Selectors deliver clear message to Unmukt, other openers

It was hard not to think of Unmukt Chand on Monday morning when the daily newspapers spoke of how Karun Nair and Naman Ojha had been picked to replace Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha in the Indian Test team on tour in Sri Lanka. India lost both its first choice opening batsmen, Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay to injuries.

Yes, even a day after Michael Clarke and Kumar Sangakkara had walked away from Test limelight, it was quite easy to think of Unmukt Chand and, truth to tell, some others who we know as opening batsmen. Indeed, Unmukt Chands name should have been propping up each time an Indian opener was rendered unfit by injury.

It appears as if the selectors have pigeon-holed him in the limited-over bracket. They found him good enough to lead India A in the recent tri-series against Australia A and South Africa A, but fought shy of playing him in the 'Tests'. Perhaps, he can claim some ownership for sparking such thinking in the collective minds of the selectors.

Curiously, when the selectors could have looked at sending a specialist opening batsman as replacement, they preferred to convey to several batsmen young and old who take on the challenge of facing the new ball all the time, a clear message: keep working hard and don't miss the chances afforded at the international level.

Two of the top three run-scorers in Ranji Trophy last season were openers, Robin Uthappa (Karnataka, 912 runs) and left-handed Abhinav Mukund (Tamil Nadu, 858). Uthappa was picked for the Indian team that played five ODIs in Zimbabwe and did not cash in on the opportunity while Abhinav Mukund did not impress the selectors by scrapping his way to two half centuries in six innings in the three 'Tests' against Australia A and South Africa A.

There were other openers who caught the eye in Ranji Trophy last season, some occasionally and others a bit more consistently. Mayank Agarwal (Karnataka), Jiwanjot Singh (Punjab) and Madhya Pradesh's Aditya Shrivastava, who scored a century on debut against Karnataka and backed it up with a big hundred against Bengal.

Hyderabad's Tanmay Agarwal and Akshay Reddy, Delhi's Unmukt Chand and Gautam Gambhir him with 4000-plus Test runs under his belt and Madhya Pradesh's Jalaj Saxena scored more than 500 runs, too. Surely, each one of those named here will have considered himself in the reckoning when Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay pulled out of the Indian team in Sri Lanka.

For someone who spent a small fortune in seeking West Indian sports psychologist Dr Rudi Webster's help to improve the mental aspect of his own game, Unmukt Chand will have some time to ponder over the present situation and see if he did not miss the bus. He has his work cut out in the coming first class season if he has the desire to play for India in the highest form of the game.

In his nascent career, he has had the chance to pick the brains of some of the best cricketers in the business Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Kevin Pietersen, Mahela Jayawardene, not to speak of the one and only Virender Sehwag. The coming season is time for him to make all that count if he should not end up some distance away from the Indian Test team.

Meanwhile, Uthappa can return with steelier resolve, Abhinav Mukund with a bit more aggression and stronger presence, Mayank Agarwal fresh from his exploits in the tri-series featuring A teams in Chennai with greater consistency. And collectively, the opening batsmen in the domestic circuit will convince the selectors that they have it in them to play at the highest level.