India and England have just completed if not an acrimonious series but somewhat not cordial. There were lot of criticism regarding the pitches in the 2nd and 3rd test. So much so that at one point, England even thought about filing a formal protest about the pitch. Ahmedabad & Chennai. Especially, after they were routed in the 3rd test inside 2 days but better sense seems to have prevailed. There were quite a few positives as well as lot of disappointments for both the teams throughout the series. In this article, I will concentrate on the gains and losses for India after the England series.
Indian team needs to be praised
First of all, some praise for the Indian team. This is not because they won 2 series, one in Australia and one against England consecutively. The team won both the series against all odds. For this, every individual in the team alongwith the support staff must be appreciated. Most of the Indian team members are inside bio-secure bubble for close to 8 months. It started with the IPL in September, extended through the Australian series and now is still going during the England series. Immediately at the end of the series, again all these players will be playing in IPL followed by the WTC finals. For any human this is an extremely tough situation.
For a player, it is even more hard. They have to be resilient and perform under such immense stress. Atleast England have the rotation policy which the Indian team does not have that. A few players missed a few games but they were still with the team. To make matters worse, India lost the first test comprehensively and England were on a roll having won 6 consecutive tests in Asia. It was under such circumstances, India came back to win the series 3-1 which was nothing short of incredible.
Best performers
There were quite a few excellent individual performances throughout the series. Ashwin as usual was brilliant throughout the series and to finish with 32 wickets from 4 tests was an incredible achievement. Ashwin getting wickets and that too in India is not something that is surprising but the hundred that he scored at Chennai was the standout performance. It was his first hundred against a team not named West Indies. That hundred certainly deflated England. They never recovered after that. The match was in the balance when Ashwin played that wonderful innings and it will not be an exaggeration to say that the Indian team gained much confidence after that innings.
Rohit Sharma
Ashwin’s match defining innings was preceded by Rohit’s brilliant 160. On a wicket where most of the batsmen struggled for timing, Rohit played a sublime innings that defied the course of play. From then on, Rohit was pretty much consistent and his runs in the 3rd and 4th tests contributed significantly towards the series win. However, Rohit will do well to remember that he is on borrowed time. Far too many players were dropped or shuffled just to accommodate him and it is absolutely imperative on his part to justify his selection in every test.
Axar Patel
Axar ended the series with more than 20 wickets albeit on helpful wickets. I for one never rated Axar. Especially because of the fact that he came into the limelight following IPL and I strongly feel that someone must be selected into the test team based on his performance in Ranji cricket rather than IPL. Having said that, Axar certainly made me eat my words. He actually outbowled Ashwin by picking up the top order wickets regularly. However, the jury is still out on Axar. Will he be able to sustain this over the long run? Will he be effective when the pitch is not conducive? Only time will tell. With the imminent return of Jadeja and the next series in England & South Africa, Axar’s test cricket will be limited anyway.
Rishabh Pant
Pant has certainly matured into a wonderful batsman. He has already played a couple of match winning innings in just 20 tests. This is something that eluded the likes of Sachin for a longtime and Kohli. If his innings at the Gabba was a thing of beauty, his innings against England was even better. Added to that, his keeping has become better. If I were in Kohli’s position, I will resist the urge to play Pant in all the formats and have him as a test cricketers for the foreseeable future.
The real find
The real find of the series for me will be Washington Sundar. Just like Axar, I never rated Sundar and wasn’t thrilled that he was selected in the test team because he came into the team because he did well in the IPL. He has certainly proved me wrong. He played two innings in Australia that was sheer class. To prove that it was a fluke, he followed it up with a brilliant 82 and a magnificent 96.
It was unfortunate he missed hundreds in both the innings but the maturity he showed, the class and the shots that were on display showcased his talent to everyone that he will serve the team for a longtime to come. I will want him to concentrate on his batting and become a proper batsman who can bowl. Infact, I will not for a moment hesitate to replace Rahane with Sundar. This will give the team one batsman who can bowl in the top 6 plus a left hander. Sundar certainly has all the necessary attributes to be a proper top 5. Infact, he can even open the innings. Such is his composure at the crease. For someone who played only because of injuries to a number of players, he has shown enough evidence to be considered in the top six.
Disappointments during the entire series
There were quite a few disappointments. The continuous failure of Pujara to score despite playing lot of deliveries. The failure of Kohli to make a substantial contribution in any of the 4 tests and the miserable life that Rahane is having in the middle. It really is a miracle that Rahane despite years of non-performance is still considered an automatic selection. Now that there are adequate replacements in the form of Sundar, Pandya, Vihari and others, it is time to show the door to Rahane. He has had enough chances and it is time to let him go.
The biggest disappointment in this entire series was however Shubnam Gill. Gill who had a great start to his career in Australia, wasted lot of opportunities in the tests against England. Granted that some of the pitches were tough but he must have definitely scored one hundred in the series. Gill will do well to look back at the person who he replaced in Australia. Mayank Agarwal. Mayank had a stellar home season in 2018 where he scored 2 200s and yet after he failed in 4 tests, he was dropped. Gill is young and promising and has abundance of talent but he must realise that he will not be given umpteen number of opportunities just because he has talent.
What does the future hold for the team?
The future for this team is really tough. WTC will be followed by 5 tests in England. New Zealand will be a tough opponent in the finals and the tests in England is sure to be played on green seamers. India can expect England to be much more determined to avenge the loss and as such they will want to prepare pitches that will suit their bowling attack.
Rohit is unproved in swinging conditions and same is the case with Gill. Pujara has forgotten to score runs and is rather happy to stay at the wicket. Kohli can be expected to be determined again but Rahane must be replaced. 2 spinners unless both Ashwin and Jadeja can contribute with the bat will be a luxury. Seam bowling attack is adequate but not spectacular. If India has to win in England, the batsmen will have to score and there are no two ways about it.
Later on, India will travel to South Africa and they are expected to win the series if not sweep the series 3-0.