Pride at stake for Team India

New Delhi: From months of torturous malfunctioning to desperately needing a revival of fortunes, the Indian team are in Bangladesh under a new, but temporary management.

The World Cup debacle, which was inflicted on them largely because of a pugnacious performance by their eastern neighbours, has sent the chosen eleven out of the blue-over-a-billion in a tizzy.

Parliamentarians had vented their ire much before; furious viewers took to the streets while selectors chose a clamp on the players, whose contracts looked set to be put to the sword.

So, are the three one day internationals and two Tests enough chance for redemption as part of this new era?

Avenging a one-off ODI loss with a relatively longer series may offer more than that. But a single blow - that led to India's failure, and outgoing coach Greg Chappell questioning the credentials of world beaters like Sachin Tendulkar and other senior cricketers - re-ignites the debate of lack of real talent unearthed over the past decade.

The team selected for both Tests and one-dayers has only thrown up a handful of new cricketers’ names. While the one-day team boasts of Bengal's 24-year-old Manoj Tiwary and teenage UP leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, the Test side has Baroda's Rajesh Pawar as the solitary new face. The rest of the men include former discards and under fire non-performers from the World Cup.

Salvaging tarnished reputations is paramount for some of the seniors, while talented newcomers and reinstated discards alike, will look to cement their place in at least one of the two sides. For Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Mongia, R P Singh and VRV Singh, this tour may be their last shot to cement a place.

Add to all this, there is no vice-captain. For skipper Rahul Dravid and the team management have been assigned the job as selectors "rested" themselves after picking 22 men to take charge post-debacle.

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