Black armband to protest Bhajji's ban

It might not come to a pass but Indian cricketers did think about wearing black armbands as a mark of protest in the three-day game which begins at the picturesque Manuka Oval on Thursday.

Indian cricketers have relented to the extent that the deadline on the solution they seek on Harbhajan Singh's ban issue has now been pushed back to one-day series.

Till today, the mood in the camp was to seek a positive answer by the Perth Test.

Much of it has happened because the BCCI Working Committee has empowered its president Sharad Pawar to take a decision on his own accord. He does not have to seek the advice of his colleagues now, he could just pick up the phone and tell ICC or the Indian cricketers about the board's decision.

Pawar so far has been amenable to cricketers' cause which is reflected in the quick climbdown which the International Cricket Council (ICC) has done on a number of issues.

Umpire Steve Bucknor has been shunted out, chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle has come over to oversee the rulings of the match referee Mike Procter, a high court judge of New Zealand has been appointed to expedite the Harbhajan matter and yet the Indians are in an unforgiving mood.

Skipper Anil Kumble though is conscious that his team needed to clear its mind free from the swirling words of rumour and high passions and concentrate on the immediate task of finding the team to challenge Australia in the third Test in Perth.

Indians have sought to play 12 players in Thursday's game which should give everyone a fair go in the middle. More so batsmen as there are a couple of spots on shaky grounds.

Wasim Jaffer and Yuvraj Singh have not shone with the bat and Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Karthik are aware that they are just a match away from coming back into the reckoning.

The word emanating from India suggests that two national selectors, Venkatapathy Raju and Ranjib Biswal, are to come over to Australia. From the stated position of the Board that no selector would be allowed to travel with the team, it seems they are now willing to look the other way.