Friday, February 15, 2002 The reappointment of Sourav Ganguly as India's captain, and the sacking of Steve Waugh from the one-day line-up, was indicative of the way the cricket boards in the two countries operate.

After a miraculous victory against Australia last year, Indian cricket has done little of note in the past 10 months, and the captain has been singularly uninspiring. Not only has he not been getting runs, his personal discipline has been extremely tardy, to the extent of avoiding the physical tests in Bangalore. Yet, the powers-that-be thought it fit to give him another run.

On the other hand, Steve Waugh's sacking showed the high standard of excellence that the Australians have set. However, I thought it was grossly unfair, even cruel, to drop him after just one poor series. Waugh's contribution to Australian cricket has been at par with Allan Border and Mark Taylor. Not surprisingly, the person who was most pained at giving him the sack was Allan Border. But knowing Waugh, he will bounce back, and if he has said that he will be back for the World Cup, he will.

I recall a similar experience, when, as a member of the selection committee, we had to take the cruel step of dropping Gundappa Viswanath after his lean series against Pakistan in 1982-83.

This time, the Indian selectors wasted a glorious opportunity to look ahead towards the 2003 World Cup. I have seen Sachin Tendulkar lead Mumbai with aplomb, and can't help but feel that he should have been coaxed into another stint as captain. A thorough professional, he is the only certainty in the team for the World Cup. Assure him of a free hand in team selection matters, and he surely wouldn't have refused the honour of leading the side.

And even if Tendulkar was still reluctant, the responsibility could have been handed to VVS Laxman. A class batsman, Laxman is surely far more worthy of a place in the team than Ganguly. And importantly, his cricketing acumen is of the highest order. With Rahul Dravid's fitness still in some doubt and Anil Kumble not getting any younger, Laxman was the ideal choice after Tendulkar.

I'm not sure about the role of the coach in the whole process of player evaluation. The coach must have far greater powers to discipline players - there can't be one set of rules for players who don't want to put in the effort, and another set for the rest.

Also, we need far greater transparency, accountability and common sense among the selectors. For example, what was the need for the chairman of selectors to mention that two other names were discussed along with Ganguly's? It will only ensure a rift in the Indian dressing room.

Ganguly may lead India to a 2-0 win in the Test series against Zimbabwe, but I'm afraid that will count for very little.

Bishan Bedi, who took 266 wickets for India in 67 Tests between 1966 and 1979 was talking to S Rajesh.

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