Former Indian selection chief Kiran More says the ouster of Andrew Symonds will affect Australia’s performance against India.

By Faisal Kamal

"He (Symonds) can bowl, he can bat, he can field and he can disturb the players too. He is a fighter and will be missed in the series. It will be tough for Australia without Big Symmo," More said.

The wily stumper, who first toured Australia in 1985-86, feels that over the years the rivalry between the two teams has become so intense that the Indo-Australia series was now "Number 1 in the world."

Never short on adrenalin during his playing days, More expressed strong views about the umpire referral system. He believes the concept is good for the game, but Test cricket should be left out of such innovations.

More said, "Innovations happen in sports like golf and football as well, but it doesn't affect the game. But here it is telling on the game. One has to realise that cricket is a batsman's game and referees have to be judicious. One bad decision can ruin a player's career and a cricketer is always measured by his Test performance."

Saying it was like "a very Mickey Mouse thing," referral systems did take away the charm from a classic contest. "If you have to try new methods, it should be restricted to T20 or a 50-over game," More advises.

More is even impressed with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership qualities, but believes that the one-day skipper is surely the future captain of the Test side as well.

"Dhoni is no doubt a very good leader. He has done a good job. He is the future Test captain of India. Probably this series will decide when Dhoni will take over from Anil Kumble. But at the moment Anil is doing a fine job."

If it's More, how can selection matters be far behind? As chairman of selectors (2002-06), More would often be in the news for both the right and wrong reasons. Never known for his love for Sourav Ganguly, More and Greg Chappell made a telling combination. But More prefers to play safe these days, saying youngsters should not be pushed just for the sake of it.

"Immediate form should be key," he professes, not quite making it clear why an out-of-runs Sachin Tendulkar got the nod (for the Australia series) and Ganguly did not.