MUMBAI: So youthful and so quickly in the wilderness. It is not that they are burning themselves out, but rather, it is fate that has forsaken them, at least for the moment. This is the tale of two young Indian cricketers, who, after their meteoric rise, have been shown the door, just when so much more was expected of them.

First, it was Irfan Pathan, who had been hailed as the all-rounder that India were desperately looking for, to fall from the selectors' favor. What did Irfan not do for the sake of the team? He bowled his heart out and then, when called upon to deliver as a batsman, even opened the innings. Out of the Test side for quite a while now, he did not even figure in the probables' list of 30 for the oncoming Sri Lanka tour and the Champions Trophy in South Africa. The 23-year old left-hander has sworn to come back with a bang. He rightly says that age is on his side.

Perhaps, a more tragic case is that of Rohit Sharma. Like Irfan, he had graduated from the under-19 ranks to hit instant success with the Indian team. Although more preferred for the shorter version, Rohit Sharma drew the close attention of ex-internationals like Ian Chappell and Mike Atherton, who believe that he has the makings of a class player for the repertoire of strokes he poses.

Rohit, now 22, had a runaway success in the IPL-2 tournament in South Africa just three months ago, where he scored consistently and was more than a useful bowler for Deccan Chargers, the ultimate winners. He even recorded a hat trick as an off-spinner and was deservedly voted the best under-23 player of the tournament.

Yes, Rohit did have a poor Twenty20 World Cup in England, but then which Indian player did have any measure of success, as the team did not even qualify for the semifinals.

Just that one failure has led to Rohit Sharma to be totally ignored for the recent selection. The move must have come as a rude shock to the youngster. Apart from Sehwag, as explosive as ever, Rohit has the highest strike-rate of 132 in Twenty20 and close to 76 in ODIs. Apart from his effective off-spin bowling, the young Mumbai player is one of the best fielders in Indian cricket at the moment. Such a grave injustice to one of India's best emerging talent does not evoke sympathy but anger.

Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid, now pushing 37, has been recalled for the shorter version of the game after a gap of two years. With so many exciting young players appearing on the scene, Dravid, a veteran of over 300 ODIs, was discarded from the team, particularly because he was slower than even the standard Test scoring rate. When once India needed to score at a scorching rate to achieve a stiff target, Dravid scored just 3 runs off 23 balls. His dismissal, for which the Indian supporters must have been secretly praying, changed the course of the game. The selectors had then thought that they had had enough of "The Wall."

Now, on what basis has he been brought back when there are so many highly talented youngsters waiting in the wings with the required exuberance? How are players like Irfan Pathan and Rohit Sharma going to feel at this important stage of their careers? Dravid's inclusion for the shorter version of the game is as much baffling, as it is illogical. By whatever name you call it, it is a retrograde step.