5 things to look forward to from India during the Test series against Australia

With the announcement of a 19-member squad for the Test series down under, the selectors have added some new faces to the side whereas on the other hand, some players have still been overlooked and not been given a place in the squad.A 19-member squad unlike the usual 16 makes it clear that the selectors have some confusion after watching the performance of the team especially in Test matches overseas. The past seven years for the Indian Test team has been topsy-turvy. The side was over-dependent on the fab four for a long time. They took the Indian team to glory on many occasions.Their retirement, one after the other, has resulted in complete imbalance in the team. The new inexperienced side has been thrashed by top teams on many occasions for the past three years. It is sometimes a little unfair for the younger side to win series abroad on conditions still quite alien to them. But the supporters of the team want at least one thing from the depleted side: to give some fight.There is not much hope from the team to win the series against the mighty Aussies in their own den, but let’s see what we can expect from our team based on the selection made few days ago.

#1 A new leader in Virat Kohli

This may be a blessing in disguise for Team India. No doubt Dhoni is great as a captain in shorter formats as he is more comfortable playing ODIs and uses his resources wisely while taking some risks too. But his performance as a Test captain has always been under scrutiny while touring. This is an outdated point to make that his methods in longer formats have been predictable, slow and extremely ordinary. The way he takes risks, employs new tactics on the field in ODIs is commendable but in Test matches he is completely a different.

Dhoni remains in his shell and waits for the opponents to make a mistake. Maybe it’s because he has lesser faith in his boys in whites. But the decision to rest Dhoni for the Brisbane Test might just be fruitful. In his first stint as Test skipper, the focus will be solely on Virat Kohli.

A change is what our team needs at the moment, it will be interesting to see how Kohli uses his bowlers, understands the game as it proceeds, how he sets his field. The aggressive nature of Delhi batsman may just be able to bring out the best from his boys who have nothing to lose as most of them are inexperienced in the longer format.

The team taking the field on December 4 may well be the team after Dhoni’s retirement and as Kohli is touted as the next captain, his captaincy will be put to test from the word go. No one expects him to win his first match as captain, but an inspiring show by the team may well set the tone of the series. It will also give Dhoni some time off to think over his strategies.

#2 The opening slot

Series defeats, one after another, in recent times have been primarily due to the inconsistent performances from the openers. Experienced duo Gambhir-Sehwag’s drop in form hit the team badly, but it’s history for now. No one knows if Sehwag will ever get a chance again to play for India and Gambhir is not in the scheme of things for now. So the focus shifts to the current openers, Vijay-Dhawan.

While one has shown some resilience and patience in tackling the bowl leaving the off stump, the other looks confused in Test matches. Dhawan looks out of sorts and at the start he gives an impression that he is confused whether to play the ball or leave it. He thinks whether he should play on the front foot or on the back foot.

Coming to Murali Vijay, he has gained some respect by scoring a big hundred and 95 on a very difficult Lord’s pitch this summer. But both have been inconsistent and failed to put up a good partnership at the top. In such situations, there is no harm in including a new player in the line-up.

This is where KL Rahul fits the bill. A player like Rahul can be handy along with Murali Vijay as both can use ample amount of time to get in and settle. If he has been included in the side, in my opinion, he should play straightaway.

The idea of backing up Dhawan in ODIs to demoralize the bowlers from the start is a smart tactic, but employing the same tactic in Tests is not going to work. He can be given some time to tackle with his problems and come back strongly. If Dhawan still gets a look into the side, Rahul should be in the lower middle-order for sure. He will provide solidity and depth in the batting. Whether he gets a chance or not and where he will bat if he does, will be something to look forward to.

#3 The pace attack

It’s sometimes hard to understand whether it’s the batting which is the main reason for the team’s lackluster performances abroad or the bowling. The batting looks inexperienced whereas the bowling looks tired and clueless on defensive field set by Dhoni.

India have some good bowlers who can bowl in overseas conditions. Yes, the bowling attack is really promising. But it’s high time to stop promising and start performing. Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed his art of seam bowling in England. Ishant has been India’s wicket-taker since Zaheer Khan’s exclusion. Shami, Aaron and Umesh Yadav have the knack of generating pace consistently and hitting hard at the deck. They may enjoy bowling on Australian pitches, but the only concern is that these bowlers are little inexperienced and can’t bowl long spells at times.

Aaron’s fitness issues are not new to the world whereas Umesh Yadav and Shami go for runs if not at their best. Bhuvneshwar and Ishant have a better career graph than the other three, so it will be interesting to see how these players are used by the team. The ability of the bowlers to make maximum use of the lateral movement in the initial phase of morning sessions, swing the ball away from the batsmen and bowl the odd bouncers will be enthralling to witness.

The seamers will be picked according to the requirements and conditions. Spinners won’t be as essential in Australia as the pace attack and one spinner will be more than enough in the majority of the series.

#4 The middle-order

Undoubtedly, the responsibility of scoring the bulk of runs will be borne by the middle-order batsmen. The failures of Pujara and Kohli haunted Team India in the series against England. Since then, Kohli has been among runs in the shorter formats whereas Pujara has played county cricket in England for some time. His stint with Derbyshire must have given him a push and he will be determined to prove a point this time in Australia.

These two will form the middle-order of the batting and their contribution will prove to be the deciding factor in the series. Their past mistakes have been criticised by everyone and they will be raring to be back among runs. Both of them had problems dealing with the ball swinging away from them and how they tackle this problem against a better bowling attack will be exciting to watch.

It’s easy to say that they both are the prime targets of the Australians and to get the better of them will be a real test for Kohli and Pujara. Ajinkya Rahane is also a bright prospect for India and the three of them can form a very dependable middle-order for the future. But the first test to become anywhere close to ‘dependent’ is the series down under.

With players like Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma waiting for their chance too, it will keep everyone at their toes. Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Rohit or Raina may well form the middle-order for India in this series. The main test will be to leave the ball outside off-stump and be ready for some chin music. This series will again teach them to value their wickets in Test matches.

Except Pujara, everyone else forms a vital cog in India’s ODI line-up, but as mentioned earlier, Test matches will completely be a different test. Another aspect which will be vital is the slip catching. The number of catches dropped in slips during the England tour was embarrassing to say the least. How much India have improved in this aspect will be declared after the outcome of the series.

#5 The reserves

Having talked about KL Rahul earlier, I would like to talk about Karn Sharma and Naman Ojha’s inclusion in the national side. Both the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s players have been picked on the basis of their success in the domestic season as well as their impressive tour to Australia earlier this year while representing India A.

Naman Ojha has improved vastly as a batsman and that is evident from the bulk of runs he scored in the A tour down under. He must be high on confidence after scoring four centuries on the trot, including three in Australia and will be in the right frame of mind. Though there is speculation that he has been picked only for the first Test, still he has been chosen as a reserve batsman than a reserve wicket-keeper. Who knows he may get be asked to stay in Australia for a longer period than expected.

On the other hand, talented Railways leg-spinner Karn Sharma had impressed one and all with his economical bowling in the IPL and has been finally rewarded by getting a call in the Test squad. Sharma, who possesses a good googly, bowls slightly quicker in the air and can be very useful in Australian conditions. Jadeja’s flop show in England may give him a chance to feature in the latter half of the series.

With less than a month left for the series, the biggest thing to look forward to will be India’s approach to this series. It will give us a clear picture on the fact that how serious this Indian team is about Test matches.

With the World Cup around the corner, no doubt every team is giving maximum priority to ODIs but the essence of this Test series shouldn’t be lost by India. Entering the series as complete underdogs may just benefit the players and if they can at least give Australia a run for their money, it will be an unforgettable series and help in building the inexperienced side for future assignments.