Just about a month ago, a series that would not have registered in the minds of Indian fans, has suddenly gained prominence. Ever since the series win in Bangladesh, interest in the series against India has grown manifold. India will resume red-ball cricket after a gap of 6 months except for the WTC finals. Not to mention a rare month off. Onething is for sure, India cannot take the new and confident Bangladesh lightly. The extent to which the Indian team is taking this series in all seriousness can be gauged from the fact they have invited a 6.5 tall bowler from Punjab to practice for the Bangladesh’s quick who is of similar height. The main decision will be the Indian batting attack.

The top 4 batsmen select themselves. There isn’t any change expected unless injury forces a change. Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal will open the innings. They will expect to continue from where they left of against England about 6 months ago. Gill will follow at number 3 with Kohli slotted at number 4.

Number 5 conundrum

The next position boils down between 2 batsmen, one of whom can get going immediately and the other who takes his own time to set himself before moving on with the game. Sarfaraz Khan had a good debut series against England in the absence of Rahul. He has got everyone excited with his strokeplay. There is a school of thought that Sarfaraz must supersede Rahul and will have to take the spot at number 5.

On the otherhand, Rahul, is bit of an enigma. Despite being in the team for more than 10 years, he just couldn’t nail a place for himself. The format does not matter. He has opened the innings and he has batted in the middle-order but for some reason, he just could not show the consistency that is required for a player of his experience. Considering the fact that both Pujara and Rahane are not likely to be on that plane to Australia, India needs someone with experience not only in Australia but also at the international level, would it make sense to have Rahul in the middle so that he gets enough game time? Or would it be better to go to Australia with a batsman who will not be afraid to bat aggressively against the Aussie bowlers who does not like that?

Sarfaraz maybe?

That is for the team management to decide. Personally, I will have Sarfaraz for the Tests against Bangladesh. With a further 3 Tests against New Zealand, Rahul or someone else could be given an opportunity. There is no doubt about who the keeper will be. It is Rishab Pant. We need him in Australia and he must be given as much time as possible in red-ball cricket. It means that he will have to play in all the 5 Tests. He may not have played red-ball cricket for 2 years but has been involved in international cricket for awhile. He needs game time desperately.

The Indian bowling attack

This is one aspect that must be watched. Will India want 3 spinners and 2 fast bowlers or 4 spinners and 1 fast bowler or will they look for a combination that is completely unexpected? The pitches at Chennai and at Kanpur, do not favour the faster bowlers. Chepauk used to have a bit of bounce all those years ago but not so much anymore. Added to that, red-soil has been chosen for the pitch. It will aid bounce but the burning temperature in Chennai will ensure that the bounce will not last that long. It may not even last for more than a day. Hence, I think that India will go into the game with 3 spinners. This has been the mode of attack for the last several seasons. There is no evidence to the contrary to change the combination.

The main point of contention will be who will be the 3rd spinner. Ashwin walks into the side without any problem. Kuldeep Yadav’s whose reputation grew during the England series, will be the next spinner in the ranks. His left-arm means a different angle with a googly to boot. Rohit Sharma identified Kuldeep as being one of the main difference between the sides during the England series. With Australia looming where wrist-spinners will get more purchase than the finger spinners, Lyon is an exception, Kuldeep will need as much exposure to Test cricket as possible.

The left-arm spinner

The final spinner position is a toss up between Jadeja and Axar. It is amazing to even say that. Jadeja not till long ago, was a mainstay in the team but the development of Axar Patel, has put him under a little bit of pressure. In terms of bowling, there isn’t any difference between them but when it comes to batting, that is where Axar seems to have stolen a march. Jadeja for some reason puts himself under tremendous pressure. He is intent at staying at the wicket but does not show any urgency to score. This is where Axar scores over Jadeja. Axar is a free-flowing batsman and has already played quite a few cameos. Jadeja has proved himself with decent batting outside of India whereas Axar bides his time. What will Gambhir and Rohit Sharma decide?

As for the medium pacers, it will be Bumrah and Siraj who will start with. I expect Akash Deep and a couple of other bowlers will be given a chance during the next 5 Tests to prepare them for Australia where the fast bowlers will have to do all the running.

Wrapping up the Indian bowling attack

Bangladesh will look to give a good account of themselves so that they can get more games in India. As for India, they will have to be at their best.

Other blogs

https://icricketcritique.com/india-deserve-to-lose-the-series/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-wisdom-of-indian-selectors/
https://icricketcritique.com/indian-openers-for-world-t20/
https://icricketcritique.com/indian-team-for-world-t20/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-world-cup-win/

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Whenever, a side from one of England, Australia, New Zealand comes to India, the one talking point is about the pitches. There will be lot of editorials on their newspapers stating that a minefield is awaiting their teams during their visit. Every pitch in any Test series will be doctored to suit the Indian spinners or to stump the visitors because of their lack of ability against spin. However, none of them thinks about the poor technique displayed by the visitors against spin. Not the perfect one but a better technique would have ensured that they prevail. Having said that, the Indian cricket pitches will probably have to change. Defeating India in India is one of the most toughest in the cricketing world. Defeating Australia and defeating South Africa are the other tough propositions. I have not included England or New Zealand because both the teams have lost rather a few games more than that is allowed. Over the last 23 years, India have lost less than 10 Tests at home with only 2 series losses. That is an incredible record to boast about. The sheer dominance at home is something no other team could achieve. Accusation against the team Despite that, the talk invariably turns to the pitches. There were lot of accusations on the Indian team that they will not be able to win so many games if the pitches weren’t so spin friendly. A few years ago, in 2015, against South Africa, both the teams, India and South Africa were unable to cross 300 once because the pitches turned square from ball one. The Nagpur pitch for the 3rd Test was rated poor. It left Kohli fuming. “Well, there have been three scores of under 50 runs in South Africa but I haven’t seen any sort of articles on that. Teams have been bundled out under 100 for about six times in South Africa,” he said. “The situation in our country is highlighted a bit too much and that’s a fact. Because the only thing we talk about is the pitch and when we were in South Africa, the only thing we talked about was how badly we played. We are criticised for our techniques but when visitors don’t play well, it’s always the wicket.” It is true what Kohli had said. There are lot of games in Australia and South Africa that have not exceeded 3 days. Especially, in South Africa, the pitches are overly favourable to the fast bowlers. Since South Africa can churn out them by the dozen, they have always prepared pitches that has incredible pace and bounce. They have always maximised the home advantage and particularly against the Asian nations. WTC Points system is another reason Likewise, India is also justified in preparing pitches that does not suit the opposing batsmen. Here I say the opponent’s batsmen is because even the Indians are not that good against spinners any longer. Just look at the number of games the Indians were tied down by spinners in white ball cricket that has prevented them from scoring huge runs or chase down one. The situation is not that better in Tests either. Nowadays, spinning pitches are prepared not because it is comfortable for India but because it is uncomfortable for the opponents. One other factor that warrants results oriented pitches is the WTC points system. It awards 12 points for a win and only 4 for a draw. It places great importance in playing attacking aggressive brand of cricket. WTC points is a significant motivator. Teams need wins to be in contention to play the final. Where does the chances for winning most of the games lie? It is at home where you know the conditions and you know how the pitches will behave. Hence, the need to prepare pitches where you give your team the maximum chance to win. “There is a huge premium on results,” Dravid said before the fourth Test. “You draw a game like Kanpur against New Zealand, where you take nine wickets in the second innings, you draw that game and that sets you back, in a home game. “Every team is getting results at home or are putting in really good performances at home, so there is a premium on results. You get four points for a draw and you get 12 for a win, so there is a premium on that, there’s no question about it.” It is time to return The downside of all this is that the averages and the performances of the batsmen have dropped drastically and the spinners are having inflated strike rates and averages. One will only have to compare the statistics of both Ashwin and Jadeja with their away record. It will clearly establish the fact that these two spinners, ofcourse they are good, are not as great as they are made out to be. 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Let the batsmen be able to bat confidently. For inspiration, India will only have to think about the pitches against England in 2017.

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