India arrived in England as the number 1 Test side in the world and were expected to provide the hosts a tough series.
However, they also arrived in the Old Dart with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma having played county cricket, but the rest of the team having failed to play any longer format cricket since the Afghanistan Test.
As such, captaincy and team selection were talking points.
Virat Kohli sometimes makes perplexing selection calls. The selection of Kuldeep Yadav seemed viable when the weather was dry, a week before the second Test at Lord’s, but on Day 1 the conditions had changed completely, the rain and clouds meaning India needed an additional seamer.
The embarrassing loss at Lord’s also showed that some of players aren’t cut out for this level anymore.
The India A team, under Rahul Dravid, has been doing extremely well over the last year or so. Their English tour ended on a bad note, losing to a strong Lions side, but the youngsters displayed lots of talent and ability overall.
As such, Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill need to be fast-tracked into the Test team, which would mean the end of the road for Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan.
Management should also have some tough conversations with Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul – especially the former, who was India’s best batsman behind Virat Kohli on India’s last overseas leg.
If India want to be competitive overseas in the coming years, the captain and coach should actually start planning for the future.
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Pujara has been provided with enough rope, but a batting average of 26.32 over 37 innings outside the subcontinent does not inspire any confidence. Vijay was great for India during the last round of tours, but he has regressed and his inability to even blunt out the new ball is a cause for concern.
Dinesh Karthik has played his last game in whites and should immediately be replaced by Rishabh Pant. There also needs to be a discussion regarding the role of Hardik Pandya – he is neither a third seamer nor a number six batsman. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, if fit, is a better all-rounder.
Kohli needs to make some tough calls before the third Test, at Trent Bridge.
Rishabh Pant and Karun Nair should take the spots of Dinesh Karthik and Cheteshwar Pujara. KL Rahul probably will get another go and Murali Vijay possibly will lose out to Dhawan.
India also need to think about the bowling options – hopefully Jasprit Bumrah is fit – while they also need to pick Mohammad Siraj, who is a fantastic long-format bowler, with a first-class average of under 20 and a strike rate of 40.
The talent is certainly there, but over the last few years the Test team has hardly seen any changes, with KL Rahul and Karun Nair the only new blood in the mix – and even they haven’t received consistent chances.
The team travel to Australia later this year and selecting a young team might not get winning results immediately, but at least will give some hope for the future.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"These batsmen I believe are far better and handling pace and bounce..." Possibly, but if the pitches resemble those of recent years, there won't be much pace and bounce to be seen. Four roads can be expected. Given that, I can see plenty of runs being made (especially by Kohli). I think it will be the Indian bowling under the microscope at the end of the Australian series. You recall the Indian attack failed to take 20 wickets in any test match last time they were here.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
How much of a long stint should Pujara get? He debuted in 2010, He has been playing cricket for a long time. He has 37 innings outside subcontinent which includes West Indies. He was not even able to string few good scores in West Indies. He just is not the solution we are looking for at number 3. He is no Rahul Dravid. The guy still has a huge gap between bat and pad and keeps getting bowled. Look at his dismissal in county cricket. KL Rahul deserves more chances I agree but Dhawan and Pujara need to go if they don't perform for the rest of the tour. There is no justification keeping them in the team. It is unfair on the players who are putting long yards in domestic cricket with hopes of getting into the Indian team. Lots of good players missed out playing for India between 1996 and 2007/08 but again we had an ATG batting unit which was justifiable but not anymore.
The Doc
Roar Guru
good read. reactionary perhaps but stats dont lie and indias overseas batting performances have been woeful. Had 3 good chances to win games in SA and 1st test in UK and batting failed. Im not sure about Pandhya - he isnt making runs and isnt used much in bowling. But coming to australia where it will be hot we need a 5th bowling option and cant see anyone else providing that. The key is preparation - they decided to play ODI/T20. They should have played more practice matches to get used to conditions. Other than that I am not sure what else they could have done becuase not many teams would have survived in very bowler friendly conditions and a good and somewhat reinvigorated pace attack. As for consistent pitches - bowler friendly pitches is the way to go. Provide exciting cricket and more often good finishes. Add more roads with no bounce, seam or swing will surely kill test cricket
Rats
Guest
You may think it was just one incident. But truly, it spoke a lot about stubborness, ego and how Indian cricket team takes their fans for granted. Especially the Test fans. And Kohli comes out and gives an emotional tweet now. The point is, there are die hard Test cricket fans in India who watch them play no matter what. We hope against hopes and expect them to win overseas. There is no need for him to request us to have hope. We have hope. Thats why we are watching them play. He should tell his players to have hope and faith on themselves and show some determination and application. Thats all fans are asking for. Results are another thing. Show some fight. A Faf du plessis and Amla like innings was full of fighting back, determination.. Al though on a losing cause.. http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/11287/scorecard/903609/india-vs-south-africa-4th-test-south-africa-tour-of-india-2015-16 This fight has been lacking in Indian cricket. Either they win big or they lose really badly.
Rats
Guest
Thanks for your comment. I agree Dhoni brought in many youngsters. but he was stubborn at times.. I can recall one incident which pained me as an Indian fan. India's tour of Australia and India lost first 3 Tests. Dhoni still persisted with Laxman for the dead rubber 4th Test instead of giving debut match to R Sharma. R Sharma was in his peak during that time in Ranji. That was a perfect match to give R Sharma a chance. But Dhoni was stubborn for no reason. It was unbelievable.
Archer
Guest
Pujara has regressed ever since the initial stint of Kohli-Shastri. Their constant hankering for "positive" and "aggressive" cricket has certainly dented Pujara's confidence and muddled his mindset. Even on this tour, after proclaiming that the Indian batsmen should show patience and apply themselves, Kohli goes and drops Pujara for Dhawan. Dhawan is not a test match batsmen outside of the sub-continent. Kohli still picks him either thinking Dhawan will be a Sehwag or for personal reasons. You cannot constantly change the team and you certainly cannot make wholesale changes. KL Rahul and Pujara should be given a long stint, without fear of being dropped. Dhawan should not have been picked for the first game but once he was, he should not have been dropped. The batsmen apart from Kohli are completely out of form but the youngsters you mention need a few seasons of first class cricket before they are picked in the squad. Nair does not inspire any confidence for me and I thought Karthik would do well. India cannot go into an overseas (outside of the sub-continent) test without 3 frontline seamers. The choice ultimately comes down to the spinner and whether you play the 2nd spinner or an all rounder. For me, I would decide who the spinner is (Ashwin on current form) and then choose a batsmen, spinner or all-rounder. Pandya is not a walk-up start in this test team.
Paul
Roar Guru
why can't we expect the cricketers to adapt? If touring sides actually played more than one warm up games as they used to, this would not be an excuse for failing overseas In years gone by, Australia lost Test series in India, not because the Indians were better but because our guys refused to/couldn't adapt to the conditions. Steve Waugh decided to force the issue, our guys learned to accept the conditions and we won series. This is much easier than trying to come up with a series of Test pitchs which meets your parameters.
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
At least 3 changes are to be done for the 3rd. Test at Tent bridge, Pant for Karthik, Dhawan for Vijay, Bumrah for Kuldeep and probably Umesh for Ishant. Pujara should get another chance.
JimmyB
Guest
The funny thing about the Lord’s pitch is that had the weather not changed so dramatically then it would have likely suited India. Mick Hunt the retiring groundsman is well known for preparing wickets how he chooses, he has never deliberately favoured England, often going the other way in fact. It was an enthralling test match however the problem with the pitch was not lateral movement, swing is reliant on overhead not pitch conditions anyway, but the up and down bounce. In that regard it wasn’t a great pitch.
Paul
Roar Guru
The changes you suggest make sense in that you're only changing one batting spot, the keeper and a bowler, not changing 3 or 4 batsmen.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
One way of improving away performances may be to ensure that the pitches have some form of consistency. Reduce the number of raging turners, reduce the lateral movement and the ridiculous bounce (but don't remove it altogether as some difference is good). A raging turner in Mumbai may help India win that test and that series BUT it will not help them when playing at Wanderers or in Perth or ... Perhaps we need drop in pitches everywhere, made of similar materials to similar standards?
JimmyB
Guest
This is a conversation had by seemingly every cricket fan when their team is getting touched up away from home. I’m not sure how it would be achieved other than by drastically reducing the amount of cricket played but for the sake of test cricket around the world, every team needs to find a way to be competitive away from home.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
To be frank, India faced the same issue in SA as well. If we take the first 2 Tests in SA, Hardik played a blinder in the first innings, India scored just over 200, the rest of the batting failed. second innings everyone failed chasing 200 and got bowled out for 130 odd. second Test India scored 307, Kohli scored 153, Ashwin scored 30 odd, the rest of the batting did not score much. Third Test, first innings was the same Virat played well, rest did not. second innings Rahane contributed along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was India's best bat in SA behind Kohli. The last tour outside subcontinent for India was in West Indies 2016. First Test, Kohli scored 200, Ashwin scored 113, Dhawan scored 84, Pujara, Rahane and Vijay failed. Second Test: This was the only game where others besides Kohli contributed as Rahane & Rahul scored hundreds and others scored some useful runs. Third Test: Rahul Scored a 50 but India found themselves at 126/5 with another top order collapse, Ashwin and Saha saved Indian team with hundreds. second innings: Another top order failure, Rahane scored runs supported by Rohit Sharma. So this is not an isolated event, Indian top order struggled in 2013 SA, 2014 England, 2016 WI, 2018 SA, and now 2018 England. Pujara, Dhawan et all need to go. Like I said Rahane and Rahul will still be part of the side and so will Kohli and Pandya. The opening combination is not working and all the matches I mentioned above had India lose at least 2 wickets before reaching 50. The fact that against an inexperienced West Indies bowling line up, the middle/lower order was able to rescue India but were not able to do so against a strong team like England. If we don't give young players a chance, how long are we going to pursue with Pujara and Dhawan? Are they really going to improve at this stage of their careers? How worse can Prithvi Shaw be compared to Dhawan at the top? I am all for giving Vijay little bit of a run, but what happens if he fails for the entire England series? Would we carry him to Australia? Pujara averaging 26 over 6 years in 37 innings, is he going to make any difference to India's chances in Australia? These are the questions Shastri and Virat need to answer. The problem is that India need to make the changes sometime, if it has to be on a overseas tour, so be it. The best chance for India would have been to test out some young players in the home season, they did not do so and the players they tested are not even part of the X1. If India want to seriously think about winning overseas, we need to drop the dead weights. If we don't this will continue to occur. In 2011/12 Australia series, India were losing badly and in spite of that Dhoni did not rest, Laxman, Sachin or Dravid and continued playing them without giving young players a chance and Kohli is falling into the same trap. Dravid and Laxman retired right after and Sachin hung on for a year. Did not help India much as we were forced to go with a young team without any experience to SA in 2013 and still managed to perform decently. I know making sweeping changes isn't the right thing to go but it is the right time to do. Even if it is one step at a time.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Giri- The issue that I have with a complete overhaul is that you are basing this on a two Test performance in england where conditions are very different from Australia. These batsmen I believe are far better and handling pace and bounce (as they showed in South Africa) than in playing the laterally moving ball. They should indeed test 2-3 of the guys out in the next 3 Tests in England and the West Indies series at home in Oct before taking a couple of them down under. But sending a whole new top order to Oz is suicide.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane will still be in the mix. Pujara has poor record in all countries outside subcontinent, so his replacement cannot do much worse. Dinesh Karthik needs to go. Murali Vijay is a tough one but again, he is not the same player he was 4 years ago. So 2-3 changes in the top order isn't that bad. Bhuvneshwar Kumar anyways does not play on wickets which does not suit his bowling. Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma are the 4 pacers. None of them have good records in Australia with the ball. Mohammad Siraj has done well for India A, and having him in the mix would be great for India. Hardik Pandya isn't a number 6 bat, so he needs to bat lower. I would prefer to see this team in Australia, Prithvi Shaw M Vijay (Will give him one more run as he scored as lot of runs in Australia last time) KL Rahul Virat Kohli Ajinkya Rahane Rishabh Pant Hardik Pandya Ashwin Jasprit Bumrah Mohammad Shami Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammad Siraj/Umesh Yadav Reserves: Nair, Gill, Kuldeep, Ishant That is just like 2 changes or at max 3 changes. Which India should be able to do. Dropping Pujara and Dhawan for good will be the right move. Karthik should not be near the Test team again.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Giri I think you need to take a step back and a deep breath, then go back and look at your selected team. You're suggesting replacing batsmen who collectively averaged 58 the last time they toured Australia with as many as 4 guys who are completely untried at Test level. In other words, you're totally decimating the batting lineup. As an Aussie, I hope the Indian selectors do that, but not only do you place huge pressure on the experienced batsmen who are left, you also send a very bad message to an already deflated dressing room. Right now, India has a massive problem getting a start so it makes sense top try another opener (you can't replace both). Kohli needs to bat three, not only because he's the best bat in the side, but because he can control the innings and get into the other batsman to stay there if the bowling is on top. The other area of concern is at 6 and 7, where Khartik and Pandya bat. Pandiya might have earned a reprieve given his efforts so far, but he needs to make runs soon. By all means replace Khartik with Pant, he can't do any worse, but leave the rest of the side as is, tweaking the bowlers depending on the conditions for the rest of the tour. Gradual change is the way to go. Look what's happened to the Australian batting side when they made sudden changes after the SA series in Australia? Our lineup's been completely unsettled ever since.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
I agree, Virat has been the most reluctant captain India has ever had. Dhoni gets lots of flak but again Virat Kohli, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Pujara, Rahane Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah etc all debuted in his captaincy. Please list 5-6 players under Virat's captaincy. Chahal debuted under Dhoni as well. Probably Kuldeep? Pandya?Nair? To be frank Kohli needs to make the tough calls and do what is right for the team.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
To be frank we will not know until we Test them. I would rather lose a series with young players in the Team than losing badly with player who have no hope of improving. How long do we go on with Pujara? If Shaw, Gill, Vihari and Pant are not the future, who is? Should Indian cricket shut shop after this current bunch? Pakistan took a gamble with young players and I see that they are moving forward in all forms of the game. This is a country which is not known for its batting. Even a conservative team like England are playing 2 20 year olds in the X1. The Indian team does not have any young players. We haven't tried any in last 3-4 years. The A programme was built for this very reason, to identify young talent and get them ready for international cricket. I think Rahul Dravid is doing that but are the selectors and Virat ready to bite the bullet. Pujara, Vijay and Dhawan aren't going to improve much from now on. They have received far chances, there is no point in beating a dead horse. It is little harsh on Vijay as he has done well in the past but again, the age is not on his side.
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
I think gill and shaw are most two people talk about.I have seen their game. To be honest i do not think it will alter situation much. Indian players are suited to play in Indian condition,they will struggle outside no matter how fantastic they are in home. Gill and shaw has some extra ordinary innings under their belt in u-19 and A games ,but i doubt that can be translated in national success against a co-ordinated national attack. Others are insignificant compared to this two.
Rats
Guest
Completely agree. At least during the time of crisis, they should show some faith in their youngsters and give them chances. Even England has been doing this in recent years. Haseeb Hammed, Ollie Pope etc.. I wish Mayank Aggarwal was also there in touring party. If Kohli is not bold enough to give chance to youngsters, I see no difference between his style of test captaincy and Dhoni's style.. I hope they don't do the same mistake when they tour Australia. but we can only hope.. India's obsession with sticking with senior players is not changing.. Sadly.. They are trying hard to make senior players play better instead of giving a chance to youngsters. If they feel they don't have enough faith in young batting talents in India, they must stop boasting about U19 WC wins, IPL etc.