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18 tours, 62 Tests and almost a 90-year-old history – India's Test cricket journey began in the summer of 1932 when it was still a British colony.
For the 19th time in history, an Indian side has landed on the English shores for Test cricket – this time to contest for a five-Test series that marks the start of the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
While Virat Kohli's men eye a rare moment of glory on English soil, Joe Root is determined to continue England's winning trend. From 2011 to 2018, India have suffered a hat-trick of series losses in England.
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The three Test series that India won in England came in 1971, 1986 and 2007. Although India have found limited success in the British Isles, there have been some fantastic individual performances treasured in the annals of cricket.
Ahead of the Nottingham Test, let us celebrate the fantastic individual achievements through the a dream XI team.
India’s greatest XI in England (Tests)
Openers:
Vijay Merchant (1936-46) | Bombay (Now Mumbai)
Tests 6 | Runs 527 | HS 128 | Ave 47.9 | 100s 2 | 50s 2
India’s first batting great, Vijay Merchant’s best years were robbed due to the World War II. A prolific run-scorer at the domestic level, his success in the 1936 tour of England earned him the Wisden Cricketer of the Year. CB Fry had famously remarked:
“Let us paint him white and take him with us to Australia as an opener.”
Merchant scored a century in the Old Trafford Test in 1936. 10 years later, in India’s first tour of England post-the-war, he scored another hundred at The Oval. On both tours, he scored heavily in competitive county matches.
Trivia: In both completed tours combined, he scored over 4,000 runs at almost 63. Merchant’s batting average of 71.64 in first-class cricket is second only to Don Bradman’s 95.14. He averaged 98.75 in the Ranji Trophy!
Sunil Gavaskar (1971-86) | Bombay (Now Mumbai)
Tests 16 | Runs 1,152 | HS 221 | Ave 41.14 | 100s 2 | 50s 8
Opening the batting in English conditions is perhaps one of the most daunting jobs in cricket, but Sunil Gavaskar had a massive appetite for runs backed by the power of concentration and technique. Although his overall career numbers are 10 points better than what he managed in England, he produced some of the finest shows when the going got tough.
Gavaskar toured England five times in his career and won two series – 1971 and 1986. His 221 in the Oval Test of 1979 is among the finest knocks played by an Indian in overseas conditions. He made the chase of 438 look very gettable. India had two wickets in hand but finished nine runs short of what could have been a world record.
In 1986, India saw their finest moment in England when they won consecutive Tests there. Gavaskar, who was heading towards the end of his career, scored a solitary fifty in the series and averaged only 27.5, which hampered his overall England record.
Middle order:
Rahul Dravid (1996-2011) | Karnataka
Tests 13 | Runs 1,376 | HS 217 | Ave 68.8 | 100s 6 | 50s 4
No Indian batter has played swing bowling as well as Rahul Dravid, which became the primary reason for his astonishing success in England and New Zealand.
Making his debut in the 1996 Lord’s Test, Dravid missed a hundred by five runs. He followed it up with an 84 at Trent Bridge. In the 2002 tour, he made the world notice him with three consecutive hundreds – the last one being a double. His 148 at a lively Leeds track set the tone for India’s win.
Dravid had a quiet tour with the bat in 2007, but won the series as captain. During India’s horrendous 2011 tour, Dravid, who was in the final phase of his career, scored three hundreds in the side’s 0-4 drubbing. Two of Dravid’s centuries came as an opener after Gautam Gambhir was injured.
Dravid was also a captaincy contender for this side.
Sachin Tendulkar (1990-2011) | Bombay (Now Mumbai)
Tests 17 | Runs 1,575 | HS 193 | Ave 54.31 | 100s 4 | 50s 8
Sachin Tendulkar’s greatness lay in his ability to adapt to all conditions. From mastering the bounce in South Africa to dominating spinners in dustbowls to negotiating swing bowling in England, Tendulkar found himself at home.
Tendulkar toured England five times in a career spanning 24 years. In the Old Trafford Test in 1990, he scored his maiden international hundred as a 17-year-old. It’s another story that, over the years, he has gone on to notch 99 more.
He was brilliant in 1996, scoring two centuries. In 2002, he was among the heroes of India’s famous Leeds win. In his last two tours, the batting maestro failed to register centuries but found ways to chip in with crucial contributions. In 2007, he starred with a 91 in India’s win in the Nottingham Test.
Sourav Ganguly (1996-2007) | Bengal | (Captain)
Tests 9 | Runs 915 | HS 136 | Ave 65.35 | 100s 3 | 50s 5
Wickets 8 | BB 3/71 | Ave 31.75 | SR 58.3
The team finally has a left-hander in the form of the current BCCI President.
Sourav Ganguly was a showman, and he chose the grandest opera to announce himself. Written off by most, Ganguly announced his return to international cricket in 1996 with an elegant century at Lord’s. He followed that with another hundred at Nottingham.
If the runs weren’t enough, he also got the wickets with his medium-pace – a kind of bowling, well suited for English conditions. His timing won Sir Geoffrey Boycott’s attention and earned him the moniker – “The Prince of Calcutta”.
Ganguly’s bat continued to talk in 2002 as well. While he missed a hundred by a run in Nottingham, his counter-attacking ton in the fading light further compounded the miseries on the Englishmen in the Leeds Test that India won. He remained one of the stars of India’s 2007 series triumph over England through consistent shows with the bat.
In India’s Nottingham Test win in 2007, Ganguly also bowled an important over on the first day, claiming the wicket of top scorer Sir Alastair Cook.
Ganguly’s leadership in the 2002 series was inspirational. From getting Virender Sehwag to opening in Tests to opting to bat on a damp Headingly pitch and playing two spinners there, Ganguly reversed many trends that changed Indian cricket for good. A vital cog in the middle order and the fourth seamer, he also captains this team.
Dilip Vengsarkar (1979-90) | Bombay (Now Mumbai)
Tests 13 | Runs 960 | HS 157 | Ave 48 | 100s 4 | 50s 4
In the mid-1980s, Dilip Vengsarkar was among the top batters in the world. He had most of the strokes in the book and had a particular affinity for Lord’s. He remains the only overseas batsman to register three centuries at Lord’s. The hero of the 1986 triumph, Vengsarkar slammed tons in India’s both wins – at Lord’s and Leeds.
During the 1990 tour, he failed to convert his 30s to substantial scores, leading to his batting average taking a hit.
Wicket-keeper:
Farokh Engineer | Bombay (Now Mumbai)
Tests 9 | Runs 563 | HS 87 | Ave 37.53 | 50s 4 | Dismissals 18
It was a tight call but eventually Farokh Engineer beat MS Dhoni to the spot. Engineer’s 'keeping skills were also better suited to English conditions, as were his batting exploits due to his experience in county cricket.
Although there’s not much to differentiate between the two as batters in these conditions, Engineer’s better strike rate helps his cause. He was also more versatile in his approach as a batter, someone who could open if required and also bat in the middle.
Engineer’s 59 and 28* were critical to India’s win at The Oval in 1971. It was India’s first victory in England.
All-rounders:
Vinoo Mankad | Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Nawanagar/Western India (now Saurashtra)
Tests 6 | Runs 395 | HS 194 | Ave 39.5 | 100s 1 | 50s 2
Wickets 20 | BB 5/101 | Ave 33.9 | SR 93.8 | 5w 2
Indian spinners have produced spectacular individual feats in England, but not many have found consistent success when we look at their overall careers. Back in 1940s and 1950s, India’s chances of competing depended on Vinoo Mankad. He makes the side as a frontline spinner and an all-rounder, keeping Kapil Dev out.
It’s a tough call not to pick Kapil. Not only did he lead India to a 2-0 victory in England, but he also produced fantastic individual shows with the bat and ball in his four tours of the country. However, his bowling average in England touches almost 40.
Mankad was another cricketer who lost some good international years due to World War II. India’s first great all-rounder, Mankad's presence, adds depth to the batting of this side.
His most extraordinary moment came in the Lord’s Test of 1952, where he scored 72 and 184 as an opener. He then went on to pick up a five-for. Even a spectacular effort like that couldn’t save India from defeat. Mankad’s other five-for came during the 1946 Manchester Test.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2014) | Uttar Pradesh
Tests 6 | Wickets 19 | BB 6/82 | Ave 26.63 | SR 54.5 | 5w 2
Runs 247 | HS 63* | Ave 27.44 | 50s 3
It’s unfortunate that Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t make it to the England tours of 2018 and 2021. An ill-timed injury kept him out in 2018, whereas the lack of first-class matches hampered his selection chances in 2021. One of the finest swing bowlers to emerge from India, Bhuvi was India’s saving grace in their otherwise disappointing outing in the 2014 tour of England.
His five-for in the Nottingham Test gave India denied England the upper hand in the game. His six-for at Lord’s contributed to a famous win. He picked up two more three-fors in the series. Kumar was also very effective with the bat, scoring twin fifties at Nottingham, followed by a match-winning half-century at Lord’s.
Pacers:
Zaheer Khan (2002-11) | Baroda, Mumbai
Tests 8 | Wickets 31 | BB 5/75 | Ave 27.96 | SR 57.4 | 5w 1
Had Zaheer Khan not broken down on the first day of India’s 2011 tour of England, a 0-4 drubbing was unlikely. One of the most skilful bowlers during his time, Zaheer had the rare art of mastering all the three balls – SG, Kookaburra and the Duke.
Zaheer had a decent 2002. Five years later, he was the force that guided India to a rare series win in England. His nine-wicket haul in the Nottingham Test is regarded as one of India’s best overseas performances. James Anderson even took notes from his bowling and added the art of hiding the ball to his armory.
Nabbing England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook early in the 2011 Lord’s Test, Zaheer was injured and was ruled out of the series in which India were whitewashed.
Mohammad Nissar (1932-36) | Uttar Pradesh, Southern Punjab, Railways
Tests 4 | Wickets 18 | BB 5/93 | Ave 26.55 | SR 42.6 | 5w 2
Mohammad Nissar was the first man to claim a Test wicket for India. He was also the first Indian to bag a five-for in Tests. One of the fastest bowlers in the world during his time, India’s first skipper CK Nayudu claimed that Nissar, in the first spell for his country, was even quicker than Harold Larwood, a man who terrorized Australia in the Bodyline series.
In the four Tests he played across two tours, Nissar bagged two five-wicket hauls, dismissing the likes of Herbert Sutcliffe and Wally Hammond.
12th Man:
Kapil Dev (1979-90) | Haryana
Kapil Dev would usually be an important fixture for most all-time teams. Had his bowling numbers in England been better, he would have gone on to lead this side as well. He makes the cut as the 12th man. Kapil gives the unit a lot of flexibility. He can come in for any batter, replace any pacer and not to forget, India haven’t seen many athletes and fielders as good as him.
India's Greatest Test XI in England: Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly (c), Dilip Vengsarkar, Farokh Engineer (wk), Vinoo Mankad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Mohammad Nissar
12th man: Kapil Dev
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