Time for India to plug holes ahead of series Down Under
After the England disaster, Virat Kohli will look to address opening, middleorder issues
MUMBAI: With a new set of openers, middle-order struggling for consistency and frontline fast bowlers missing, India will look to plug holes in their Test side against West Indies after their disastrous tour of England a few weeks ago.
The world No 1 team’s 1-4 humiliation — third straight defeat in England since 2011 — was followed by Asia Cup triumph which managed to bring smiles back. However, challenges that the Virat Kohli-led team faces cannot be solved overnight.
India will also enter the series without a specialist all-rounder — a permanent member in their last four Test series against Sri Lanka (away), South Africa, Afghanistan and England.
On away tours, where leaving out an extra batsman has been risky, India have often compromised by playing an all-rounder in Hardik Pandya. With Pandya out injured, it will be interesting to see if India pick an extra batsman. Usually on familiar Indian surfaces, five specialist batsmen have sufficed.
For the likes of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, it comes across as a perfect opportunity to cement their spots.
OPENING TROUBLES
A new pair in the Test side is all set to take guard in Rajkot in the first Test starting Thursday. India have already tried seven different batsmen — Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund — in 10 separate pairings since January 1, 2014.
The most successful of them is not there anymore. Vijay and Dhawan have added 1,251 runs in 34 Tests but the poor showing in England have cost them their spots. Vijay’s recent performances for Essex — 56, 100, 85, 80 and 2 — had no effect on the selectors and neither did Dhawan’s blistering form in Asia Cup.
The two Tests against West Indies series will be the launchpad for the new pair. However, these will be the only outings for them before they face the Australian pace battery Down Under later this year.
In all likelihood, the uncapped Prithvi Shaw will pair up with Rahul and may also travel to Australia. Mayank Agarwal has finally received a call-up to the Test side after scoring heavily in the domestic circuit, and he too is an option.
Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane’s last century outside Asia came two years ago in the West Indies. He was part of crucial middle-order stands in England, but it is 14 months since he got a Test hundred — his last came in August 2017 in Sri Lanka.
Pujara may have salvaged himself with an unbeaten 132 at Southampton, but his overall average of 49.57, that is bolstered by strong showing at home, is haunted by ordinary performances overseas where his average drops to 35.91.
For Pujara, runs in India may not matter as much as they would in Australia.
Kohli’s return to the Test side after a three-week break will help him warm up for the challenges ahead, as he remains India’s biggest hope heading to Australia, New Zealand (limited-overs) and then the World Cup in England.
While the frontline pacers — Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami will be expected to travel to Australia, India will test their bench strength against West Indies with Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj in fray.
Of the nine Tests so far in 2018, India have lost six and won three. For the world No 1 side, the series against West Indies will present an opportunity to improve the record.