There are surely many cricket fans in Indian, not to mention the authorities, wondering why there seems to be such a gulf in performance between the country’s test and limited overs sides.
While the latter are enjoying a high old time giving England beating after beating in the T20 and one-day series the former is in in the doldrums.
It seems incredible to believe that India have now lost six of heir last eight test matches, including a deeply embarrassing 0-3 lost series at home to New Zealand. Then, to compound this humiliation, along came the 1-4 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
This was an especially painful experience when put in the context of previous clashes with the Australians in which one man in particular, Virat Kohli, played mind games alongside some stunning cricket shots as well.
This latest series loss has also denied India the chance to play in the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s in June. Instead it will be South Africa who will take on Australia in what promises to be a fascinating game, even though the online betting suggests that the trophy will be heading down under.
From strongest assets to weakest links?
The recent series in Australia strongly put the focus on two Indian players in particular, the current and former captains, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
For a year or more the form of Sharma has been a particular source of concern. In 16 test matches he has scored a total of 619 runs including just a single century. Even worse, over three tests in Australia he scored just 31 runs, form so poor that he was even moved to drop himself in the final match.
Part of the problem seems to be that he can’t find a position in the batting order where he can thrive. So, no longer the steadfast opener and dramatic match winner when required he seems to be floundering. So form may be temporary and class permanent, but no-one would like that form to return more than Sharma who believes that it will.
Kohli did fare a little better in Australia averaging 21.11 over nine innings. But, to put it into context, this included a century in the second innings of the first test. Take this out of the stats and it comes down to an average of 11.25, or a figure that you might expect from a bowler who’s moderately good at batting.
Even more worrying were the methods of Kohli’s dismissals. Either snaffled up by the slips or caught by Alex Carey behind the stumps, it spoke either of a loss of technique or a frazzled cricket brain.
So what’s the solution?
Depressing as the situation may seem, there are some reasons for hope.
One of these is the presence of one truly world-class fast bowler in the shape of Jasprit Bumrah. There is always the feeling that when he’s starting his stuttering run-up before delivering the ball in his distinctly unorthodox style, anything can happen. And it frequently does.
But the key to having a secret weapon like this is to use it sparingly and carefully. The fact that he shouldered much of the bowling responsibility in Australia was what led to him withdrawing from the final test with back trouble.
Luckily he has the back-up of the two Mohammeds, Shami and Siraj, but, just like England Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, he’ll need a certain amount of wrapping in cotton wool to keep him fit and injury-free.
Looking at the batters KL Rahul is good on his day, but isn’t a reliable high scorer. Similarly, the unpredictable Rishabh Pant is as likely to start a batting collapse as he is to build a winning total.
So step forward Abhishek Sharma and the highly promising Nitish Kumar Reddy. The former is a protégé of Vuvraj Singh while the latter has shown that he has the grit to see out difficult phases of play.
The there’s Yashasvi Jaiswal. With a series total of 391 runs at an average of 43.44, ahead of Steve Smith and second only to Travis Head, already people are describing him as the new generation’s Virat Kohli.
The big test is coming
The test calendar means that India won’t be playing red ball cricket again until June of this year. But when they do it will be in a five match series against England.
2007 was the last time that India won a series in England. In part this is due to the very particular weather and pitch conditions. Alongside these they will be up against an England test side that, on its day, is unbeatable. Fortunately, when it’s not its day Bazball can prove to be highly vulnerable and England are also filling their ranks with several relative newcomers.
So it will fascinating to see how these two team in transition will measure up against each other – and the result is very far from certain.
