LAST CHANCE FOR KAIF & RAINA

Javed Ali, SQUARE CUT, YaHind Sports

The South African tour could be the last chance for Mohammed Kaif and Suresh Raina to establish themselves in the Indian One-day team, said Venkatpathy Raju, one of the national selectors. After India’s poor show in the just concluded Championship Trophy, Raju indicated that VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly Might be given a look-in if Kaif and Raina did not perform in the five-match ODI series in South Africa. He went on to say that if they don’t perform in South Africa, they can go back to domestic cricket and sort out their problems. Excuse Me….!!! Mr. Raju it is disgusting on your part to make such a lethal remark on a player like Kaif, who in the eyes of Captain Rahul Dravid and Coach Guru Greg is an asset to the Indian team, he is such an agile fielder that saves 30 to 40 runs In a one-day match which carry a great value. How could you claim this to be last chance for Kaif without giving him a chance. I can absorb your comments in case of Suresh Raina who in fact have miserably failed even after getting many chances, You are representing South Zone, and being a member of National selection committee you should atleast had a look at What the statistics say all about these two players. Please note Kaif played ONLY ONE MATCH in the Championship Trophy where he scored 30, while Raina managed Just 32 in the three matches he played in, Kaif though, has done well in recent matches, since India’s tour to the West Indies In May 2006 he played eight matches at 42.83 and three times managed to score above 50, whereas Raina on the other hand Has played 12 matches averaging 17.3 and has only once crossed 30 runs. Let’s talk about the big guns in the team who have consistently failed to deliver………….!!!!!