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Tue, 9th Dec 2008  Bangalore: With the inclusion of one-day specialist Yuvraj Singh in the Test team, there has been a fresh debate about who should come one-drop in the Indian batting line-up for the forthcoming two-Test series against England. Former Test stars including Gundappa Vishwanath, Kiran More and Ajit Wadekar warn that the batting order should not be tampered with as it is a well settled one.
Vishwanath says the Indian batting line-up is a settled one and the 2-0 series win against world champions Australia had proved it with everyone contributing to the two wins in the four-match Test series.
"I think we have a well-settled batting line-up right now and everyone have contributed to the historic series win against the Aussies. So in my opinion shuffling the batting order frequently is not a good idea and it only adds to the confusion," Vishwanath told Cricketnext on Tuesday.
"India's opening pair (Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir) is well settled, Rahul Dravid, despite his poor form, should be the ideal man to come at No. 3," he added. "Sachin (Tendulkar) has proved time and again his worth as the No. 4 followed by VVS Laxman as a match-winner, and Yuvraj Singh should be expected to fit in Sourav Ganguly's role followed by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni."
"A change in the batting order can be effective if more than half the batsmen are struggling to get among runs but to tamper with the batting line-up when everything is going well may not be a good idea. At the moment I don't see any reason for changes as every batsmen is doing their job perfectly," Vishwanath observed.
Former Indian captain and coach Ajit Wadekar, agreeing with Vishwanath's views insisted that the same batting order be retained for the next two matches.
"It is not right to shuffle the batting order when the team is on a winning note even if one or two batsmen are struggling with their forms," he said. "No team in the world can guarantee that all their top batsmen will come good at the same time. There are bound to be failures and Dravid's poor form should not be held against him as he has proved time and again that he is India's most solid player under pressure. To change his batting order or for that matter any other batsman's slot will not be advisable."
"Moreover, Yuvraj Singh is still to settle down in Tests and sending an inexperienced batsman at number three will be foolish while Laxman has come up with match-winning knocks at five and also at six," he added. "The only change in the order could be to send Yuvraj ahead of Laxman and see how it works out. Even if Yuvraj gets out cheaply, the team can still bank on Laxman and Dhoni to do the damage control."
"Yuvraj is a very good strokemaker and can score at will when the going is pretty easy but will he be able to defend when a couple of quick wickets fall. It is something we will have to see while the other batsmen in the side have proved time and again that they can adjust to the Test match situations," Wadekar pointed out.
Former Indian stumper and chief selector Kiran More said the batting order looks pretty solid and Yuvraj Singh would be the right batsman to come in former skipper Sourav Ganguly's position.
"I don't think it would be a good idea to ask Yuvraj to go at number three position simply because that particular position is very crucial to plan and shape the innings of the team so that the team will be a step ahead of their rivals for the rest of the match," he said. "I think Dravid has been doing a wonderful job in that position and if I were to be the captain I would have persisted with him irrespective of his poor form."
"Usually every batsman will have a role to play during a Test series and every batsman will be aware of which position he will be coming at," he added. "Likewise, Dravid's role has been to play a waiting game and then change gears according to the situation of the match while Yuvraj's role would be to build on reasonably good starts and not worry much about defending until unless the team is five done for 100 odd runs.
"Now if the roles are revised all of a sudden there are bound to be confusions as you cannot expect Yuvraj to bat like Dravid or vice versa. So to avoid confusion the team should stick to the same line-up," he added.  | 
