The Indian cricket board announced a ‘new look’ team for next month’s tour to Bangladesh and there were to very big names missing in the one-day team: Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. While it doesn’t seem like the end of the road for them, the signal is clear. Their days may be numbered unless they start performing more consistently. But what is the definition of perform for these two greats? Unlike a greenhorn for whom a 30 or a 40 could be seen as a good effort, such a score is barely enough for these two. They need to score big, score fast, score attractively (fans like to see them play well) and do all this every time they go out to bat.

While Virender Sehwag gets another lease of life (wonder why Rahul Dravid is supporting him so much), lady luck has not smiled as nicely on Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh. One cannot help but feel that this could well be it for Ajit Agarkar. He has not performed half as consistently as he should or he can and he simply refuses to learn his role with the bat. The tag all-rounder is unfit for him and he always gets selected as one. With Pathan also being dropped, who is India’s all-rounder?

The death knell could well have been sounded for Harbhajan Singh as well with the inclusion of Romesh Pawar who needs to perform well in Bangladesh to make the cut for England. For Harbhajan and Pathan, the road back looks tough but this will be the real test of their character and they could take a lesson or two from Zaheer Khan.

Meanwhile, England has a new coach: Peter Moore replaces Duncan Fletcher who resigned a couple of days ago. Fletcher’s match against the West Indies will be his and he, like Brian Lara, who will be playing in his last match, will be hoping for a winning finish. Michael Vaughan could well be another player we see for the last time in an ODI and while there is uncertainty about his future in the shorter game, he would also like to bid a winning goodbye.

Lara’s career (and not just in ODIs) ends tonight. And unless there is a coaxed return to the team by selectors, he will not be seen on a cricket ground on the international stage. In his 16 years, Lara has been the one West Indian cricketer who looked like he belonged on the big stage all along. He was one of the major West Indian crowd pullers and his loss will be a big blow to cricket in the Caribbean. For tonight, though, let’s just enjoy him on the field one last time.