Marvan Atapattu’s refusal to meet the Sri Lankan selectors over his inclusion for the tour of Australia has once again brought into focus the role of cricket boards.

 

The former captain firmly believes that he was treated very badly by the selection panel and he had no confidence in them. That is a strong statement from a player who is in the twilight of an illustrious career.

 

Atapattu is, no doubt, one of the best players in Sri Lanka. He is adept at both Test and one-day level and has a good track record in both forms of the game.

 

While Atapattu snubbed the selectors, the Indian cricket selection committee chief Dilip Vengsarkar gave a stiff warning to the senior members of the side to perform or else face the axe.

 

With the euphoria of the Twenty20 World Cup still very much in the air, the Indian selectors are finding hard to accept that Indian team has performed badly in the one-day series against Australia.

 

The selectors must not forget that India are now taking on the world champions of 50-over cricket Beating Australia in this form of cricket will always be difficult.

 

There was absolutely no need to criticise the senior members in the middle of an important series against the best team in the world. The 50-over variety of the game is far different from the slam-bang Twenty20.

 

India’s youth may have done well in the Twenty20 but may not necessarily deliver in the 50-over variety. Vengsarkar has made the mistake of comparing two different forms of the game in his assessment.

 

For example, one of India’s stars in the Twenty20, Gautam Gambhir, struggled in the first two one-dayers.

 

Some the senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly gave a good credit of themselves in the recently concluded tour of England. Though India lost that series 3-4, the veterans were mainly responsible for bringing the team back into contention.

 

It is evident that the selectors are attempting to get bolder because of the Twenty20 triumph. But this attitude should have been there right from the start.

 

When players need to be dropped, the selection panel just sits on it. The case of Virendra Sehwag illustrates that.

 

Sehwag had such a poor run at the top level that he should have been rested long before it actually happened. That would have helped Sehwag to find his form earlier.

 

Then the dropping of Tendulkar and Ganguly immediately after the World Cup fiasco in the West Indies was very wishy-washy. The selectors should have come right out and said that they had dropped them.

 

Instead they used the convenient word ‘rested’ to justify their exclusion.

 

Strangely, India had hardly played many matches around the World Cup and Bangladesh tour.

 

Pakistan have now recalled Inzamam-ul-Haq for a farewell Test against South Africa. Inzamam should have played in the first Test which Pakistan lost badly.

 

Inzamam, though 37, is still one of the best batsmen Pakistan has ever produced. His form may have fallen in the one-dayers, but at Test match level, it has been excellent.

 

It seems that the Pakistan selectors have compromised with Inzamam and give him a chance to get a proper farewell.

 

A player of Inzamam’s stature deserves better. He was not the only one to be blamed for Pakistan’s early exit in the World Cup. But the selectors have rapped him the most.

 

The Pakistan Cricket Board should also be held accountable for the defection of Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat to the Indian Cricket League.

 

The South African tour selectors also dropped a bombshell by dropping Shaun Pollock for the first Test. The world-class all-rounder has a fine record in the Sub-Continent and he should at least have been tried before being dropped.

 

The selection panel said that they were looking at other options. Luckily Paul Harris at least got a look-in and did well enough for Graeme Smith to realise that there is a role for spinners in any form of the game.

 

Now with Atapattu out of the picture, it almost certain that Sanath Jayasuriya will get the nod for the tour of Australia for the Tests too.

 

The irony of it is that the selectors said during their overtures with Atapattu that they would not pick Jaysuriya for the Tests as they want him to concentrate on one-dayers.

 

A look at Jayasuriya’s Test record and fitness level should have been enough to pick him for the Test squad in the first place itself. Logic, it seems, is very much missing when it comes to selections.