England v India: A look at Team India's performances in practice matches

With the much-awaited England-India series around the corner, we take a look at how the Indian players have performed in their two practice games, against Leicestershire and Derbyshire. The batsmen have seized their opportunities well, and it will be interesting to see who makes the cut, as all of them have chipped in equally. The bowlers have a hectic task ahead, and, if India are to win the series, the bowlers have to complement the relatively stronger batting unit.

Also, the probable Indian line-up for the first Test match is arrived at, at the end of the article.

MS Dhoni

Murali Vijay: Vijay has been with the Indian team for quite a while now, but his overseas performances haven’t been up to the mark. Though his 41 was crucial against Derbyshire, scores of 20 and 6 in the other two innings leave him in danger of missing out on a playing 11 spot.

Shikhar Dhawan: Shikhar Dhawan made a grand entry to the Indian Test side but has not lived up to the hype since then. Though he scored a fluent 60 in the first game against Leicestershire, he failed to cross single digits in the next game. He has not been consistent abroad, but his 98 against New Zealand in his last overseas Test match, earlier this year, would save his place.

Gautam Gambhir: I guess Gautam Gambhir is slowly paving his way back into the side; if not the first 2 Tests, he will surely displace one of Vijay or Dhawan by the time the 3rd Test match begins. After a decent domestic outing and leading his Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to glory, he has got back his place in the Test side.

The 32-year-old has played some match-saving knocks abroad, against South Africa and New Zealand. With scores of 54* and 21* in the two innings that he got a chance to play, he has done no harm to his chances, either.

Cheteshwar Pujara: He is the next big thing for India in Test cricket. He has been a run machine for the team and has delivered more often than not, both in India and abroad. He notched up 50s in both the games he played, with an aggregate of 138 from both the innings. Pujara, no doubt, forms the backbone of the team.

Virat Kohli: This man needs no introduction. He has ruled every format of the game and in every corner of the world. His scores of 29 and 36 may not be the ideal way to warm-up for a series as big as this, but one cannot look too much into those fixtures for a player of Kohli’s calibre. The right-hander has filled the void that Sachin Tendulkar has left in One Day Internationals in some style, but he hasn’t quite converted his 100s into big scores in the Test arena. The 25-year-old would be looking to set that record straight.

Pujara and Kohli could turn out to be the vital cogs of the Indian batting line-up.

Ajinkya Rahane: Rahane has played some decent knocks in the past. Besides touring England with the India A team in the past, he also made his international debut in the country and hence will be knowing the conditions to an extent. His scores of 47, 13 and 39 without being dismissed says a lot.

Rohit Sharma: Rohit played a fluent knock of 43 in the first game but followed up with only a 10 in the second. While the 27-year-old has the potential, his application to see through the testing phases of the longer format is a serious question mark. His place could be in danger if the Indian captain MS Dhoni wants to go in with 5 bowlers instead of his preferred 3 fast bowlers and 1 spinner combination.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Recently, Dhoni said in an interview that he had to be more aggressive when it comes to his batting in Test cricket. He also said the team needed to go for the kill from 50-50 situations and not be defensive. It remains to be seen if he actually implements all those. Dhoni played only one innings but scored a brisk 46 from 56.

Wriddhiman Saha: India’s back-up wicket-keeper batsman has had only one innings to play, one in which he scored 19. While there is no doubt that the 29-year-old has the ability, with MS Dhoni in the team as the captain, his chance of making it to the playing XI looks bleak.

Stuart Binny: The selectors raised a few eyebrows when they gave Stuart Binny a chance ahead of other popular choices. The 30-year-old had a chance to bat in only one innings, but he scored a very good 81 to silence the critics for time being. Also, he has strengthened his case by picking up a couple of wickets and sending down some effective overs against Derbyshire.

Ravindra Jadeja: Jadeja came into the team with the reputation of scoring 3 first-class triple tons, but he has become more a bowling all-rounder. Though the left-arm spinner has done decently for India in the spin department, he has done little to justify his role as a batsman. While his bowling was bad in the first game, he did very well in the second game keeping the economy around 2 and picking up 2 wickets. As Ashwin’s woeful form continues, Jadeja is likely to make the cut over Ashwin, like he did in the previous three occasions overseas.

Ravichandran Ashwin: Ashwin has been India’s best spinner in subcontinental conditions, but exactly the opposite in overseas Tests. He bowled 14 overs across 3 innings and has given 71 runs without picking up any wickets. With Binny and Jadeja doing well, Ashwin might find it hard to find a place in the team.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: With Zaheer Khan not included in the squad, Bhuveshwar Kumar looks all set to replace him. Although he hasn’t done well in his Test career so far, the conditions in England suit his style of bowling more than any other bowler in the Indian squad. He might have gone for a lot in the first practice match and picked up only one wicket but he was better in the second match; it is difficult to see him not making the team.

Mohammed Shami: There was injury cloud over him during the first practice match, but he seems to have recovered well when looking at the way he bowled in the second practice match. While his performances in the two games failed to impress, India should be happy that he is fit enough to start.

Varun Aaron: He was a surprise pick ahead of Umesh Yadav. Aaron has the pace, but he needs to be more consistent with his line and length to trouble the English batsmen. He has been wicket-less in both the games and has given runs at more than 4 an over. The 24-year-old doesn’t look anywhere close to making the playing 11.

Ishwar Pandey: He was with the Indian squad that toured New Zealand earlier this year and bowled well in the practice matches there. Pandey has an impressive first-class record and showed glimpses of a good Test bowler in IPL. He has bowled 16 overs in the practice matches here, conceding 65 runs and picking up 1 wicket. He looks the first-choice replacement if any of the frontline bowlers get injured midway through the series.

Pankaj Singh: Finally Pankaj Singh has made it to the Indian team. One wonders, at 29, it might be a little late for him to deliver in the international arena. However, he continues to rake in wickets in the domestic circuit and could very well replicate if given a chance. If India opts to go in with 4 pace bowlers, he could very well make the team.

He bowled 25 overs and gave 109 runs in all picking up one wicket.

Ishant Sharma: Ishant, as usual, has been inconsistent, wayward and unpredictable. He gave 80 runs from 17 overs in the first two innings he bowled; however, he conceded only 10 runs from 7 overs he bowled in the second innings of the second practice game against Derbyshire. With loads of experience, he might be an automatic pick, but Ishant can’t continue to be the way he has been all along.

From the performances in the practice games, the demands of the England decks and the history, the final 11 could look as follows:

Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Dhoni, Jadeja, Binny, Bhuvneshwar, Ishant, Shami.