There are bound to be many different views on why the Indian team is struggling - and struggling so badly at that - in New Zealand, and one of those opinions pins the blame on the nature of the tracks in the Antipodes. Our batsmen, it appears, are like South America's clay-court specialists who fail to clear the first round at Wimbledon.

Make no mistake, though; there are professional cricketers in this world. One need not even look at tennis or basketball to learn a few lessons about professionalism in sport. The current Australian cricket team exemplifies the professional attitude, and it has reaped rich dividends by making them the best team in the world.

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So if there is even a fragment of truth in the allegation that the Indians are distracted by the events off the field or troubled by New Zealand's pitches, then I must ask John Wright and Sourav Ganguly to get their act together right away.

If the batsmen and a few commentators lament about the tracks in New Zealand, think for an instant about all the bowlers in Indian domestic cricket who almost never get a decent pitch to bowl on. Instead the cricketers should be focussing on the next ball, rather than thinking about the peripheral issues of cricket. Go out and play with passion and courage; that should be the only mantra a good cricketer requires.

As a former international bowler, I have exploited certain weaknesses in batsmen. That is the beauty of the game - the contest between bat and ball. Nobody wins that contest right away; it is the will to work hard for every run and wicket that makes a world of difference in cricket. Apart from Rahul Dravid's batting and the Indian bowling, that attitude seems to be missing in Indian cricket at the moment.

It is of some small consolation that Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra are bowling well, as is Harbhajan Singh. The offie, in fact, has improved a great deal, and I am glad to see him working harder - trying to give the ball air and turn. But from a team's point of view, it was disheartening to see young Parthiv Patel being pushed up to open the second innings of the Hamilton Test. It was equally appalling to see a non-specialist fielder stationed at forward short-leg, that too when India were defending a low total. If it had been a Virender Sehwag or a VVS Laxman at short leg, then Bangar's dropped chance would have been taken, and the script at Hamilton may have been significantly different.

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Ambiguity and ad-hocism persists even in the selection policies. India are to announce their 15-man squad for the World Cup by December 31; so what then was the need to replace Tinu Yohannan and Murali Kartik? Kartik's omission in particular is baffling; I would love to see him operating in tandem with Harbhajan, rather than a Kumble, who's away record is at best dismal.

The reasons for Rakesh Patel replacing Yohannan are equally tenuous, and to reinforce the general perception that there is utter confusion in the Indian think-tank, Shiv Sunder Das - a player not even in the World Cup pool of 30! - was asked to open in the first one-dayer. Such arbitrary decisions that ignore long-term benefit have haunted Indian cricket for long.

To be sure, there is still much talk of professionalism, but there are few indicators that things are changing. Serious questions must now be raised on Wright's contributions - or lack of them - once this disastrous tour of New Zealand ends. Ironically, even without an Indian coach, the New Zealanders seem to have a good measure of this Indian team, while the tourists look clueless even about themselves, let alone the opposition.

Most other sides in the world today would have had this New Zealand team on the mat. The most experienced Kiwi batsmen, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan, have scored just 90 in toto in the two Tests and one ODI thus far. The hosts' batting looks fragile, and all India needs to do is to get their batsmen to score heavily. The onus is then on Ganguly to lead from the front, to go out into the middle as an opener and score big runs. Plans for the World Cup can go on hold until India sort themselves out in this particular one-day series.

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