By Gaurang - 18 Sep '03
September 19 2003

Sourav Ganguly has gone on record to say that he is open to considering Yuvraj Singh as an opener in Tests. Given Yuvvy's credentials in the ODIs, and the fact that India is looking for a good opening bat, this may be his path to breaking into the Test team. Sanjay Bangar no doubt is a great utility player, and he may be hard to dislodge as opener in the Test team, but there are significant advantages to opening in Tests with Yuvraj Singh.

There are two schools of thought here. One is that the job of the opener is to grind the opposition bowlers by just dead-batting them for the first hour at a minimum, and continue doing that for as long as necessary.

Bangar has shown he is capable of just that, against mediocre attacks like England and West Indies -- but whether he can he do it against the Aussies is another question. They will be relentless in attack and it will not simply be a steady line out side off stump with an odd bouncer thrown in, as England tried at Headingley. Nor will the bowlers be as likely to send down a loose ball freebie, as did the West Indies bowlers in Mumbai. The Aussie attack will likely be aimed at the body, and more specifically the ribs, neck and head of Bangar and Sehwag at the other end. Under this type of pressure, a batsman who can counter attack may be more useful than one who can absorb the punishment in a stoic manner. There can be no doubting Bangar's intestinal fortitude, but is that what the team needs?

This is where Yuvraj comes into the picture. He still has problems with his foot movements, but his touch and timing, not to mention his sheer strength, are awesome. If he slashes at one outside off stump and it flies to slips, it will be a brave man who would welcome the chance to try and get his hands in the way.

There is a certain swagger about Yuvraj that Bangar just doesn't have. Although he may snick one to the wicket keeper and be dismissed for a duck, he may also take the attack to the Aussies and have them reeling. If Sehwag also clicks at the other end, the Aussies could find themselves looking at 150 odd by lunch, with Dravid, Tendu, Laxman and Gangs to follow.

Of course, the fact that Yuvraj is at least several streets ahead of Bangar with his fielding also helps keep the pressure on when India is in the field. Nothing can stop the momentum of the other side than a stunner of a catch or a lightening quick runout. Bangar does have his more than handy medium pace to offer, but then Aussies are more vulnerable to slow left-arm spin than medium pace, so even there Yuvraj may have an edge.

There will be many who question whether it is wise to have Yuvvy, who has yet to earn a Test cap, make his debut at one of the most pressure filled and daunting positions in the batting line up: opener. The response to that is India should play the six best batsmen it has and not worry too much about the batting order. That is what the Australians have always done, and a player like Matthew Hayden has made an impressive transition from being a mediocre middle order batsman to one of the most feared openers around.

But either way, the fact that there is competition for places in the team can only be good for Indian cricket. And if either Yuvvy or Bangar succeeds, it will be the team that benefits, and that is what is most important in the end.