It's been a week of no cricket and non-stop confusion for the Indian team in South Africa and the opening debate is being made unnecessarily complicated. Let's borrow an analogy from the world of business. Suppose the CEO of a company calls up one of his men, say the marketing manager, and tells him that a crisis requires him to look after the sales department. Reluctance to take on the new responsibility would be frowned upon, and might even earn the manager the sack.

It is a serious problem for the Indian team if Rahul Dravid's reported reluctance to open is true. Cricketers are professionals, and instead of shirking his attitude should be: "OK, this is a crisis, and I'm prepared to do the job." It need not be unconditional: Dravid would be within his rights to ask for a certain length of time to prove himself, but he must be prepared to take on the challenge for the team. He should be made to.

The Indian team has had problems over the years when the senior players have been accorded star treatment. Their individual comfort cannot be given higher precedence than the team's needs. In situations like these, the coach needs to crack the whip.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Ajit Wadekar as a coach - and he was a very successful one - was that every team member, including the stars, knew who the boss was. He made hard decisions and the players had to fall in line. That's what John Wright needs to do. He needs to sit Rahul Dravid down and tell him in clear terms what India need from him.

Wright, more than Sourav Ganguly, is a position to do this, because sometimes in Indian cricket, the captain's decisions can be clouded by personal interests. With Ganguly struggling to find form, it is time for Wright to get tough.

Dravid has the technique to make the requisite adjustment to opening the innings. He should draw inspiration from Ravi Shastri as an example. I was closely associated with Ravi on the tours that he was asked to open. He took on the challenge positively, and he did a wonderful job. His only condition was that he be given a decent run in the position. Ravi is in South Africa, and a chat with him would certainly help Dravid.

India should stick to the same batting order for the moment. If the top fails again in the second Test, there could be rethink, but certainly not at this stage. VVS Laxman's success at No. 3 is critical, while Ganguly should be given a cushioned ride at No. 5 - he is not in the best of form and has the additional burden of leading the side. Virender Sehwag looks the type of player who could bat at No. 6 for India for a long time, and he shouldn't be touched.

At the end of the day, India need to salvage some pride, and Dravid's loyalty to the team cause is crucial.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late 1980s and early '90s, was talking to Rahul Bhattacharya.

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