Virat Kohli will leave Australia at the end of the first test. It leaves the Indian team short of their best batsman for three tests during which the series can be won or lost. Kohli is perfectly entitled to be present for the presence of his first child but is India ready with a proper replacement? The Indian board have not yet announced who will replace Kohli as the captain for the final three tests but it is assumed that it will be Rahane. This means that Kohli, Rahane & Shastri must be part of the decision making process all the time though I assume that this is going on. The Australians have already started to plan for key Indian players.
Hazlewood wants to ensure that Bumrah bowls long spells
“Bumrah is probably the standout. He is unique with his action,” Hazlewood told Hindustan Times. Hazlewood continues “He maintains pace very well throughout the day, and the whole series. He is probably the key. He can take wickets upfront or with the old ball. I guess it’s about getting lot of overs into him, try to tire him out in the first couple of games. That will be the key.”
Bumrah is the most important bowler in the Indian lineup. In the last series in 2018, Bumrah was the standout performer among all the bowlers including both the teams. Bumrah took 21 wickets that proved to be the major difference between the teams. His delivery to dismiss Shaun Marsh, the slower yorker, was a piece of gem. India has always used Bumrah sparingly. It has been close to 4 years and Bumrah is yet to play a test in India.
If the Australians succeed in their efforts to make Bumrah bowl a lot more, he may lose his effectiveness. If that happens, the chances of an Indian victory will reduce drastically. Hence, the other bowlers will have to step up. Not only do they have to take wickets but they must also keep the runs down. Shami is an aggressive bowler who always strives for wickets and so he must not be told to keep the scoring rate down. Ishant Sharma can be depended to do just that but the 4th bowler, Ashwin or Jadeja, they have enormous responsibility on them. Neither is a match winner outside of India. So they will have to be prepared to bowl more than 35 overs a day and tightly at that. This will ensure Bumrah is fresh to bowl at his best and pick up crucial wickets.
Ian Chappel is all praise for Rahane’s captaincy
“India is very, very lucky to have a stand-in captain like Rahane,” Ian Chappell told ESPNcricinfo in 2017. “I thought he did a fantastic job and it’s not easy to do the job as a fill-in, because you know the full-time captain has got a certain style. What do I do, do I try and copy that style, do I try and captain the same way as him, or do I just be myself, and Rahane did the right thing – he captained in his own way and I thought he did a terrific job. Aggressive in his own quiet way.
It can be assumed that the Indian management team will make plans for the entire series and will change as and when the series moves along. Kohli must ensure that he isn’t taking decisions regarding the latter part of the series and will have to stick himself to offering suggestion. He must let Rahane do the job how he sees fit.
Final chance for Rahane
Captaining the team for the last 3 tests must be the last chance for Rahane. He does not deserve to be in the team for his batting. Especially, over the last 4 years, his performance has degraded so obviously from the highs of his centuries against England and Australia to the lows of absolutely no significant contribution. It is a puzzle that he still commands a place in the playing eleven. If he fails to perform either as a batsman or in the role of captain, he must not find a place in the team for the next series.