Rohit Sharma vs Manoj Tiwary: A lose-lose game

It can't be easy being Manoj Tiwary right now. Or Rohit Sharma, for that matter.

They have both said that they are friends, and wish each other success. That might be true, but at the moment, the two can't possibly share particularly good vibes. Tiwary must surely feel that Rohit is the Favoured One and is being given a rope too long - lengthier than Tiwary might have got if he had been in Rohit's position. As far as Rohit is concerned, though, it's a case of being in poor form, something every batsman is familiar with. What must it feel like then, knowing that his replacement is sitting in the dressing room?

Batsmen and bowlers lose form, of course, but usually they have entire series to find a purple patch. Or they are dropped, but not because there is a like-for-like alternative waiting. In a 15-man squad, there aren't replacements for everyone.

In the case of Rohit and Manoj, the two travelled together on the tour of Australia last year. During the Test series, which India lost 0-4, Rohit sat out. There was a clamour, valid or not, especially in sections of the media to bring him in and  axe someone like VVS Laxman. What happened then, after Tiwary reached Australia to be part of the limited-overs series, was that Rohit became a part of the playing XI. I believe that the thinking behind the move was that Rohit needed to play ahead of Tiwary because he had been waiting in the wings throughout the Test series. As it was, Rohit returned scores of 21, 10, 33, 15 and 0 before being dropped. Tiwary continued to wait outside the XI.

All along, Tiwary's calling card hollered: 'Century in his last ODI'. That was scored on December 11 last year.

Leave out their performances in domestic cricket, which doesn't seem to be the spotting ground for BCCI selectors anymore, and Rohit was clearly the better performer in the interim period. In IPL 2012, he came away with 433 runs (Avg 30.92, SR 126.60) against Tiwary's 260 (Avg 26.00, SR 105.69). Then there was the India A tour of West Indies, where both players were again teammates. In the series of four-day games, Tiwary was marginally better with 182 runs (Avg 30.33). Rohit tallied 145 at 24.16. In the T20s, Rohit scored 55 from two outings, while Tiwary got 21.

Now, these numbers suggest to some that Rohit is a comparatively better batsman. Not too many observers would suggest otherwise anyway. Tiwary is a good batsman and an honest trier, but probably not blessed with the kind of talent Rohit has. They are both very good fielders, though Rohit is a slightly more accomplished part-time bowler than Tiwary.

That said, there are two considerations right now: 1. Should Rohit be dropped after totalling five runs from three ODIs in Sri Lanka? 2. Should Tiwary be given a chance? The two questions are seen to be related, but perhaps they aren't.

Rohit has struggled for consistency for a long time now and it's probably not doing him any good to go out there, day after day, and fail. Is he not good enough? Of course he is. But, like many before him, Rohit might need a little time off, especially with the Indian media in Sri Lanka asking questions about his future to every teammate of his that they can get hold of.

On to Tiwary, and it's a no-brainer that someone with an average of 33.00 (against Rohit's 31.70, after the dip) from six matches, with a century in his last ODI, should be given a chance. He should probably have been considered whether or not Rohit was in form. Maybe midway through the tour of Australia. Maybe now.

If Tiwary is not good enough for the top level, he ought to have a chance to prove or disprove that theory. If he fails, the team can persist with Rohit, or draft in another player. If Tiwary is competent, then there shouldn't be any problem anyway.

The way things have panned out so far, though, the team management might be doing to Tiwary what they were anxious not to do with Rohit in Australia - making him warm the benches for a bit too long, thus denting his confidence. Meanwhile, they aren't doing Rohit a favour either by showing him up for what he is - a talented batsman in the middle of a prolonged run of bad form.