Rest, rotation the buzzwords
PREPARED This could be India’s longest tour but they have ensured that by resting key players they are fresh for WC
RANCHI: In hindsight, the decision of the West Indies to abandon their tour midway has benefitted India. Had West Indies gone ahead with the tour then India would have finished this year playing 13 Tests and 18 ODIs. Now, they would finish with 10 Tests and 23 ODIs. In the context of the World Cup, the difference is significant.
Not only did the hosts get to play five more one-dayers than scheduled, they also essentially were spared the agony of being on the field for 10 days against a side with dipping Test credentials. There have been three benefits for India in this series against Sri Lanka — a chance to check out their reserves, give rest to key individuals and give themselves more game time.
The last is perhaps India’s biggest gain since it won’t be two months from now that India would play their next ODI, against Australia in the tri-series opener in Melbourne on January 16. By then, India would have played four Tests, two tour games and a 50-over match against an England XI, leaving them a maximum of five tri-series ODIs to get into the groove for the World Cup.
But what should keep India in good stead is that this is a fairly young squad that won’t be changed much for Tests. “Players who are part of the Test squad have also been with the team, so we have been practicing with the Test matches in mind as well,” said India batting coach Sanjay Bangar.
“You don’t really want too many players playing too much leading up to the World Cup. Whoever is a one-day specialist — probably 80% of the team — is playing in both formats. So that shouldn’t really be an issue. The more time we spend in Australia, the better we’ll get used to the pace and bounce, which will help us when we approach the World Cup,” said Bangar.
If India go the distance in the World Cup, this could turn out to be the longest tour India will ever undertakeDownUnder.Australian outfields are bigger and harder and despite the raised standards of fit- ness, it has to be seen how they survive the grind, especially pacers.
It was thus prudent of India to rest Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma in this series. Standout performer Umesh Yadav, who was seen wearing a belt around his waist in the fourth ODI, too could get a well-deserved off on Sunday. “There is a lot of rotation happening, and bowlers who have been worked in the past ---somebody like a Bhuvi --- has got rest. Shami got rest. The rotation is done with the intention of having an all-fit pace attack in Australia,” said Bangar.
The latest benefactor of the policy is Suresh Raina who is set to be rested on Sunday. With India winning convincingly despite MS Dhoni’s absence, it seems their plan of rest-and-experiment is producing results. A 5-0 finish on Sunday would be a nice way to cap the home leg of their World Cup preparations.