Sehwag and Munaf set to return

It might be the selection that immediately precedes the one where the World Cup squad will be picked but, for once, there is no shroud of mystery. The issues before the national selection committee are fairly simple and the performance of various individuals in the four-match series against West Indies went a long way in answering the questions that were beginning to give the team management a real headache. Firstly, it seems almost a done deal that Virender Sehwag will be back. Secondly Munaf Patel seems to have done enough in the nets and in a practice match to put himself up for selection.

The dropping of Sehwag for the West Indies series was always a temporary measure. With no domestic cricket around, there wasn't a realistic chance of him fighting his way back into the side. The break was merely a chance for Sehwag to go back to Delhi and sort out a few glitches. Whether he has done that or not remains to be seen, but he's too big a player to be left out longer than this.

With only four matches to go before the World Cup, Sehwag must get a look back in if he's part of the team's plans for the big event. Strange and unpredictable things have happened in Indian cricket, but this time around the selectors will have to go the conventional route. This will mean that Gautam Gambhir's time in the Indian team will come to an end, as Robin Uthappa has done more than enough, both with bat and on the field, to keep his place.

Munaf's case is not nearly as straightforward but with only Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan being certainties, among the medium-pacers, in the starting XI, he might well get a go. The selectors are naturally wary of picking Munaf, after the misadventures of South Africa - where he was fit one day, unfit the next, fit again, only to play in the last Test when he was clearly undercooked. They will not want to take such a chance again; yet will know that if Munaf is in contention for a World Cup spot then he must be played now. The team think-tank clearly believes that Munaf has a role to play - thanks mostly to his ability to put the ball in good areas - and this will go in his favour. And that's where Rudra Pratap Singh may lose out.

So, with Sehwag and Munaf likely to add to the twelve who figured in the last match against West Indies, there's really only one spot up for grabs. Interestingly, it is not quite a straight shoot-out for that place between players of similar disciplines. There is Ramesh Powar, the feisty offspinner who bats down the order, Sreesanth, the even more feisty fast bowler who tends to go for a bit too many runs in ODIs, and Suresh Raina, the electric fielder who has shown much potential with the bat without actually coming good.

These three must be frontrunners for the fifteenth slot, but that's not to say the selectors won't look elsewhere. The final spot, perhaps even the final two, will be decided by the balance the team is looking for. This direction will come from Rahul Dravid, the captain, and Greg Chappell, the coach, and it remains to be seen how the selectors, led by Dilip Vengsarkar, who holds strong views on many of these subjects and players, react.