Dravid points his middle finger to VVS Laxman

By John Cheeran
Injuries are painful but Indian skipper Rahul Dravid should thank God for the avulsion fracture on the middle finger of his right hand.
Dravid should consider his injured finger as a blessing in disguise for it rules him out of the rest of a pointless self-flagellation in South Africa.
And it also opens the door VVS Laxman, a batsman who should have been an automatic choice for the South African tour and World Cup, if not for a cussed Dilip Vengsarkar.
Indian captain has tried his best in the last few matches in India, and now in South Africa, scoring two half-centuries and a 49, to lend substance to Indian batting. Dravid held the bat and Indian innings together when he compiled 63 in Cape Town, braving the pain, caused by the fractured finger.
The Indian captain has got a taste of the South African conditions and now winning the one-day series is impossible. A time away from the middle should help Dravid to straighten his thoughts and think of the path that lies ahead of the team as it negotiates the Test series.
And distance should lend some perspective to Dravid’s analysis of the quagmire that the team has sunk into.
Dravid’s injury has had a positive effect in so far as it has forced the selection committee to bring on VVS Laxman to the one-day squad.
If Laxman makes the XI on Wednesday when Virender Sehwag leads the side in the fourth one-dayer against South Africa, that could have a far reaching impact.
If Laxman can be among the runs, Dravid will be able to demand a place for the Hyderabd batsman when selectors finalize the World Cup squad. Dravid’s injury is the godsend for VVS.
Dilip Vengsarkar, the Chairman of the National Selection Committee, was finally forced to correct his mistake by asking Laxman to fly to South Africa. In fact Laxman should have been asked to join the side even without Dravid getting injured.
An otherwise voluble Vengsarkar’s silence has not gone without notice as the BCCI gave the boarding pass to Laxman on Monday.
And among all these comes the news from Calcutta that Cricket Association of Bengal President Jagmohan Dalmiya has demanded the recall of Sourav Ganguly. The CAB even passed a resolution demanding Ganguly’s inclusion in the Indian side.
God forbid such calamities on Indian team.
For, Indian cricket will struggle to recover from such an injury.