For the first time in recent memory, India’s selectors have taken the bold — some might say adventurous — call to omit both Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid from a one-day team, and that too on overseas soil. That they chose to do so in the tri-series in Australia, against the reigning World Cup champions and the team they conquered in the summit clash in the Caribbean in April, is the clearest indication yet that the five wise men believe the time is ripe to move away from the past. Australia and Sri Lanka are, inarguably, the two most accomplished one-day outfits going. How a young Indian batting line-up stands up to acid tests against two of the more versatile attacks in world cricket will be viewed with great interest.

Weather permitting — it has been raining on and off here in Brisbane, shrouded in a thick, black mist of threatening clouds for most of Saturday — Sunday should provide the first examination of character when Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men run into the home side at the Gabba. For obvious reasons, the focus will be on the Tendulkars and the Sehwags, not to mention the captain himself; for equally obvious reasons, young turks like Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina, Dinesh Kaarthick and Rohit Sharma, will be no less under the microscope.
Not so long back, a tour to England was considered the ultimate finishing school for a young cricketer. Today, by virtue not merely of exceptional on-field exploits but also the meticulous care given to tactics and preparation, Australia is indisputably the most demanding place to visit. Success here can catapult a young gun to superstardom, just as debilitating failure can push his progress back by several years. Talk of the stakes involved!

Cornerstones
For a decade, Dravid and Ganguly have been the cornerstones of India’s growth as a one-day entity, alongside the genius of Tendulkar. The knowledge that they are stepping into massive, massive shoes ought to give the men on the upwardly mobile graph the confidence that so much trust has been reposed in them; hopefully, they will not allow the inevitable burden of expectations to weigh them down, for that will mean half the battle lost even before taking the field.

India didn’t need the Twenty20 wipe-out at the MCG on Friday night to remind them of the enormity of the task that lies ahead, particularly with vice-captain Yuvraj Singh a non-starter until at least Tuesday. The flamboyant left-hander has been in exceptional limited-overs touch for so long now that he has come to establish himself as the premier Indian limited-over batsman. He was the second highest run-getter in one-day cricket for India last year behind Tendulkar; in the top five were also Ganguly and Dravid. Minus three of their key performers of the previous 12 months, India have the proverbial mountain to climb against an Australian side still battling to put the off-field events of the past few days behind it.

Past master
Ricky Ponting is a past master at being able to channelise the angst and anger of his team into positive energy. The skipper announced himself almost certain to play on Sunday, having made better recovery than expected from his sore back, though the inclusion of Adam Voges as cover suggests some doubts over Matthew Hayden’s availability. Even minus Ponting and Hayden, Australia have a wealth of batting riches to fall back on, not least Adam Gilchrist, in his last few days as an international cricketer.

The absence of Stuart Clark — who hasn’t made the journey to Brisbane — will not take the cutting edge away from a Brett Lee-spearheaded attack with its accent on pace. The Gabba is perhaps as quick as, if not quicker than, any track the Indians are likely to encounter this tour. There is a gentle coat of grass; allied with the supreme hardness of the surface, it should encourage bowlers, though there is no reason why the additional pace and bounce should not favour the batsmen either.

The potential for swing in the event of a cloudy afternoon could prompt Ponting to omit the lone spinner in Brad Hogg. India will grapple long and hard with their own composition as they seek the perfect start to an arduous little phase.

Teams (from):
Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Ashley Noffke, Adam Voges.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Kaarthick, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwari.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Steve Davis. Third umpire: Bruce Oxenford. Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).