Any Indian fan who has been following the news from the Indian camp during the last few days will have every reason to feel disgusted and demoralised. The second Test against South Africa, due to start at Port Elizabeth this Friday, has now become all-important for Sourav Ganguly's men after they lost the first inside four days. Yet, instead of putting up a united front and looking professionally at their failings, the Indians seem to be in great disarray. And guess what the hullabaloo is about - the opening slot indeed!

Rahul Dravid, who in Ganguly's own words had volunteered to be the opener ahead of the Bloemfontein Test, apparently is not besotted with the idea anymore. So the Indian camp has been mulling over the various possibilities - would VVS Laxman best serve us at the top of order? Or will Deep Dasgupta's elevation make more sense? Might Sourav Ganguly not be the best choice?

John Wright, in particular, seems to be expending much verbal energy in getting the issue resolved. On Monday, he began to question VVS Laxman's credentials as the Indian No. 3. Giving his reading of the issue, Wright said, "I think it is a choice between Dravid and Laxman, and possibly Dasgupta."

"It is tough on Laxman, but in three Tests, he doesn't have a fifty. Sometimes the need of the team is greater than the individual needs. It is all about the national team, it is not about what you choose or who you choose," he further remarked. "By that token, Dravid has the right to play in the middle-order. He is averaging 50 plus in Test cricket and has a very important part."

There are, thus, clear indications that at least Wright wants Laxman to move up the order and create a slot for Dravid in the middle. What is bewildering, though, is the tactics that Wright seems to be employing to convince Laxman.

By all accounts, the stylish Hyderabadi batsman is not in the least bit inclined to don the mantle of opener yet again. In fact he had announced, even during his days in the wilderness, that he was ready to wait until he found a place in the Indian middle order. Now after a few great deeds on the international arena, it is understandable that he expects to be left in peace to concentrate on the job at hand.

The Indian coach might have dredged up Laxman's performances as Indian No. 3 to support his argument that the latter could not fare any worse as an opener. But was this, diplomatically and otherwise, the right line to take?

Probably not; all it could possibly do is put additional pressure on Laxman, who has not really done all that badly in his last five innings - there have been at least a couple of brilliant cameos from him. And before that, he had the stupendous series against Australia. Yet, here he is, finding himself painted into a corner, with his coach also having turned hostile. Couldn't Wright have shown greater sensitivity?

Also, since when has the media turned into a message-board where the coach posts his daily observations? If Wright felt Laxman must do the job, he should have first talked to the rest of the think-tank, and then personally convinced the batsman. Even in that situation, the phraseology used in explaining the situation to Laxman should have suggested understanding and sympathy, and not seemed a crude effort at arm-twisting. The media, meanwhile, should only have been involved after the final decision was made.

It is one thing for the journalists to sit and speculate, and quite another for the Indian coach to tell the world, on an almost regular basis, that he is at sixes and sevens.

The truly great leaders are almost inscrutable to the outside world. They move in the most silent and yet most efficient manner. This is a lesson that Wright would be well advised to learn; on a foreign tour in alien conditions, the last thing India should be doing is conceding further ground by way of improper planning and less-than-average media-management skills. Wright, then, must begin by restraining his impulses to seek catharsis every time a journalist comes his way.

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