The Indian hopes soar as much as the sweltering heat of the Indian summer. Yes, I’m talking about cricket and the India’s tour of the West Indies.

The Indians take on what is generally considered as a depleted West Indies team, which has been struggling to hold up the Caribbean tradition in the last couple of years. In what many may call "on paper", India obviously looks the stronger side.

But, one has a niggling feeling at the back of the mind that the best on the Indian soil has not made it to the West Indian sojourn. Australia, South Africa and England may believe that Test cricket is a different ball game from the One-day version.

However, a good cricketer - not necessarily a great cricketer - say like the Waugh twins can adopt and adapt to both versions of the game. Given this scenario, the Indian team definitely miss two in form performers in Yuvraj Singh and Ajit Agarkar.

Both seem to have a common strain of comeback men. Come what may both delivered when it mattered the most against Zimbabwe in One-day home series recently. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that these young men saved India the blushes after it was in a deep hole, losing the third One-dayer at Kochi and staring an imminent defeat at 1-2 down.

And when the five wisemen or should it be "bunch of jokers" as they were labelled once met to pick the Indian team for two-month tour of West Indies, they completely ignored the claims of Yuvraj and Agarkar. Instead, Deep "butter finger" Dasgupta, Wasim Jaffer and Sanjay Bangar find themselves in.

If Jaffer is to open the innings with Shiv Sundar Das, what is Dinesh Mongia going to do? A deeper analysis of the Indian team, only leaves one with a whole of lot riddles and puzzles. One thing is for certain that some of the players - perhaps Dasgupta, Jaffer and Bangar - would just end up as mere passengers enjoying a Carribean holiday at the cost of the Indian Cricket Board.

When will the Indian Board and its officialdom learn a lesson? A million dollar question. Can some sponsor come forward to give a prize for getting the right answer!

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