In continuation of the previous a proud record crashed, I want to analyse or rather pour my frustration on the blog because I just like several others, am still not able to come to terms with how such a proud record was lost because of some of the most atrocious batting that has been witnessed on the field. This time, let me look at the individual players and their lack of contribution. Anything and everything that could go wrong went wrong for India. It was a chastening defeat with a cleap sweep staring in the face. If it happens, this ignominy will never be erased.
I have already written in the previous blog about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The Australian tour later this year, must be their final swansong if they fail to perform. Even a middling series must not save their spots. Either they must retire from Test cricket or must be dropped on form. I know that with the England series looming, India cannot go with an inexperienced squad but change must be effected. Rohit Sharma in the likelihood of not retaining the Border Gavaskar trophy, must be relinquished of his captaincy atleast if he is selected for future tours.
Jaiswal, Gill and Sarfaraz
All of them are young and in the early stage of their career. They will go through ups and downs but do they have the skillsl to become a better batsmen? On the short evidence so far, they have a very long way to go. Jaiswal, during his first visit to South Africa where he came against some of the treacherous pitches for batsmen, did not cover himself with glory. He couldn’t keep with the pace and bounce of those surfaces, not that anyone else did but Jaiswal did not offer much hope. It was his first series in South Africa and on pitches that were against the batsmen. I will not read too much into it.
As for Gill, he is proving to be a confusing batsmen. His inconsistencies, despite multiple opportunities is baffling. He is called the next big thing in Indian cricket but his scores aren’t that great. He could also be one of those batsmen who in the interest of becoming a power-hitter in T20 cricket, lost his touch game for which he is suited. Gill must understand that T20 is not his format and will have to modify his batting to suit Test and ODI cricket. The sooner he does it, the better it will be for him and for the Indian team.
Sarfaraz is just a few Tests old. A lot was expected from him and true to the expectations, he has played quite a few swashbuckling knocks. The 150 at Bangalore against all odds was brilliant but the moment the new-ball was taken, he was all at sea. How could a batsman at 150, suddenly play like that?
The point is, the jury is still out about these youngsters. Will they be able to transcend and achieve greatness remains to be seen.
Ashwin & Jadeja
More than anything, it was the utter failure of the spin-twins at Pune, the main reason for the devastating loss. They did not have any role to play in Bangalore because the pitch did not offer anything to the spinners but Pune was made for them. These are sort of pitches where they usually run through sides. Mitchell Santner showed how to bowl on that surface. Keep the ball on a line and the pitch will do the rest. This is what both Jadeja and Ashwin failed to do. In trying to bowl magical deliveries as soon as they saw a helping pitch, they were allover the wicket. Both of them were regularly cut and pulled. On a pitch where New Zealand should not have scored more than 150, they were allowed to score more than 200 in both the innings.
As if their bowling was bad, both of them weren’t that good with the bat either. In a team with 5 bowlers, 3 of them absolute mug with the bat, it is mandatory for one of the allrounder to score substantially. Otherwise, the pressure on the regular batsmen increases manifold. Both of them will not get more than 2 out of 10.
The rest of the bowlers
Mohammed Siraj must understand that it is time he step up the ladder to support Bumrah. 80 wickets in 30 Tests is literally nothing. He is lucky that he is in India. If he had been in Australia or England or South Africa, he would have been shown the door a longtime ago. Nothing to write about Kuldeep Yadav.
Wrapping up a proud record crashed 2
If it requires Sundar, who wasn’t even part of the original squad to pick up wickets, the team is in serious trouble.