Africa judge Albie Sachs in London very shortly. An interesting situation could arise here if India do well in the three-nation tournament in Sri Lanka that will be Dravid and Chapell's first assignment -- and Ganguly gets runs provided the rest of his ban is indeed overturned.

With the Indian cricket establishment buzzing at the elevation of Dravid, it helps that he and Chappell will start with virtually a clean slate. This is a new season, and India are already plumbing the depths as far as their rankings in the international one-day table is concerned. To help their cause, the five wise men have opted for a mix of caution and adventure -- the first in retaining a bulk of the squad that under-performed all of last year and the second in blooding two promising young men and bringing back one player who have the potential to fill the gaping all-rounder's slot in the middle order.

J.P. Yadav is 30, but two years after he was tried and discarded, he returns to the team a more complete player. One of the engines behind unfashionable Railways' magnificent recent run in the Ranji Trophy, he ended the last season with a hat-ful of wickets and plenty of runs at crucial times. Andhra Pradesh middle-order bat Venugopala Rao has been talked about for years now and at 23 gets his first big chance while 19-year-old Suresh Raina has been fast-forwarded from the junior ranks into the big time.

What is promising inasmuch as the new coach and captain are concerned is that the experienced heart of the team has been left untouched. This is a clear signal that this is indeed the foundation around which the team for the 2007 World Cup will be built. And for the first time, Dravid has been given the opportunity to mould and shape things the way he would like to, and not on a case-by-case basis that has been his lot so far.

It would have helped if the selectors (and the BCCI) had given Dravid the Zimbabwe tour as well to really give him a chance to settle in. As it stands, the last thing he would want to be doing now is looking back over his shoulder instead of ahead at what needs to be done to re-knit this team into the sort of shape and form it was in on return from Pakistan last spring. But then, with things cricketing in India, it was probably expecting a bit too much and the 32-year-old will have just a 10-day tournament to give it his best shot. Knowing the man, India can expect nothing less.