Rahul Dravid's resolute batting and the latest instalment of wet Guyanese weather deflected attention from what was a poor display from the Indians. But then, what can you really expect from a side that is about as well-balanced as a table missing a leg? The West Indies may not be sharp enough – especially the bowlers – to take advantage of such shoddiness, but there's little doubt that India are dicing with disaster each time they go into a Test with such an XI. The problem is easily identified. Only five players – Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh and, to a lesser extent, Shiv Sunder Das – merit an automatic place in the XI in any conditions when fit. Filling the other six vacancies is a bit like playing with a mix-and-match set; there are any number of possibilities. That might account for the confused thinking on the part of the brains trust. Contrast the Indian scenario with Australia – a team where six batsmen, the wicketkeeper and all four bowlers pick themselves – and it's easy to see why they lag behind.

Sourav Ganguly played a dreadful shot at Georgetown, but let's leave it at that because he wasn't the only top-order batsman to do so. Needless to say, the vultures are circling ever closer to the Indian captain, waiting for him to slip on some Caribbean banana peel. He deserves another chance, and compared to some of India's other problems, his frailties against pace are not even an issue.

Navjot Singh Sidhu should never be used as the first word – or the last – in any argument, but he made a very valid point when he said that Deep Dasgupta could get a free transfer to Manchester United. Not an appetising thought for United fans, who have already had to contend with one World Cup–winning clown in goal for most of the season.

Is Dasgupta the worst keeper ever? Well, some of us recall watching Anil Dalpat play for Pakistan in the mid-'80s – remember Imran Khan blowing a fuse in the Benson & Hedges final in 1985? – and word has it that the leading butter manufacturers beat a line to his door to queue up for his signature. Dasgupta is almost as inept, so much so that you can't help the involuntary gasp when he does take a low catch against all odds (as he did off Chris Gayle in the first innings).

Ajay Ratra has to come in for the second Test, though Dasgupta's omission would lead to yet another shuffle at the top of the order. Sanjay Bangar would move up to open with Das, an experiment that might make or break his fledging Test career. So far, Bangar has done nothing with the ball to suggest that he is anything other than a trundler in the Ian Austin-Mark Ealham mould. Time then to kiss those allrounder dreams goodbye, and pray instead that he can bat a bit against the new ball.

Not that Bangar was the only bowler looking like a journeyman at Georgetown. Apart from Srinath's superb opening spell, the bowling was for the most part of the powder-puff variety. Zaheer Khan bowled better on the second day, but he has to work long and hard on his rhythm and consistency if India aren't to embarrass themselves with the ball. It doesn't help that the other options – Tinu Yohannan and Ashish Nehra – are far from being finished articles.

Anil Kumble wasn't a factor in the first Test, and the fact that Mahendra Nagamootoo was a greater threat speaks volumes about his travails abroad. As for Sarandeep Singh, he was patchy at best. He also appeared so lonely and isolated at times that he could have auditioned for a role in The Outsider – another huge lapse on the captain's part. Harbhajan Singh can't return quickly enough.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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