And now, Azhar can't play Tests

And now, Azhar can't play Tests
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MUMBAI, FEB 21

The latest drama to unfold in Indian cricket isn't over. A day after Sachin Tendulkar announced his decision to step down from captaincy, comes news that Mohammad Azharuddin has been ruled out of the first Test against South Africa commencing here from Thursday.

Azharuddin's thumb injury is wrapped in mystery. On Sunday when he suffered the injury _ the day the Indian team for the first Test was picked _ the BCCI secretary had said: ``He will recover in the next 48 hours.'' But on Monday, a day after Sachin Tendulkar dropped a bombshell by resigning as captain, the Chandu Borde-chaired selection committee announced that Azhar was unfit for the next seven days beginning today.

``This decision was taken after Azhar took a second opinion on the injury,'' explained Borde. It's a loaded statement considering the fact close confidants of the former skipper were themselves amazed at the decision as they had found nothing wrong with his thumb or the player when they had met him thismorning. The replacement for Azhar _ Ajay Jadeja _ whose credentials in the conventional format of the game at the highest level are nothing to shout about.

Now the time given for the injury to heal is also intriguing. Seven days means that the selectors wouldn't be in a position to judge whether he is fit for the second Test, as they would be selecting the team on Feb 27. And Azhar would only be fit on Feb 28.

Would the selectors be considering him for the Bangalore Test?

``We will see,'' was Borde's reply.

The nature of the injury also kept changing as the hours passed by. If it was swelling of soft tissues on the thumb on Sunday (according to Lele), it turned to a chipped bone by Monday afternoon (according to Borde).

But if the grapevine is to be believed, Azhar has decided to skip the Test series fearing a backlash after Tendulkar's decision.