BCCI deserves to answer 'reserve' riddle

New Delhi: Some things about the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) never change. One of those things is the language they use to describe a certain situation.

Take a load of this - Murali Kartik had a twisted ankle, so Piyush Chawla is a 'reserve'. Kartik was subsequently declared unfit and Chawla took his place. However, when the same measures, or similar, are used for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the terminology is different. If Dhoni were to fail the fitness test on March 21, then Dinesh Karthik would take his place.

But Karthik is not a 'reserve'.

It may be a rather Freudian mindset, but it seems that the BCCI is hoping that Murali Kartik would fail the test, while Dhoni would not. Kartik has had a lot of raw deals in his life, but it would possibly neither insult him, nor our intelligence, if someone bit the bullet and decided that his time was over, and Chawla was an investment for the future. Much better than this virtual carrot, and the inevitable stick to follow.

But the shocker of this selection is Wasim Jaffer staying and Gautam Gambhir not getting in.

Jaffer averaged 8.16 from six innings Down Under, with a top score of 16. On the face of that, any first-class cricketer would have a strong case to replace him. The sad part is that Jaffer cannot even begin to compare with Gambhir when it comes to batting, and fielding. But he finds himself in the side, while Gambhir does not. And please spare me the nonsense about Gambhir being a One-day International player.

There were some murmurs that the selectors wanted a 15-player squad, while BCCI wanted only 14. So Gambhir did not get in. No wonder Chairman of Selectors Dilip Vengsarkar did not come out to face the media!