And so, after three unofficial Test matches between India Aand West Indies A, we are no nearer to zeroing in on potential candidates forIndia's Test batting line-up than we were before the Indian squad embarked ontheir tour. Prima facie, Cheteshwar Pujara remains the frontrunner to fill themassive void left by Rahul Dravid's retirement while Rohit Sharma still looksto be some way off from convincing critics that he deserves a Test debut. Thismuch was in a sense expected before the series began, considering Pujara'smatch-winning 72 on Test debut in 2010 and Rohit's inability to nail down aplace in India's limited-overs teams. The individual results from the WestIndies have only served to remind us that Pujara is the best candidate, andthat Rohit still needs time to hone his skills and mind.
This tour of the West Indies was the last any Indian playershad before a home season comprising ten Tests against New Zealand, England andAustralia. With Dravid gone and VVS Laxman not guaranteed to last the season,the spotlight was on the young crop of batsmen in the A squad - namely Pujara,Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary. Based on the outcome of six inningseach, only Pujara from these four has emerged from the Caribbean with passingmarks.
Here's a look at what the India A batsmen managed in threeunofficial 'Tests'.
Cheteshwar Pujara
After a 2-1 series defeat to the hosts, the only Indianbatsman to really emerge with his reputation intact is the captain, Pujara.This was a big tour for the 24-year-old: leading what is officially thesecond-best Indian team in his first major series since returning from alengthy knee injury lay-off, and with a certain spot up for grabs when NewZealand land in India for two Tests in August.
Pujara's scores on tour - 50, 96*, 67, 1, 33 and 5 - indifficult batting conditions left him well above his batting team-mates andshould result in a place in India's Test side to face New Zealand in August.His unbeaten 96 was an outstanding effort that sealed a low but tricky chase atthe Kensington Oval. The visitors had been reduced to 115 for 8 but Pujaraproved impossible to dislodge and with the No. 10 Shami Ahmed put on 73 to winhis team a thriller. That effort was the best score of the match and more thanthree times the next highest score by an Indian in the second innings.
A third consecutive half-century followed in St Vincent - amatch in which he was twice caught behind - and then in St Lucia Pujara made 33and 5 - run out and caught at gully. His last three innings were nowhere asconvincing as his first three, but with 252 runs at 50.40 Pujara has shown thathe has it in him to tough it out in difficult conditions. Not a great seriesfor the Saurashtra batsman, but enough to show that he deserves another shot atTest cricket.
Rohit Sharma
A poor series for Rohit - 145 runs at 24.16 in six innings.For too long Rohit has been guilty of throwing away pretty starts and in thisseries he was again culpable of batting with indifference. Rohit batted wellfor his 94 in his first innings on tour, but followed up with scores of 23, 1,13, 12 and 2. That 23 in the second innings at Bridgetown was a nervous one,with Rohit dropped early on and playing several mistimed shots before he chaseda wide delivery and was caught behind. In St Vincent he was consumed byVeerasammy Permaul's left-arm spin twice, pushing back a return catch andbowled by a ball that stayed low. In the deciding Test, Rohit was bowledshouldering arms and caught at slip. Not the kind of form to evoke faith aheadof New Zealand's visit.
In 2010, Rohit narrowly lost out on a chance to make hisTest against South Africa at Nagpur due to a freak injury just before the tosswhile playing football.
In Australia earlier this year, he came the closest he everhad to finally getting a Test cap but his performances in ODIs have sincedipped. On current form, he remains a long shot to play Tests this season.
Ajinkya Rahane
Rahane endured a terrible series - 62 runs from six inningswith a best of 32 - and after a stellar IPL season his failure in the Caribbeanhas not done his hopes of a Test call-up any good. The fact that he was twicebowled - once while not offering a shot - and caught behind the wicket twiceshows that Rahane is susceptible on tricky wickets, and two run-outs will haveadded to the overall feeling that he isn't quite ready for Test cricket yet.
Rahane was picked as a reserve opener on India's tour ofAustralia, but in the West Indies he has batted at No. 3 in four innings. Inthe third match he was sent up to open and made his highest score (32). So ishe being groomed as an opener or a replacement for Dravid at No. 3? There is noclear answer.
Manoj Tiwary
Tiwary's 182 runs were the next best for India A afterPujara, and the fact that he twice made it past 40 will give him someconfidence. His dismissals included being bowled and edging behind the wicketoff both spin and pace, and after reaching 40 and 62 Tiwary would have beenexpected to press on especially where the others struggled. The Bengal batsmanhas never really been in the reckoning for a Test spot and it is unlikely thathis performance in the West Indies will have changed the selectors' minds.
Wriddhiman Saha
Saha is officially the reserve wicketkeeper for Tests behindMS Dhoni, and his 158 runs at 31.60 - including two half-centuries - in theWest Indies have shown that he can be relied on to scrap it out. However, Sahais not going to be picked as a batsman in a Test match. He may have to resignhimself to remaining a benchwarmer when India play Test matches. That's beenSaha's story for some time.
Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan
There was not a single fifty between three openers in sixinnings, and the two specialist openers in the squad will want to forget thistour as soon as possible. Mukund bagged a pair in the first 'Test' - bowled inthe first over of the first innings and caught at third slip off an inswingerfirst ball in the second - and was out lbw twice for 8 at St Vincent, beforegetting to double figures for the first time on tour in St Lucia where he made10 and 20. However, even here was exposed as being susceptible to deliveriespitched up: in both innings of the third 'Test' Mukund edged behind the wicket.With 46 runs from six innings, Mukund remains further away from a Test recallthan ever.
Dhawan's technical shortcomings were exposed by the WestIndian quick bowlers and his series returns of 30 runs from four innings showthat the Delhi batsman just doesn't have the technique to succeed in tryingconditions in first-class cricket. Dhawan was bowled thrice - once for 0,cleaned up comprehensively - and his footwork was also shown up, as evident byhis dismissal in the first innings of the tour - caught behind playing a looseback-foot drive. As most people thought, Dhawan's selection in the India Asquad was reward for a strong IPL season.
Come August, and India's selectors aren't going to have tolook too far beyond Pujara - should he remain fit - for that open spot in theTest line-up.
