Rahul Dravid

Calcutta: Eleven months after playing the lead role in the recall of one former captain, Sourav Ganguly, chief selector Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar took centre stage in the axing of another — Rahul Dravid.

Dravid has, for now, only been dropped for the first two ODIs versus Pakistan, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll have any role in the five-match series.

The Tests are later and Dravid is going to be needed. He will then be under pressure of an unusual kind and it’s to be seen whether he can perform in the manner most expect him to.

The next few weeks are going to be tough for Dravid.

“We haven’t spoken to him yet... We wanted to give him a break... He is a great player and will be back soon,” is what Vengsarkar said for public consumption.

Clearly, Vengsarkar seems to have played his cards well during Saturday’s selection committee meeting in Ahmedabad. After all, till the night before, Dravid had been assured of the support of three of the five selectors.

First, Vengsarkar made North happy by pitching for Virender Sehwag’s recall. Then, he neutralised known Dravid-backer Sanjay Jagdale, Central’s man on the committee, by supporting rookie Praveen Kumar’s inclusion.

While Sehwag is from Delhi, 21-year-old Kumar turns out for UP.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was contacted on the phone, didn’t object to Dravid’s exclusion. That’s significant and he now has one former captain less to handle in the dressing room.

The meeting’s convenor, Board secretary Niranjan Shah, didn’t ask for a rethink either. That’s significant too.

“Dilip initiated the move, arguing that Rahul hadn’t been in form (51 in five outings) during the just-ended series against Australia... He also felt that the seniors needed to get a firm message — perform or make way for youngsters,” one of the selectors told The Telegraph.

If the message bit is taken seriously, then Sourav and Sachin Tendulkar (in that order) have been put on notice. The selectors, though, should themselves be consistent and look at performance and not age.

For the record, Sourav is 35, while Sachin and Dravid are both 34-plus.

Ironically, Dravid’s replacement is the 29-year-old Sehwag. As intriguing, Dinesh Karthik (whose fortunes have, not surprisingly, nosedived after Dhoni became ODI and Twenty20 captain) has been replaced by Kumar, a medium-pacer!

Sehwag hasn’t done anything exceptional in the past few months, but his record versus Pakistan appears to have worked in his favour. Picked for a middle-order berth, he’s bound to be used as the fifth bowler.

Footnote: Sachin seems to be the frontrunner for the Test captaincy, but Dhoni isn’t far behind. In fact, the latter could quickly make ground, especially if the first two ODIs go Team India’s way. The selectors’ decision is going to be known on November 8.