Indian team to rotate from April The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that it would be implementing the much-awaited rotation policy starting with the tour of the West Indies in April, thus allaying fears that it would take effect during the upcoming one-day series against England. The rotation policy is to run until the 2003 World Cup and would be extended further if it proves to be useful and effective. "Since the next round of engagements with England and Zimbabwe will be played at home, we are looking at an April launch," BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said at Kolkata on Tuesday. Dalmiya further announced that discussions with the players would begin after the one-day series against England and before the home series against Zimbabwe. These talks would focus mainly on the contact/graded payment issue, and the five senior players - Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath - are to be the primary player representatives..

Do stay on, Nass! Nasser Hussain is without doubt one of the most cerebral captains in international cricket today. The tour of India, which saw him lead from the front and revive the fortunes of a weak and inexperienced team, only served to highlight his growing reputation as a leader of men. A few observers even went to the extent of bestowing him with the ultimate accolade, stating that Hussain was a better captain than even the sagely Mike Brearley. So one could only empathise with England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tim Lamb's feelings when he heard that Hussain had decided to step down as England captain at the end of 2003 World Cup. "I haven't seen the exact quote that he made, but I think it would be a shame if he did retire after the World Cup," Lamb told a British News channel. "He's made a terrific impact since he took over, and I think we just need to sit down and discuss the situation with him. I think Nasser and (coach) Duncan Fletcher have started to forge a really good working relationship, and I very much hope that relationship will continue. So, although I've heard about the quote he has made, that he's thinking of stepping down, I very much hope he'll continue for a while yet." With England not having any great talent waiting in the wings, it becomes all the more important that Hussain does stay around. His tactics may not always be in keeping with the spirit of the game, but that said, he does make the most of his resources. And that indeed is what we expect from a great leader.

The one-dayers are on, at least for now England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tim Lamb has been rather busy in the last two days. After asking Nasser Hussain to reconsider his decision to step down at the end of the 2003 World Cup, he was handing out assurances that there was no immediate threat of England opting out of the second leg of the Indian tour because of the possibility of an India-Pakistan war. "Whilst they (the British Foreign Office) are obviously concerned about the escalation of the situation, they say there is no reason why the tour should not proceed," he said. "We will monitor the situation closely, and I will be speaking to my contact at the High Commission later this week. If the situation deteriorates, we may have to make a decision, but at the moment, there is no reason why the tour should not go ahead." Those are comforting words indeed, Mr Lamb.

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