From the publishers of THE HINDU Vol. 25 :: No. 19 :: May 18 - 24, 2002	Home Contents
	LETTERS Right policy Sir, - The victory in the second Test over West Indies gives us solace that horses-for-the-courses policy worked and the team management did the right thing in dropping Kumble and including Harbhajan. This is not to belittle Kumble. With so much competition for the middle order and we being in no position to forge the right opening combination, the Indian think tank should consider Virender Sehwag as a potentital opener. If he clicks, even after a few hiccups, we will have a Jayasuriya like Test opener. Will it not be worth the effort? V. S. GOPALARATHNAM, CHENNAI Why pick on Laxman alone? Sir, - It is a pity that scribes in India always put V. V. S. Laxman on notice whenever he or the team fails. They should realise that he is a class batsman and worth going miles to watch. Class is permanent while form is temporary! There have been a few Indian players who have been lucky to be persisted with even though they are not half as good as Laxman. Laxman is a good batsman and captaincy material too. He should be told that his position is permanent in the side and be allowed to settle down. With Tendulkar and Dravid, he forms a troika of world class batsmen. By being constantly put on notice, his confidence is bound to be affected. Please give Laxman a break! There are a lot of non-performers in the side to pick on! DILIP MAHARTY, BY E-MAIL Embarrassing track Sir, - Merv Dillon (with a career best haul) played the leading role in West Indies' victory over India in the third Test on an embarrassing track. Of course credit must also go to Carl Hooper and S. Chanderpaul for their centuries. Though India lost the Test, the consolation was Sourav Ganguly played well in both the innings. India should not bother much about the loss and keep its morale up by negotiating the ball better on similar tracks in future. P. KANNAN, SRIVILLIPUTTUR Dravid and his due Sir, - I read the article - "Give Dravid his due" by Rohit Brijnath (The Sportstar, April 27) with interest. Michael Jordan, Pete Sampras, Tiger Woods and Sachin Tendulkar are my favourite sportsmen. They are athletes with extraordinary zeal, concentration and determination. But all said and done, they are human too, and have their off days. I agree with Rohit when he says that Dravid played an innings of great character, I also agree that Dravid doesn't always get his due. But trying to put down Tendulkar's innings to "boost" Dravid's achievement doesn't really do any good. A great knock will always be a great knock. SHUBHAYAN MUKHERJEE, BY E-MAIL Sachin Tendulkar is also human Sir, - I disagree with certain ideas expressed by Rohit Brijnath in The Sportstar, April 27. Indeed Dravid did a fantastic job by scoring a century and saving the Georgetown Test. I do appreciate Dravid for what he did, but it can't be at the cost of Sachin Tendulkar. It is our folly to expect Tendulkar to score a hundred in every innings. Sachin is a genius, but is also human. Sachin has been scoring consistently both at home and abroad. And what about his patient hundred in the Port of Spain Test. Hasn't he won matches in the past? DIBIN JACOB, THRISSUR Contents • Daily Sports • The Hindu • Business Line • Frontline • Home Copyrights © 2002 The Sportstar Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Sportstar.