Class test for the youngsters

UMPIRE`S POST

First they have to pass the limited-overs exam, and the signs are not encouraging.

Virender Sehwag was the last Test-class batsman we produced. That was in 2001. In the same year, Harbhajan Singh filled the breach created by injury to Kumble in the home series against Australia, and was instrumental in the epic series win. That rediscovery of the off-spinner was also the last time we unearthed a Test-class spinner.

If you look for the last Test-class fast bowler to arrive on the scene, you have to go back many, many years. Zaheer, indeed, is Test class, but his career has been patchy, the series in England last year being one of the few high points. His career has moved in fits and starts. He was painfully slow to get to 100 wickets.

These days when everyone and his aunt are prone to showing exasperation over the Fab Four's obstinate refusal to bow out, the all-important question needs to be asked: who will replace them?

Over the last decade and a bit, the global trend in cricket is for a new player to make a mark in limited-overs matches and, on the strength of his performance in that format, force his way onto the Test side. So let's look at the Indian team that has just performed the impressive feat of winning a first bilateral series in Sri Lanka and see who could challenge the Fab Four in the Test side.

Yuvraj Singh has three Test centuries against Pakistan, but has been woeful against everyone else, and was pathetic on the last tour to Australia. His 72 runs in the five ODIs against Sri Lanka wouldn't help his cause. Yuvraj seems to have slipped behind Rohit Sharma in the race for a Test spot.

But Sharma himself is shaky. So early in his career, he has suffered a loss of form, scoring exactly the same number of runs as Yuvraj in Sri Lanka. He is good to watch when batting, but does not have the weight of runs to push his case. Last season, he scored less than 200 in the Ranji Trophy.

Badrinath is a Ranji stalwart but, at 27, he has to make the most of every opportunity that comes his way. That can put pressures of its own. He had a good knock against Sri Lanka, but 39 runs in three matches are not something he would be proud of. Raina seems to be coming into his own. But he is the oldest promising newcomer and has to be watched carefully. His 157 runs in five matches against Sri Lanka were good, not excellent.

This series win in Sri Lanka was fashioned largely by Zaheer and Dhoni. And we have the gall to ridicule age!