India's performance in the Nottingham Test was heart-warming - a classic victory over England with Zaheer Khan leading the way and the batsmen rising to the occasion.

Sri Sreesanth's performance in the series has been horrendous. Barring a few spells, he's not been the new-ball partner for Zaheer that everyone had hoped for. He's had problems with his run-up and rhythm and needs to rein in his theatrics. It makes me wonder what bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad is doing. Prasad has bowled in England before and, along with Javagal Srinath, had provided India with a sharp new-ball attack.

How can Sreesanth have so many basic problems with a specialist bowling coach in the team? If his problems continue in the tour match against Sri Lanka A, he should be dropped. RP Singh would be a better new ball partner, and if nothing else, Saurav Ganguly is a more steady option as a third seamer if we decide to go in with two spinners.

'It's a big reflection on Zaheer's character that he took up a a county stint to overcome his obstacles and has finally become a true spearhead bowler'

A little over a year ago, Zaheer had been dropped from the team and there were question marks over his form, fitness and attitude. It's a big reflection on his character that he took up a a county stint to overcome his obstacles and has finally become a true spearhead bowler. A county stint for Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, VRV Singh and even Irfan Pathan wouldn't be a bad idea; a season playing cricket every day with no media attention would be more beneficial than three-week conditioning camps interspersed with advertising campaigns.

There is a series of seven meaningless ODIs following the Test series. England are one of the worst one-day teams in the world, and playing seven games against them serves no purpose. If our selectors show some foresight, Zaheer should be rested for most of the matches, we already have two wicket keepers and Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ganguly have nothing to prove by playing in all the games. Yuvraj Singh and other younger players should be allowed to play all the matches against what will be a new-look England side.

There are two important Test series coming up against Pakistan and Australia. The three key players to be tested before these series are Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan. It's unlikely that there will be any changes for the Test squad against Pakistan but it would be wise to send these three players to Australia to play grade cricket rather than play club cricket in India. All three can be match-winners on their day, and the only way to mount a serious challenge to Australia in December is to see if these three players have made any improvements since the World Cup. The A team coach or a selector should monitor their performance to see if they seem to have made any progress.