Hyderabad: After a taut thriller against Australia, where the Indians showed how a depleted state cannot always obliterate desire to achieve success, the team now find themselves at crossroads after England took the wind out of Indians sails on their home soil at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.
Indeed, Indian fans must have heaved a sigh of relief after the return of their captain, Virat Kohli, compounded by their best fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and experienced Ishant Sharma but the Australian high soon turned into a hopeless inferno after they were thrown off balance in both bowling and batting department by England.
Be that as it may, the team has problems aplenty if their performance in the first Test is anything to go by.
India's Spin Bowling Combination?
The way England confidently went for multiple sweeps against Indian spinners and over such big arcs barring R Ashwin in the first Test reflects their courage, skill and confidence, buoyed by their performance in Sri Lanka. While Ashwin had his tricks up his sleeve to unsettle the English batsmen, other spinners -- Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem -- could not help the team's cause as they lacked guile and temperament against a top side.
Nadeem has now been withdrawn from the squad, and rightly so as he conceded 233 runs in 59 overs he bowled across two innings. Although, the left-arm spinner plucked four wickets, registering nine no balls for a spinner is impermissible in international cricket.
Axar Patel, who was seen bowling in the nets, looks set to feature in the playing XI and is the most like-to-like replacement of Ravindra Jadeja who the team sorely missed. Patel, just like Jadeja, can bowl fast and accurate and does not allow batsmen to go for sweep shots easily.
Patel's batting attributes also expanded the Indian tail, an added bonus in a team whose top order looked out of sorts in the first Test.
Contrarily, Washington Sundar may have saved his place after his knock of 85, which the great Sunil Gavaskar termed as good as a 100. The team will bank on him as a pure batsman post his heroics in Australia and the first Test against England.
It is appalling that a player of Kuldeep Yadav's calibre is still warming the bench in the dressing room. The captain had his reasons for not adding Kuldeep as he wanted to add "variety" but what the wrist-spinner provides to the team is an arresting different perspective where he beats the batsman in the air and generates turn by providing more revs than any other spinner present.
Kuldeep is not a late bloomer like others after performing exceedingly well in the shorter format. Even on his Test debut in Dharamshala back in 2017, he picked up the finest in the sport -- David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Peter Handscomb. His case must be considered seriously by the team establishment.
Underperforming Batsmen
Batting should be the last worry to a side that boasts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in their line-up. A powerful one on the papers, isn't it? However, ODI great Rohit and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane's inconsistency pose teething problems to the management.
Aside from his historic century at Melbourne, his form has been a cause of concern, especially at home. In Test matches since January 2017, the vice-captain has scored just 810 runs in his 25 innings. He averages just over 35 indicating his poor run in home conditions. The numbers are not befitting of a batsman of Rahane's class.
Nevertheless, Rahane has the backing and confidence of his captain who didn't take a word against his deputy at the presser after the first Test against England.
"Look if you're trying to dig something out, you're not going to get anything because there's nothing. I've said this many times in the past as well - along with Pujara, he [Rahane] is our most important Test batsman and he is going to continue to be. We believe in his abilities, we have believed in his abilities for a long time now and he's an impact player,” Kohli said.
Under the circumstances, Rahane must come out good owing to the long rope provided to him as a batsman and faith shown by his captain.
Rohit Sharma is no more a newbie in any format. The 33-year-old needs to step up big time, play more responsibly and convert those string of good starts which he got in Australia into big hundreds.
Fast Bowling Worries
Critics and pundits are of the opinion to play Mohammed Siraj in place of experienced Ishant Sharma whose bowling lacked teeth in the first Test match. Siraj, the highest wicket-taker in Australia that came on the back of some inspiring performances in domestic cricket, has proved his mettle. But Ishant's experience and his performance in the last three years have almost earned him a permanent spot in the team. Hence, a few dull moments should not worry Kohli.
England may not look like the dangerous side that they were back in 2012, but considering their recent performances in the subcontinent, we might be in for a close contest.
--Ayushmaan Pandey
Also Read: Opting out of IPL auction was a very difficult decision: Root
