The Indian team must be completely deflated after the thrashing in the first test at Adelaide. It is extremely tough even for a hardened team like Australia or South Africa to come out of such a drubbing. For a team like India, who isn’t that tough physically or mentally, it is close to impossible. Such will be the effect of the humiliation at Adelaide. Having said that, is it even possible for the Indian team to compete during the rest of the series? Let me analyse the Indian team’s psyche for the rest of the series.
A few forced changes
The Indian team has been forced to make a couple of changes for the rest of the series. Virat Kohli is back in India for his child’s birth and Mohammed Shami has a fractured forearm. These are 2 big shoes that is impossible to fill in such a short time. A technically flawed opener and inexperienced or inadequate replacements. A batsman who can play for 60 overs but will score at 20. A captain who is in the team for I don’t know why. Vihari will probably be replaced as well. Does the Indian team have enough quality in reserve?
Who are the likely replacements?
Rahul, Shubnam Gill, Siraj, Saini, Jadeja & Pant are the candidates will are likely to be in contention. Assuming that Mayank Agarwal will retain his spot, I will have Vihari open the innings. Rahul will replace Kohli though I do not rate him as a test batsman. Shubnam Gill being young and likely to make his debut in difficult circumstances, will have to bat at 6. Though I am a big supporter of Saha, I will still have him replaced with Pant. It really is not clear how the selectors did not think of picking any middle order batsman. They have packed the team with 4 openers.
In bowling, both Saini & Siraj are unproven and Umesh despite his 4th tour of Australia, is not proven himself at the top level. This leaves just Bumrah as the frontline quick. Of Saini & Siraj, Siraj appears to have much more control and slightly more experienced at the first class level. I will have Shami and Umesh to be replaced with Siraj & someone from out of the squad. Natarajan. He is a left armer and bowls at the same pace as the rest with a good yorker. Ofcourse, I am not saying that he will be a success but he will not be any worse than the replacements.
Ravi Shastri’s over confidence ahead of the tour
“We have a fabulous five,” Ravi Shastri was quoted as saying by Sportstar ahead of this series. “[Umesh] Yadav has the experience. Saini is young and fast. Bumrah one of the best in business. [Mohammed] Shami is raring to go. Siraj is an exciting prospect. You put up runs on the board and watch these fast bowlers hunt the opposition. They can beat Australia in their own den.”
At the end one test, the familiar sight of unable to dismiss the tail showing up again, Shastri’s tall claims sounds extremely hollow. In Kohli’s absence, the Indian team will be lucky to score even 250. Hence, Shastri will do well to talk less because purely based on merit, Shastri’s performance as a coach leaves a lot to be desired. The same holds true for Kohli as well who has had a series of loss in all the major cricketing nations.