NEW DELHI: Indian cricket is all set to begin the transition process of its Test team going into the next cycle. World Test Championship (WTC). After finishing runners-up in the inaugural WTC, the team management has started thinking about rebuilding the team. Now the focus is on weeding out senior fast bowlers and creating a pool of batsmen who will be ready to take the team forward.
Every country usually plans a team keeping in mind the ODI and T20 World Cup. The Indian team is now in a position where it wants to identify the players who can be there at the end of the upcoming two-year WTC cycle and take the team forward.
India captain Virat Kohli Talked about this moment after losing in the WTC Finals on Wednesday. In Southampton, he said, “We will continue to re-evaluate and negotiate what is needed to strengthen our side. We need to understand what dynamics work for the team and find the right people with the right mindset.” brings.” “Let’s not fall prey to a certain pattern,” he warned.
Kohli would know how tough it is to go through the transition phase. He was at the forefront when India’s famous Test middle-order left the scene in 2012. Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara And Ajinkya Rahane has been a mainstay ever since. “When you’ve been a top team for a few years in a row, you definitely don’t want to drop your standards. We need to keep up with the demands of the game. We will definitely take those decisions and have those conversations close.” The future. It is not something for which we will wait for a year or so,” Kohli insisted.
Team India should be applauded for reaching the finals of the first WTC Championship. Nevertheless, there is considerable scope for improvement. Announcing a team in advance is a sign of confidence, but the think-tank should be flexible enough to adjust as the circumstances change. It is also clear that this team often performs poorly in important knock-out games in major ICC tournaments. This worrying flaw must be removed.
TOI understands that Pujara was feeling the heat after Rahane. Pujara hasn’t scored a Test century in 18 matches in the last three years and Rahane has been hot and cold for too long. The team management’s willingness to give younger players more responsibilities and groom them into leadership roles, despite Pujara’s low strike-rate conditions has always been a subject of controversy. The team always went with a plan to score runs and it was Pujara’s inability to hit 35 balls in the first innings that exposed their problem. Sources close to the team management told TOI, “When one talks about scoring runs, one is not talking about going after the bowling. The team is expected to rotate the strike at least every 7-8 deliveries. ”
Kohli could not harp enough on the need to score runs in challenging conditions in Southampton. It was the plan against New Zealand to not let the bowlers settle in one line and length.
Kohli also pointed to the depth in the white-ball format. “If you look at our white-ball team, it has a lot of depth and people are confident. The same should be done with the Test team,” he said.
The upcoming five-Test series against England will help decide the future course of action.
Required: Pool of Test batsmen
Now the challenge is to create a pool of batsmen, especially in Test cricket. Perhaps it is time the selection committee digs deeper and takes tough decisions. The previous selection committee had made such calls in white-ball cricket in 2017 when they were phased out. Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina With R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja’s all-rounder Kaushal took him one place behind.
Former selector Devang Gandhi says that most of the batsmen in the reserve pool, except Hanuma Vihari, was an opener. “Prithvi, Mayank, Padikkal and Easwaran are all openers. Even” KL Rahul is one. The team management has to be flexible here. Shubman Gill Have done very well for India ‘A’ in the middle order. He played most of his India ‘A’ matches at No. They could have tried them there,” Gandhi told TOI.
New Zealand beat India in the final of the World Test Championship
Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta, who keeps a close eye on Indian domestic cricket as a broadcaster, believes it is difficult to pool in the white-ball format due to the small number of matches. “I think some tough decisions need to be taken keeping in mind the future of Indian cricket. But one must remember that India plays a lot of white-ball cricket in a year and so you see a lot of players there. You can try it. But you play only 10 Tests in a year. So, you usually stick with the same players,” Dasgupta said.
Dasgupta echoed Gandhi’s views in working with available resources. “The Indian team management may reshuffle the batting order. Look at Shubman and KL Rahul as middle-order batsmen. Rahul has a bad game against the new ball, but he is a handful at No. 5 and Shubman at No. 3 If he doesn’t do that. ‘Don’t click in the next two Tests,’ he said.
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