India's blues

Avinash Subramaniam

For someone making a comeback that almost never was to be, Mongia doesn't seem to have done much to convince the people watching that he ought to have been given that second chance. From little things like not 'bothering' to get a helmet with India colours that fits to inexplicable 'sins' like not showing the spunk to stick around and give the minimum 10 per cent to the team cause.

When was the last time Mongia walked? Umm…it was when the team needing him most not to.

Which begs the question: who is Nayan Mongia? And other questions like why is a man who is reported to have whispered career threatening not-so-sweet nothings about his teammates to the higher-ups in this team? And if this and the other sins attributed to Mongia are indeed true, does a man like this have any business being anywhere near this team? (Even more so in the light of the kind of team-building qualities modern day team sport demands.)

Sure, he may have the softest hands in the land. But hasn't the coach made it clear that ability will play a lesser role when compared to attitude when it comes to team selection? So is the coach then being forced to take Mongia? Presuming the crimes Mongia has been accused of is indeed true.

Enough too has been said about how Dahiya may not be the best glove-man in the land but is certainly streets ahead of the 'accused' when it comes to team spirit and comradeship. Which makes Dahiya's omission from the Test squad all the more thought provoking.

Hold the celebrations! Ponder the fact that a good cricket team 'neeeeds' an excellent keeper-batsman.

On evidence of the last few months, Dahiya seems an infinitely superior choice to Mongia. (But only because Mongia's attitude, like his batting, always seems very suspect.) And yet, Mongia manages to wiggle his way out of the fixing imbroglio. And back into the Test side. Continuing to confound us with a sub-par performance on all counts: batting ability, an appetite for the big fight and basic keeping skills.

Sobering thought: we won despite our keeper/s.

Speculative question: was Mongia rewarded for spilling the beans with an 'express' passport into the side?

Real niggler: Why do we never feel at home with Mongia?

On a chat show with Harsha, some months back, Mongia came across as a content man. At peace with his achievements. And 'reluctant' team player. I say fair enough, to each his own. Mongia cannot and must not be faulted for the kind of individual he is. These are the qualities that make the man he is in real life. Unfortunately, the interests of Indian cricket demand a different kind of man.

Let's stop making this about Mongia. And let's go back to the basics of the kind of person a keeper should be. The positive difference a keeper can and must make to the team. A keeper who can prop up a paper tiger of a batting line-up. A line-up in which even Sachin cannot be expected to deliver a win.

Fact of the matter: Sachin has often taken us to the doorstep but never beyond the thresh-hold. (What the heck, he must be saddled with even that. Scoring 100s, taking wickets, bowling leg spin. Bowling off spin. Bowling any spin. Doing anything. Doing everything. Why bother performing. When eloquence, bombast or indifference is just as acceptable.)

All the more reason we need a keeper unlike Mongia. A wicket-keeper and batsman. Not either :-) Or for that mater one possessing some of the less reputable qualities mentioned above.

We need a keeper like Jonty. A team man, motivator, agent provocateur, an omnipotent being! And nothing less will do. We need a man who can keep this lackadaisical fielding side from nodding off on hot, difficult, wicketless afternoons. A man who knows no first slip. Nor fear. And a man who, come what may, will not wear a yellow helmet.

There's a saying we have in our parts; well tried, magar haath mein na aaya. In Corporotese, that would be cough, cough, ahem, deep breath, uncomfortable silence and then mumble a…your profile doesn't match ours. In Advertese, sorry, but the brief has changed. And in plain simple English, would somebody please tell us what is a Mongia doing in this side?

One of the central figures in the team 'scheme' of things is the creakiest brick in the wall. Our bowling attack has one performing member. The captain is in dangerously fluid personal and professional territory. (He should take a leaf out of Steve Waugh's book on captaincy and inspirational behaviour. If Sourav knows what's good for him, and Indian cricket, he could do much worse than model himself to be the kind of leader Steve Waugh is.) Oops, are we still savouring the celebratory senses of a rare Indian win?

But then, hamara kaam hai bolna, the rest is up the people to act and set right. We may have won the greatest Test series in the history of cricket. All might seem well with Indian cricket. But all is not well with Indian cricket. Sourav, Mongia, Rahul, Ramesh, Agarkar, Srinath, Kumble…all crucial members. And all problem areas for a number of different and complex reasons.

For starters, we need to look elsewhere for answers to 'The Indian Keeping Konundrum' and Sourav, his opposite number for lessons on keeping a level head.

Avinash Subramaniam

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