It will be easy for the cynics to say that Md Azharuddin's international career is over, following his omission from the Indian team to play New Zealand in the first Test to be held at Mohali from Oct 10 to 14. Of course his fans will see this only as a minor setback and will be sure that the 36-year-old former Indian captain will be back in the squad ere long.

To be fair to Azhar there are a few things going for him. For one thing despite his age, he is still fit. As he himself has repeatedly said so he feels he has a couple of years of top grade cricket still left in him. Throughout his 15-year long career, Azhar has always been a fitness fanatic and this has seen him remain the side's best fielder wherein he has put to shame guys ten years his junior. Whether he will retain this kind of top level fitness after undergoing a major shoulder surgery is of course a debatable point. But from what little one has seen of him on the field - chiefly in the Moin ud Dowlah tournament in Hyderabad last month - he certainly is still one of the best batsmen and fielders in the country. As older cricketers, fighting to retain their place or win back a spot in the Indian team always point out, age should not be a consideration, only fitness and form. If one were to go by this argument, Azhar is still good enough to represent India.

But the competition these days is so stiff, that Azhar cannot take his place for granted, as he could afford to in the days prior to his surgery. This is one reason why it is so hard to regain a place in the side if a player has lost it through injury, indisposition or lack of form. That is why, very often, a player is even guilty of shielding his injury from the public and is prepared to play even if not one hundred percent fit. The professional cricketer these days is aware how difficult it is to come back into the team, with there being a number of players who can make good when given the opportunity. Azhar, who was a permanent member of the Indian team ever since his sensational debut in the Test match against England at Calcutta in 1984-85, is now facing this unenviable situation, after having to miss out on four one day tournaments because of the long recuperation period following the shoulder surgery. Azhar last played for India on June 12 in the World Cup match against New Zealand.

As I said, the competition is so tough, Azhar cannot take his place in the team for granted. And indeed, the Indian middle order is right now chock-full with claimants. Just consider the fact that players like Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Vijay Bhardwaj, Jacob Martin and Ajay Jadeja are in line for a place for the positions No 3 to 6 in the batting and it would seem that a `house full' board is in order. Azhar's position now is very similar to that of MAK Pataudi in 1972-73. For almost a decade Pataudi was the kingpin of the middle order. But having missed out on the triumphant twin tours of the West Indies and England in 1971, he was in the unenviable position of having to fight his way back in the middle order for the series against Tony Lewis' Englishmen in the face of competition from Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai, Gundappa Viswanath, Farokh Engineer, Salim Durrani, Abid Ali and Eknath Solkar. Revealing his true class, Pataudi did force his way back into the team.

Azhar, who is in the same class as Pataudi as a batsman, has the skill and ability to fight his way back into the squad. It will not be easy though for ultimately a lot may depend on how well the middle order performs in the games against New Zealand. Also it must not be forgotten that Azhar did not have a very successful World Cup outing and his showing in recent Test matches has not been in keeping with his overall record. However it must be said that on home pitches, where the ball neither bounces alarmingly and where the movement is restricted, Azhar could still be a force to reckon with. But if the selectors decide to look to the future - and the immediate future is the tour to Australia, where Azhar hasn't had a very good record - then a question mark could still remain over Azhar's career.