Youth or experience? Old formulas or out-of-the-box ideas? Playing it safe or high-stakes gambles? What are the best tactical plans Indian Test cricket strategists need to draw up in terms of personnel as we head into a new year?
Unless you are an extremist, chances are you would say the best strategy is a healthy mix of all of the above. But let’s face it—that is the safe answer. Treading the middle ground when it comes to deciding which way to steer a team in transition is not the easiest thing to do. When you go neither this way nor that, there can be confusion and mixed signals, and a lot can be lost in translation.
Any cricketer worth his or her salt also knows that they can’t adopt the ostrich formula—you have to be ready to embrace change. See how seniors like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami etc take the young guns under their wings and also don’t fail to notice the confidence that the youngsters these days exude, thanks to the backing they are getting from the powers that be—both on and off the field.
A Safe Change
There was a time when fans broke out in a cold sweat when they thought about what would happen once Sunil Gavaskar or Kapil Dev or Sachin Tendulkar retired. Today, the team could be minus a Virat, a Rohit or a Shami, and no one would bat an eyelid. In the five-match home series with England earlier this year, there was no Virat and no Shami, and India had as many as five Test debutantes: Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep and Rajat Patidar. The 22-year-old Jaiswal was the Player of the Series, thanks to his mammoth tally of 712 runs, as he became only the second Indian batter ever to score 700-plus runs in a Test series after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. India won the series 4-1.
The change that is currently unfolding in Indian Test cricket feels almost safe. The youngsters are playing very promising cricket, both at home and away (though more consistency is needed in away Tests). Indian cricket is in an unprecedented phase wherein both the batting and bowling supply lines are incredibly healthy. You don’t need to look beyond four players who are playing in Australia currently—Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana—to understand this. Don’t focus on individual scorecards but on the overall picture of the impact youngsters are having in Indian Test cricket. After all, the team is being built for at least the next five to ten years, and the First-Class arena is throwing up some incredible talent.
A Replay
The model to boost youngsters is working and needs to be strengthened. In Gautam Gambhir, the BCCI has the kind of coach who doesn’t fear backlash or brickbat as long as the long-term plan for the future is on track. The big question here is, how much of the Board’s backing does he have? It’s not just rebuilding, India need to start winning the big series under him. The home loss against New Zealand can be forgotten perhaps only if they win this time in Australia. That along with qualification for the WTC could have a significant impact on Gambhir’s performance assessment.
India shouldn’t fear change right now. Almost exactly a decade ago, we witnessed a huge transition in Indian cricket when MS Dhoni handed the baton of Test captaincy to Virat Kohli. Under Dhoni, the team had reached the number-one spot in the Test rankings, but there came a time when they had lost 15 of 23 overseas Tests. Dhoni himself decided to step down as Test captain in the middle of a Test series in Australia. The next chapter saw “Fighting fire with fire” becoming the new Team India mantra. Fresh blood was infused and Indian Test cricket evolved as the team went on to become a real force to be reckoned with in the longest format, winning 16 away Tests. Kohli overtook Dhoni as India’s most successful Test skipper and also became the most successful Asian captain in SENA countries (seven Test wins).
Curtains Down On An Era
We stand on the cusp of another tectonic shift in Indian Test cricket today. The team has moved on from Test veterans like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha. Ashwin, too, has brought the curtain down on his career. The likes of Yashasvi, Shubman Gill, K.L. Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj have been effectively integrated into the Test system. Jurel, Washington Sundar, Rana and Nitish Reddy will, in all probability, also follow suit. That effectively leaves the likes of Virat, Rohit, Shami and Jadeja as the only ‘super seniors’.
For Virat and Rohit in particular, time is running out. Legacy and superstar status still go a long way of course, but with the kind of talent that is knocking on the door and with ‘evolution’ becoming a keyword, these two stalwarts have to start performing consistently if they want to continue playing Test cricket. In 24 Test innings this year (till after the Brisbane Test vs Aus), Rohit has scored a total of 607 runs, at an average of 26.39, with two centuries and two half-centuries. Virat in the same period has played 17 Test innings, scoring 376 runs, at an average of 25.06, with one century. His career batting average in Tests stands at an eight-year low (47.49). Unless they go completely ballistic in the two remaining Tests in Australia, will we see them board the flight to the UK for the tour of England next year?
It would be fair to say that the jury is out on that one. It wasn’t a surprise to see both these icons retiring from T20Is after India won the last edition of the T20 World Cup. They went out on a high. Another Test series win in Australia this time could be the best opportunity for them to bring the curtain down on their Test careers as well, though this is the toughest format for a cricketer to say goodbye to. The management knows very well, just like every cricket fan in the world, that Jasprit Bumrah is more than ready to take over as Test captain. Shami still has to prove his fitness and will be given a few more chances of course, but with the likes of Rana, Deep and Prasidh Krishna finding their names on the squad sheet more regularly, the competition in the fast-bowling space is also heating up. Because of his all-round abilities, including fielding smarts, Jadeja might hold on longer than the others. But again, with the likes of Axar Patel, Tanush Kotian (who replaced Ashwin in India squad) and Tilak Verma around, he, too, will be feeling the heat.
It’s a cliché, yes, but change is indeed the only constant. No one knows that better than an athlete.
(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author