Rohit Sharma and his team look far from inspiring
From high octane white ball cricket that the Indian Premier League is to the more mellow Test format, it is a big shift. In four days time, India and Australia will face off in the prestigious ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval in England from June 7.
It's strange, really, for the cricket fans. Highs from the Border Gavaskar Trophy Series, which was held in India before the IPL, are still fresh in memory. After that, it has been the manic IPL, which concluded last Sunday in Ahmedabad with Chennai Super Kings lifting the trophy.
Red ball cricket or Test cricket is pure and pristine. That it will be played in England adds that extra spice, that extra zing, as skipper Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins face-off in a single Test which will decide who are the world champions. Memories from July 2021 are still fresh in memory where India lost the last ICC Test Championship final to New Zealand at the Aegas Bowl in Southampton. In a match where rain ruined play for most days, that Kane Wiliamson and his Kiwi boys cam down like a ton of bricks on the reserve day (sixth day) to seal the deal was defining.
That loss also signalled trouble of sorts for the then Indian captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri. Well, that is history. At least, at that time, when the Covid 19 pandemic was still at its peak, playing cricket was not easy. A bit about India's performances in Tests in recent times. To say that India have been dominant in Test cricket would be a lie. To the contrary, India have played below par, half of the blame for which should go to skipper Rohit Sharma.
Ata time when fans go gaga over the captaincy of MS Dhoni as he led an under-powered CSK to the IPL title six days ago, Rohit as captain has been erratic. Captaincy was bestowed upon him when there was massive turbulence in Indian cricket. The BCCI thought it had to dump Kohli and coach Rabi Shastri. The new men at the helm, Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid have faced intense scrutiny. And, rightly so.
When the Border Gavaskar Trophy series took place at the fours Test centres in India, Team India looked far from inspiring. The story is no different now for the Indians with the team besieged by a clutch of injury/fitness problems. To point at one or two issues and say this has been the reason(s) for India to be reduced to a state of being on crutches would be hard. There have been massive fitness and injury issues. Barring Rishabh Pant being ruled out due to a freak accident in December, the rest of the injuries which have hit Team India are crazy.
Sample this, speedster Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and former vice captain KL Rahul, all are on the "sick list." They are in the rehab phase, though this was not what Team India would have wished for. To say that the Indian cricket board (BCC) is only worried about more and more profits would be stating the obvious. The BCCI wields enormous power -- financial muscle and clout. However, for all its riches, the way it has handled workload of key players and fitness is appalling. The problems start from the top, where Rohit Sharma hardly looks inspirational as a captain.
There was a time when Rohit was a man with great touch and in sublime form. He had hammered a century in the first Test of the BGT Series in Nagpur. Since then, he had fiddled around, clueless. This is not the way an Indian captain leads a side, unsure of his own skills and what he can offer. Watching Rohit struggle in the IPL for Mumbai Indians made for sad viewing. Worse, as leader, he was ready to take breaks and come in as an Impact Player under a crazy rule in the IPL. Well, Rohit made no impact.
To be sure, the transition from IPL, essentially club cricket, to Tests, is massive. It calls for a change in mindset, application and technique. To play Test cricket in India on doctored pitches was bad, though the vagaries of India's own batters struggling against Aussie spin was bizarre. Old timers may think playing a one-off Test in England in June will mean the fast bowlers will hold sway. However, conditions in England have also undergone a massive change, weather wise and the pitch.
Mentally, the Aussies are well prepared, with Pat Cummins returning as captain. He had to fly back to Australia during the BGT Series due to his mom's ailment. However, stand-in captain Steve Smith led with panache in India. The big picture for the Aussies is winning the ICC Test Championship final and also doing well against England in the Ashes.
For India, the situation is simple, perform well in the one-off Test and show that they are a force to reckon with in this format as well. The form of a few key players in Team India has been sublime, where Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli grab headlines. If these two men from different generations hit the headlines in the IPL, Test cricket will be different. However, there is assurance that India will have the solid experience of Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been in England for a while due to his County Cricket commitments.
One man who should again make an impact in this single Test is Ajinkya Rahane. The Mumbai batter, playing for CSK in the IPL, showed a new template, a new hunger, a new aggro thrust. Test cricket would like to see him play in true traditional form, bat and pad close together and staying at the crease for a long time. The return of Rahane is enchanting and one hopes he can deliver for India, as he is supposed to be the "replacement" for Shreyas Iyer. That's a bit of a misnomer, as there can be no comparison between Rahane and a man who has fitness issues perpetually, Shreyas Iyer.
Spin will be an important component for India, where the class and calibre of R.Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will come in handy. One may think playing in England will not allow the luxury of two spinners. However, given the batting weight of these two seasoned and star campaigners, it may be a good decision to play the two spinners. The Oval has helped spin, says history.
At a time when there is a massive debate on who should be India's wicket-keeper, there are views and contra views on KS Bhart and Isan Kishan. Bhart did not do badly in the BGT series. However, there are many who think Ishan has better batting strength. That's crap, really. If someone had to walk into this Test squad, it should have been Wriddhiman Saha, who played his heart out for Gujarat Titans in the IPL as wicket-keeper and opening bat. Maybe, the myopic selection committee, which still does not have a full-time chairman as replacement for Chetan Sharma, has erred. Over to The Oval.
