Indian cricket is at the crossroad. Far too many aged cricketers whom the Australians would love to call Dad’s Army and very few youngsters who will go onto have a productive career. Some of the seniors are clinging on just because of their past exploits. With the WTC cycle between 2021 – 2023 complete, it is time to blood youngsters who may carry the torch of some really good players. The new WTC cycle starts with a series against the West Indies. The pitches in the Caribbean are not expected to be quick and it could be the ideal starting ground for the youngsters. Towards the end of the current WTC cycle, more than half of the current cricketers who represented the team in the last finals, will be 35 and above and their agility is bound to decrease which will make them a liability. The future of Indian cricket.

Does the selectors even have a succession plan? That is the pertinent question that needs to be raised at the moment. The recall of Rahane for the finals and the recall of Pujara before the Edgbaston Test in 2022 signifies that the selectors are actually clueless. What was the point of bringing them back after they were dropped about 6 months ago? Most of the times, selectors have like there aren’t enough talented cricketers on this land.

The experienced seniors

For now, atleast, Rohit Sharma is hanging by the thread. He is the captain though who just lost the WTC without a semblance of a fight. He probably is the most consistent batsman in the Indian team. I have set the standards very low. Anyone with an average of close to 40 over the last 4 years is consistent because the rest, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Gill hardly scored any. He is injury personified and missed a large part of 2022. At the most, he has only about a year left in international cricket. It is difficult to see him appear for India beyond the South African tour. As for captainship, the ODI World Cup in October will be his last.

Pujara, for all his exploits in the English County Division 2, his days as an international cricketer are behind him. Let the selectors not be fooled because of the tons of runs he makes for Sussex because the standard of Division 2 is poor. At Edgbaston, he was hardly able to get the ball off the square despite amassing runs for Sussex just a few weeks before the Test. He should never have been selected. Instead start performers in Ranji Trophy could have been given the opportunity.

The non-existent middle order

Rahane came back into the squad based on his exploits for CSK in the IPL. It really is a pity that IPL has now become the yardstick to select players for Tests. It should never be the case. Performance in Ranji or Duleep Trophy, which are proper 5 day games, must be the criteria. Having said that, Rahane was in good form in those games but what was the point of bringing back a 34 year old? How long can he continue to contribute?

Kohli is clearly on borrowed time. 4 years of absolute lacklustre performance. The phenomenal 4 years between 2014 and 2018 is keeping things ticking for him. He is clearly struggling to get out of the rut. I have always been a supporter of Kohli being given an extended run despite his lean period. However, that has now grown thin following the miserable WTC game. When his contemporaries, Root, Smith, Williamson et al are scoring runs for fun, Kohli seems to be fighting his own self. He is clearly shot of confidence and is unsure where his next run is going to come from.

All the above seniors must be clearly told that their selection from now on, will be on case-by-case basis. They need performance to carry them and not their reputation.

Captaincy conundrum

Rohit Sharma with his lack of fitness is clearly not my choice for captain. Right after the game against Australia, Rohit must have been removed and instead, Ashwin must have been made the captain. Why? Ashwin is a certain starter in the West Indies. Not for nothing is he known as The Professor. He is a good, thinking cricketer who always strives to improve his game. After Kohli, Ashwin must have been made the captain. Ofcourse, there were question marks over his place in the eleven outside of the sub-continent but he would have offset that with his skills as captain. He can contribute for another couple of years. Something that cannot be said about either Rohit or Rahane. He will be the ideal transition captain. If left to go abegging, India will lose the services of Ashwin the captain just like Australia lost the services of Warne the captain.

As for the longer term, I do not think Gill or Pant or for that matter, even Bumrah is the choice. The selectors must invest on someone who is good captaincy credentials. Ofcourse, it is not possible to have someone just for his skills as captain.

The seamers

Bumrah has been out of action for almost a year. His back is finally giving up after years of toil. Yes, Bumrah has been treated with kid’s gloves and has he really repaid that faith? It is doubtful. He plays every game in the IPL but selectively for India. He has certainly frustrated as a bowler. Shami is 32 but is frustratingly inconsistent. He does not really run through the sides as his bowling should. Siraj is bowling well and will probably spearhead the bowling in the short future.

Who after Jadeja & Ashwin?

Ashwin and Jadeja have been India’s match winners in the sub-continent for a very longtime. They have knee problems and as such are not expected to be around for more than a couple of years. Axar Patel, though good with the bat, cannot be the ideal replacement. Are there any spinners in Indian cricket?

Wrapping up future of Indian Cricket

It is time almost all of the seniors are let go within the next couple of years and youngsters are selected to replace them.

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The top and middle-order let India down – 3

Ravindra Jadeja Probably the most improved batsman in the world. I will write a separate blog about Jadeja. In this test, he showed why he is preferred to Ashwin though it was never between Jadeja and Ashwin. I have always said that Jadeja plays outside of India as a specialist batsman. Everyone knows that his bowling is non-threatening in English conditions. He may take advantage of a 5th day wearing pitch and that is about it. He paced his innings beautifully. The way he manipulated strike with the tail in the first innings was excellent. If only Pant had stayed with Jadeja, the lead could have been around the 450 mark. Shardul Thakur Shardul Thakur is not an express fast bowler. As such he can never terrorise any batsman with his pace. He is in the team in overseas conditions because he can contribute with the bat. If he fails with the bat and does not keep the economy rate down and provide breakthroughs, it is tough to justify his inclusion. After the enormous partnership between Pant and Jadeja, India needed one more partnership of 50-odd runs to establish authority over England. If only Shardul had stayed with Jadeja at the point, we may have well earned another 60-75 runs. A first innings score of close to 500 would have proved quite challenging but Shardul failed with the bat at the wrong time. Moreover, his bowling was not threatening and he missed an easy sitter of Stokes. Shardul was the star performer earlier in the series and as such this one bad game should not invite condemnation. However, Shardul must realise that he is in the team for his batting as much as he is for his bowling. In hindsight, would Ashwin had been a better choice than Shardul? Maybe may not be. The only reason that I am not able to emphatically say yes is the fact that there is no proof to the contrary. As Manjrekar rightly said, he is yet to take a 5-fer in the countries that matter. With age not on his side, it is anybody’s guess whether he will be able to correct that aberration. Mohammed Shami Shami is a brilliant bowler. We know that. Shami bowls some magic balls. We know that too. Shami makes the batsmen play more often. We know that one as well. Shami is unlucky. That is the problem. He is good and he does bowl lot of excellent deliveries but if they do not fetch frequent wickets, then there is a problem that needs to be identified. A couple of wickets in the second innings just when things started to look dicey for India, would have put the game firmly in India’s grasp. His record in England is a major concern. Just 38 wickets in 13 tests, under 3 per test is not the expected return from the premier fast bowler. It is unfortunate that despite his obvious talent, he has often failed to deliver against the major teams. This is the 3rd consecutive test that India failed to defend and Shami has a lot to contribute towards that dismal record. One good thing about Shami is that he showed maturity while batting in the first innings. He gave adequate support to Jadeja which is good to see. He played the short-balls much better than Shreyas. He will have to work with experts and see where is he going wrong? Does he have to pitch the ball much closer or short? Is the length the problem? Jasprit Bumrah The captain played a blinder and absolutely annihilated Broad. Sadly, it was with the bat. With the ball however, Bumrah once again failed at the crunch. He is quickly becoming the Kohli of bowling. For someone this talented, his match winning feats are less. He is the most protected Indian bowler. He has played all but just 2 of the games outside India. Bumrah is often given a break from tests in India. It makes sense because his action is so irregular that over-bowling may result in an injury but being the bowler the opposition plays cautiously and being the premier Indian bowler, to have failed to defend scores in the last innings on three successive occasions, it really casts a big question mark on his effectiveness. Whether all the pampering, is it really worth? The Edgbaston game was the 5th time in the last 10-12 tests that Bumrah did not raise to the occasion. It includes the WTC finals in conditions that is any fast bowler’s dream. Ofcourse, he picked up 5 wickets in the test but was still unable to break the Root-Bairstow partnership. I have written that he is becoming the Kohli of bowling. Kohli is similar in the sense that when faced with a target to chase, this is about Test cricket only, he is unable to win the game with his bat. He had a couple of opportunities in South Africa in 2017 and a couple more in England in 2017. Bumrah had this one apart from the two tests in South Africa, the WTC finals and the 2nd test in New Zealand. The last one was a long shot because the target was meagre. One thing to note is that he is not the rabbit with the bat anymore. He has certainly improved on that front but it is his bowling that is required. Mohammed Siraj Siraj usually is quite expensive. Even when he is among the wickets, he is expensive but even for him, this test would have been an awakening. He was literally taken apart by both Bairstow and Root. Towards the final stages, the way Bairstow toyed with him in the last over, any bowler would have been ashamed. These are early days and he has shown sufficient skill to become the mainstay but he must also realise that being the 3rd choice bowler, his chances will be limited when India play at home. Conclusion to the top and middle-order let India down This was a golden opportunity for India to win a series in England. Ofcourse, not when they were 98/5 but once a lead of 134 runs was secured, India must have accelerated quickly and must have built an impenetrable position. The negativity of Pujara, Vihari and to an extent Kohli and Jadeja, the recklessness of Pant, the inability of Gill to make a rare opportunity count and the impotence of the bowlers in the final innings meant that India were lucky that they had an upper hand for more than 60% of the game. Remember, we played with one player less because Shreyas is literally a free wicket. By the next time, India go over to England, some of these players would have retired and whether we will get another chance in the foreseeable future, is doubtful.

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