Misfortunes Never Come Singly

Rahul Dravid is injured and is out of the ODI series, which is already almost-lost. As Jagadish rightly said, the Indian team is down to just two batsmen. To make things worse, Laxman is flying out to South Africa to replace Dravid and being a fan of Indian cricket, my hands shiver as I type this. Laxman should definitely not wear the India blues even in his dreams. The only reason that I could see for sending Laxman is that the team is anyway not going to put up a fight and win anything. So, why not send someone who would definitely figure in the Tests, which would give him some more time to get used to those hostile conditions. Though there are people who welcome this move and are being critical about not picking Laxman initially, it would have been a million times better to have opted for Ganguly on sheer trust. Laxman may be on the wrong side of thirties, but he can't influence or motivate the youngsters like a Dravid or a Tendulkar or a Kumble - be it with just a senior presence or with performance. No one is going to say a word about Laxman when he fails in the one or two ODIs he gets to play as he has been called all of a sudden and that's totally agreeable as well. But, let me challenge here openly that Laxman is not going to score runs even in the Tests this time. His time is over and he is far from playing those artistic knocks which made him Very Very Special. Today, he is a distinct misfit in any international cricket team. All these said, I would be only happy if he makes me eat my words. But, I am confident!