India's tour of England 2014: The ideal bowling combination for India

Ishant Shama is the most experienced bowler in the squad

The chronicles of Indian cricket in English soils offer plenty of agonizing memories. The overall records are horrendous – 27 defeats in 52 Tests as opposed to a meager tally of 5 wins. The wounds of 0-4 drubbing in the nightmarish tour of 2011 are still fresh although both the teams have undergone massive changes in the last couple of years.

Acclimatization to the conditions is absolutely essential to thrive against the home team in England, especially so for the sub-continental teams like India. As Mahendra Singh Dhoni steers his men to another tour of the jinxed nation, fans back home continue to pray for that single Test victory that keeps on eluding India.

One of the reasons that were tossed into prominence during the post-mortem investigation of the miserable tour in 2011 was the lack of penetration in the bowling department and the inability of the Indian bowlers to scoop up 20 opposition wickets. The cluelessness of the seamers, the recurring injuries and the strike bowler hobbling off after a couple of sessions – all these contributed to the collective failure of the squad resulting in the debacle.

The apparently befuddling decision of the BCCI this time around to ferry an enormous 18-member squad consisting of six seam-bowling options is, in fact, a prudent one. By doing so, the BCCI has ensured reasonable immunity against the string of injuries that are bound to plague the team in the later half of this five Test series.

However, the inexperience of the bowlers, where only Ishant Sharma can boast of having played previously in England – that too with not much efficacy, makes India prone to embarrassing errors and occasional gaffes. Adjusting to the weather and acclimatizing to the conditions will be the key to sustenance in one of the longest tours in recent history.

Selecting the bowling line-up for the first couple of Tests must not be too intriguing a job, given the relative international exposure of the Mohammed Shamis in contrast to Pankaj Singh and Stuart Binny. The English summer provides plenty of irregularity and the team selection may be tampered with later into the series after accessing the availability of options and their suitability in accordance with the pitch prognosis.

Needless to state, the colossal burden of leading the attack lies on the shoulders of Ishant Sharma in the absence of veteran Zaheer Khan. Essentially a bowler of limited capabilities with practically no swing, Ishant Sharma has been the epitome of inconsistency in recent years.

The lanky pacer who shot to fame with his ominous spells against Ricky Ponting in the 2007/08 tour of Australia has long been cast aside and replaced by a mature version who fails to pride himself in swing and pace. The talent and potential have succumbed to premature demands of sustainability; Ishant has gradually and imperceptibly reverted into ordinariness, much to the dismay of his followers and aficionados.

The plethora of underperformance has been occasionally complemented with spurts of excellence, but such performances have been too few and far between. The exploits in New Zealand may appear to be a fitting reply to his critics, but his habitual unpredictability implies that he cannot be trusted blindly to deliver the goods in England.

Although the scarcity of swing speaks volumes against him, recent history says Ishant may prove to be effective at Trent Bridge and Lord’s. During the last tour, Ishant had run through the English middle order with 4/59 in the second innings of the first Test before scalping 5 wickets in the second Test at Trent Bridge.

While Ishant will chiefly look forward to delivering long spells tirelessly, MS Dhoni will fancy operating his strike bowlers at the other end. Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami are wily customers with the ball and offer adequate swing and seam to be considered genuine threats.

It is of common observation that Bhuvneshwar prefers to earn his wickets early on in the game while the conditions continue to favor him. He does not boast of express pace but relies on precision and perseverance to fetch his scalps. The reluctance of sending down loose deliveries makes it difficult to score against him.

Although his Test career has been relatively short and insignificant, Bhuvneshwar has displayed enough promise to thrive in the ultimate format of the game. With his customary movement in the air that bemuses batsmen, Bhuvneshwar accumulates his prizes by frequently forcing the opposition to play down the wrong line.

In the seamer friendly conditions of England, Bhuvneshwar is expected to provide plenty of opportunities for the slip fielders during the first sessions of the day’s play. However, his lack of genuine pace may just make it easier for batsmen to negotiate once the skies have cleared up post lunch.

In contrast to Bhuvneshwar’s ineffectiveness in the afternoon session, Mohammed Shami remains the strike bowler MS Dhoni may rely upon to provide breakthroughs anytime during the innings.

Shami had been only 15 first-class matches old when he was drafted into the side, but the premature debut hardly seemed to dislodge his bearings as he went on to plunder 27 wickets in 6 Tests with best figures of 5/47.

Bowling in the vicinity of 140 kmph, Shami is considered to possess the rare gift of extracting both swing and movement off the pitch. He pursues the line of the fourth stump and moves the ball both ways thereby unsettling the batsman and making him jab unnecessarily.

What sets Shami apart from his contemporaries is his ability to assemble wickets in a bunch. His penchant for bowling tight lines, coupled with his impeccable seam position makes him unplayable for the newcomer at the crease. More than once during the tour of New Zealand, Shami has delivered spells of match-winning proportions.

His menacing spell of 10-1-30-3 in the second innings of the Auckland Test reduced New Zealand to 25 for 5 in startlingly quick time. He settled on a fuller length, but he did not overpitch, making it hard for the batsmen to come forward, thus leaving them in a quandary.

The English summer promises to be dry later on as the spinners come into the foray in the fourth and fifth Test. Evidently, Shami has exploited the old ball beautifully in drier conditions against the West Indies and will, definitely, prove to be an asset in the later half of the series as well.

Statistically speaking, Indian bowlers fare a lot better in the second Test than in the first. The bowling average of 42.50 in the first Test improves to 39.43 in the second (just above 35 if matches after 1986 are taken into account). However, they seem to tire out and run out of steam during the third Test and by the fourth, they are reduced to a pitiable state. With six seamers in the squad this time around, one may expect India to better their average of 51.42 in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

Ravindra Jadeja is expected to get the nod over R Ashwin for the first Test

The pertinent question that now arises is whether to choose Ravichandran Ashwin as a frontline spinner or go ahead with Ravindra Jadeja as a spinning allrounder. While the former has been lackluster of late both with the ball and the bat, Jadeja has been marginally better.

It is widely known that English pitches hardly offer any assistance to the spinners unless the summer is hot and the Test drags on late into the fourth and fifth days. Playing both Ashwin and Jadeja will, therefore, be a luxury that Dhoni cannot afford. The long tour, however, promises enough opportunities for both, given that no other spinner has taken the flight to England.

Although Jadeja has failed as miserably with the ball as Ashwin, it is his athletic fielding that grants the former a considerable advantage over Ashwin. Memories of Jadeja pouncing on low catches and dismissing the likes of Brendon McCullum with silky dives and accurate throws are not about to be forgotten in a hurry.

That Jadeja, unlike Ashwin, banks on precision and bounce rather than spin is the rationale behind the fact that he manages to restrict the batsmen better and helps in building up pressure even on disobliging tracks. He may have an innocuous presence in the field, but he manages to offer enough for the skipper to have multiple uses for him.

India is most likely to opt for a trio of pacers consisting of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami while the lone spinner may be a toss between Ashwin and Jadeja. Varun Aaron may hope for a start in the third Test of the series, but Pankaj Singh and Stuart Binny, being short of international exposure, may have to wait till the concluding Test for a debut.

Irrespective of the inexperience in the England squad, the odds remain firmly in the home team’s favor. Unless India manages to figure out a way to scoop up 20 wickets within a decent period of time, the prospects will continue to look as bleak as it did three years earlier.