As Zaheer Khan and Lee trade barbs on whether the Australian team were defensive in the first test at Bangalore or whether the Indian team played for a draw, one thing is certain - most Indian fans are relived at escaping with a draw while very few wonder why we didn't win.

It is not that the Fab Four or the Famous Five or whoever have become old, and so we didn't go for a win. Even when these distinguished gentlemen were at their peak, under the same circumstances, the result would have been the same. Most Indian fans would have been relieved at escaping with a draw while very few would have wondered why we didn't win.
While the ageing superstars are a good enough reason to advocate the infusion of youth into the team, there is also the need to break the nucleus of this team if India have to be a better test side. India has always been a better ODI side than a test side and while that is surprising considering the records of the superstars, it is also a fact. While Indian players have plundered runs and wickets over the past decade, their results have been dismal. A public company having similar results would have had the shareholders baying for blood.

In Indian cricket, life is such that this unseemly data is not much cause of discomfort to anyone, not to the legion of fans and not to the players themselves, whatever they might talk in public. It is a way of life, this mediocrity, and it is accepted.

It is possible for this to change but for that the personnel must change, because the superstars define the team. Today, even while there is debate in the media about whether Gambhir might be rested for the second test at Mohali to accommodate an extra seamer, there are no whispers about whether any of the superstars could be sat out. That is just not considered. The personnel would be the same, the thinking would be the same, the mindsets the same!

The Gambhirs, the Uthappas and the Rohit Sharmas might not have the runs of the Dravids, Tendulkars, Laxmans and Gangulys but they also do not have the legacy of under-performance and mediocrity where team results are concerned. The ODI team today still loses matches but with new personnel on board, the old lethargy has disappeared to a large extent.

Bring in the youngsters into the test team; give the seniors a warm handshake, thank them for their hard work and contributions and move on. For certain, the team results might not become that worse because they are no shining light right now. Someday, while chasing 290 odd for victory, we might even feel pained if the match ends in a draw and not say "Ganguly is great because his 47 saved India from defeat" or "Tendulkar ensures India wouldn't go down 0-1 in the series by making a resolute 45".

We need younger legs out there in the field for India; we also need fresher mindsets.