'The instructions were to just be there'

Aakash Chopra should be a nervous wreck, unsure whether he will play in the third Test or not. But his exterior painted a contrasting picture. He was in a relaxed mood and offerred chocolates and cold drinks as if he'd known me for years. He is a newbie in terms of the number of Tests he has played, but he has been around in domestic cricket long enough, done the hard yards, scored the big runs, and knows how hard work leads to reward. He is only too aware that there's nothing he can do between now and April 13 that will make a case for either selecting or dropping him. That is for someone else to worry about.

After all, Chopra has done what was asked of him. He has figured in four opening century-partnerships in eight Tests. That, some will say, is thanks to Virender Sehwag. But the scores when Chopra was dismissed tell their own tale: 107, 97, 164, and 128 against New Zealand in his debut series - only once did he fall before Sehwag. In Australia the numbers were: 127, 4, 66, 48, 141, 5, 123 and 11. At Multan, he left with the team on a cosy 160. His only twin-blemish came at Lahore - he was out when the scores were 5 and 15. "The instructions were very clear," Chopra told Wisden Cricinfo. "The New Zealand series was my first, so it was a big one personally, but as far as the team was concerned they were looking for a good opening partnership in Australia. The instructions were very, very clear that the openers had to see the new ball off, that I had to be there, because that was our problem when we last toured Australia. Even if I didn't score runs the whole day ... that's what John [Wright] said, 'Even if you don't score a single run in the whole 80-90 overs, just be there, and if you are there you have done a great job for the team'."

Has he done enough in his short career to convince the team management that he should be given a longer rope? He knows that 40s and 50s are not good enough, but the team isn't worried yet. "I am very concerned about not converting 50s into big scores. But my teammates and seniors are not that concerned. Our batting line-up is such a great one that if you can keep the rest of the batsmen away from the new ball, they are more than happy because the job is done for them and they can go and score big runs. But, as far as I am concerned I have to convert these 40s and 50s into big ones because that is what makes you a good player." What's more, the instructions to Chopra remain the same. "My instructions are clear. Nothing has changed even in Pakistan, the team management told me that I have to be there for three or four hours."

Even till that happens, the team is well catered for, thanks to Sehwag. "The best thing about Viru is that he might get beaten three times in a row, and then hit three boundaries in the same over. If you have a guy like that at the other end it puts a lot of pressure on the bowlers, it demoralises them. That makes it easier for me to be there and not worry about the scoring-rate. This gives me a lot of time to settle down. Our understanding as far as running between the wickets is very good and that plays a big, big role. More often than not you don't have to play six balls in an over and that's a big advantage for an opening batsman. No opening batsman wants to play six balls in an over."

While the team might be happy with the way Chopra has gone about accomplishing his assigned task, as a batsman he needs to do better. It's not simply about hanging around. Batsmen of lesser natural ability, like Sanjay Bangar, have done that in the past. But that can only be a stop-gap arrangement. Chopra is committed to growing as a batsman, and making a name for himself, for, in the long run, that will do more for the team than what he is doing now.

Chopra has begun to identify the problem. "The drive off the front foot and the flick off the legs are my boundary shots. These are the shots I bank on. But in international cricket the bowlers don't pitch the ball so far up. I am realising that this is the difference between domestic and international cricket. It will take some time to get used to this and look for different scoring opportunities."

Has he done his job? What about converting some of those cautious 40s and 50s into big scores? "I feel it's just something that hasn't happened yet. I've made hundreds, and big hundreds in the Ranji Trophy. I've never faced this problem at the first-class level. The standard of bowling in international cricket is much higher from what you're used to in domestic cricket. But once you're set, this difference should not matter so much. It's just a matter of luck or ... maybe just ... [snaps his fingers] ... a question of getting past that barrier once. Then things will change."

But isn't that just taking the easy way out? If Sehwag is crushing bowlers' spirits, shouldn't Chopra capitalise on that and look to open up a bit more? "At times it makes it easy. But, in whatever little international cricket I have played, the bowlers won't give me easy runs even when Viru is hitting everything bowled at him. He takes the good balls and makes them into bad balls with his shots. So they make sure they keep putting the ball in the right place. I believe in playing percentage cricket. I don't try to go out of my way to create opportunities." Then again, this might be the very reason why Chopra is replaced by someone like Yuvraj, who is an attacking batsman.

But identifying a shortcoming is one thing, fixing it another. "It's also about confidence," said Chopra. "That's what [Justin] Langer told me. And I asked Viru the same thing. 'When Shoaib Akhtar is bowling at you, fast and outside the off-stump, and you drive at it, there's about a 75% chance it will go to the slips and it is impossible that this thought does not come into your mind. How can you still go ahead and hit it?' 'It's all about confidence, once you back yourself you can go ahead and hit it,' said Viru." Whether the team will stand by him, and give him that confidence, remains to be seen.