Conspicuous by his absence

When any Indian team is about to be selected, scribes begin speculating on the various possibilities. Usually with good reason as well. Selecting a team in the sub continent sometimes has less to do with cricketing ability than might be desirable. The selection of the Indian team for the Under-19 World Cup to be played in Sri Lanka was no exception.

A certain 18-year-old all rounder from Bengal who played for the Indian senior team as recently as 5th September 1999 cannot find a place in the youth team. Laxmi Ratan Shukla must feel aggrieved at his omission from the side to tour Sri Lanka. In three matches that Shukla played for the country, Shukla neither distinguished himself nor gave a bad account of himself. Surely a lad who can bowl out his full complement of 10 overs for just 37 runs against a strong side like Pakistan must be good enough for his country's youth team. In the last match that Shukla played he bowled 5 overs, conceded 25 runs and picked up the wicket of Jimmy Adams.

If domestic cricket was the only criterion on which players were chosen, Shukla's case gets stronger. The innings Shukla played in the semi finals of the Wills Trophy against a strong Delhi side will not be easy to forget. His 136 run essay opening the innings blasted Bengal to a 127 run victory.

Krish Srikkanth, once coach of the youth team had high hopes for the youngster. He was even quoted as saying that Shukla was the next Kapil Dev in the Indian cricket horizon.

All of a sudden it looks like all that has changed. It is so easy to fall out of favour with the selectors in this part of the world. Shukla would have gained valuable experience by being on this tour. Instead the lad will be continuing with the grind in domestic cricket.