INDIAN CRICKET | OLD VS YOUNG
Font Size 
Fab Four or Flab Four? Age debate heats up
Published on Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 11:08, Updated on Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 14:02 in Sports section
Tags: Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar , New Delhi
Related Stories
Gujarat dry status an ideological hangover? 
- India dry, Pawar says well-stocked for 13 months | Drought diary
- Manmohan, Gilani fix up meeting without a date
- India puts it in writing: Pak planned 26/11
- Burger King apologises to Hindus for offensive ad
- SC takes up plea against gay sex, issues notice
- Suspected Dawood aide acquitted in fake currency case
- Another 'lover' arrested at Sania Mirza's house
- Mumbai, Pune and Delhi face 30-40 pc water shortage
- Politicos get into the ABC of Varun's Z-plus security
Photogallery
 |  |
New Delhi: India's four most senior batsmen, the engine room of the national side for more than a decade, are facing a debate over their age and whether the time is ripe to inject fresh blood into the Test squad.
Dubbed the "Fab Four", former captains Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar plus Vangipurappu Laxman are coming under pressure ahead of a high-profile home Test series against Australia starting on October 9.
The heated debate has been sparked after they struggled during a 2-1 Test series defeat in Sri Lanka in July and August, where spin sensation Ajantha Mendis repeatedly foxed them.
Experts and the media have speculated that the first casualty could be Ganguly, the oldest among the senior batsman at 36 and India's most successful Test captain.
Ganguly, who made a splendid second comeback in late 2006, has been omitted for next week's Irani Cup five-day game between Rest of India and Ranji champions Delhi, seen as a selection game for the Australia series.
Tendulkar and Dravid are both 35 and are showing signs that their reflexes are slowing down.
The side must also face the fact that test skipper and leading spinner Anil Kumble turns 38 next month.
Younger Generation
Some experts feel that a younger generation of One-Day players, led by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, will pile extra pressure on the seniors.
Dhoni, who led the team to last year's World Twenty20 win, shone with the bat to help clinch India's first one-day series win in Sri Lanka, countering Mendis much better than the seniors did in the preceding Tests.
Among the four elder batsmen, only Tendulkar still plays One-Dayers but he has suffered a spate of injuries this year.
The Irani Cup will mark a return from his latest layoff.
There is anticipation that the team against Australia could reveal changes, continuing the firm decisions taken by the national selectors under ex-skipper Dilip Vengsarkar since 2006.
Vengsarkar's panel has successfully reshaped the one-day side since India's shock first-round exit in the 2007 World Cup and coach Gary Kirsten has favoured a gradual change in tests.
Former chief selector Chandu Borde saw Ganguly's omission as a message for the others.
"When they select a team they also see how good fielders they are," he told Reuters.
[ Single Page View ]
| Ads by Google |
| Related Ads: | |
URBANEYE
Read Comment | Post Comment
time has come to say good bye to them..
the problem is not only with cricket.. apart from govt
Read Comment
Each one of the Fab Four or flab four have left a mark which is very difficult to be erased.So
Read Comment
While each one of the Fab Four has achieved plenty during their hey days, it is also important for them
Read Comment
The real truth is that except the media which somehow repeatedly brings up this issue for their own vested interests,there
Read Comment
This situation should be dealt with more sensitivity than what media and critics have shown. These were and are the
Read Comment
Read more comment »