5 Indian Test issues that remain unanswered

Today, the BCCI selection committee announced the squad for the upcoming India-England Test Series. It is a tour that will perhaps define this team. India are easily the highest ranked test side and have won 10 of their 11 last test series since July 2015 (which is also incidentally when Virat Kohli took over).

Yet, most of those victories have been at home and only one was outside the subcontinent: a win against the lowly West Indies. The only series defeat in that spell occurred against South Africa earlier this year. In that series, one could see that India had the potential to beat the Proteas even away from home but poor selection cost them.

The team management inexplicably dropped Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in crucial encounters (both of whom showed their brilliance in the meaningless third test), resulting in the 2-1 series loss.

That series showed the importance of team selections in closely-fought series outside the subcontinent. Considering the significance of this series (a victory could propel Kohli’s side to one of the best Indian test teams ever), the team management will need to get their selections right.

Unfortunately, their chances have already been dealt a blow by Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury- the pacer aggravated his back in the 3rd ODI. This raises questions about the pace attack: one of the five major choices that the team management will have to make before the first test.

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The composition of the Team: Six Batsmen or Five Bowlers

This is a question that has bogged Kohli since he took over the captaincy. Unlike his predecessor MS Dhoni, Kohli has preferred a more aggressive approach with five pure batsmen, one wicket-keeper and five bowlers (one or two of which could bat). However, this may change in English conditions considering the vulnerability of Indian batsmen to quality swing bowling (even Kohli struggled in the previous test series in England). Thus playing an additional batsman may be seen as beneficial.

This additional batsman would also allow India to play all three of the natural openers Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay. It could also be used to fit another middle-order batsman like Karun Nair. The additional solidity could allow India to post totals of 400+, something they only managed on one occasion in the previous tour of England in 2014.

However, such a move would be highly controversial and is probably not going to be selected especially considering the emergence of Hardik Pandya as a pace-bowling all-rounder. The management seems to trust Pandya: trusting him for all three tests against South Africa despite his relative inexperience at the first-class level.

Playing six batsmen would mean dropping Pandya or going with him as one of four bowlers- both unlikely options. Nonetheless, this choice will be a defining one- it will help colour all other choices in this article.

Openers: KL Rahul vs Shikhar Dhawan vs Murali Vijay

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Another selection question that has pervaded Virat Kohli’s captaincy has been the choice of openers in the test side. Ever since KL Rahul’s emergence as a test batsman, he has competed with relative veterans Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay for the two test spots.

This has been a good problem to have for Kohli as all three openers have performed when given the opportunity (at least in Indian conditions).

However, he hasn’t had to tackle this question very frequently considering that one of these players has usually been injured. This isn’t in the case for the England series, as all three are fit.

Vijay has been the mainstay of the side on most occasions, as the most experienced player. The Tamil Nadu batsman also has a history of performing well in foreign conditions, he even scored a vital hundred in the last tour to England.

In the South Africa series, Rahul replaced Dhawan after the first test as the latter continued to struggle in foreign conditions (he averages a lowly 27.81 in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand). Rahul like Vijay has shown an ability to perform well in foreign conditions- scoring a hundred in Australia.

Yet, Dhawan is the in-form batsman- scoring a quick hundred against Afghanistan which earned him the Man of the Match. On the other hand, Vijay and Rahul also performed well in that game (scoring a hundred and fifty respectively).

In the end, it will come down to what the management values: explosiveness (Dhawan), experience (Vijay) or technical excellence (Rahul).

Wicket-Keeper: Dinesh Karthik vs Rishabh Pant

England Lions v India A - Day Three

Since MS Dhoni’s retirement, the wicket-keeping position has become a major question for the Indian side. While Wriddihaman Saha has been the preferred option, the Bengal wicket-keeper is injured for the England series.

This has led to two very different selections for the wicket-keeping spot: a recall for the experienced Dinesh Karthik and the first test selection for a young Rishabh Pant.

Karthik is considered by most to be the likely option- he was in the squad for the South Africa series and played his first test for eight years against Afghanistan (keeping well but only making four with the bat).

Yet, there will certainly be a temptation to play with Pant whose attacking brilliance has been evident in all forms of domestic cricket including the Ranji Trophy and the IPL. Pant has an excellent first-class record, averaging 54.16 at a strike rate of 98.54.

However, Karthik’s first-class record is just as impressive, having averaged 54.15 in his previous full Ranji Trophy season in 2016-17. Moreover, Karthik’s experience in England may be extremely valuable: he acquitted himself very well as an opener (an especially difficult role in the country) in India’s 2007 tour of the country.

This makes Karthik a likely selection, but perhaps Pant’s potential may be a little too enticing for India.

Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav vs Ravichandran Ashwin vs Ravindra Jadeja

England v India - 3rd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series

In previous decades, India have placed their spinners on a back burner on trips outside the subcontinent. The Men in Blue have usually opted for one spinner on such tours and that player tends to be used as a defensive option.

This has intensified in recent years as Ashwin and Jadeja have become India’s preferred spinners. Both struggle outside the sub-continent: the duo has a combined one five-wicket haul in 30 innings (in Australia, South Africa and England).

This record will have to improve if India are to have a chance against England. Both are unsuited on green pitches: Jadeja’s darts are ineffectual in non-spinning conditions while Ashwin usually resorts to bowling a defensive leg-stump line.

However, there is some hope that at least Ashwin has improved: he took four wickets in the second test of the South Africa series.

Yet, another spinner has appeared which may challenge Ashwin and Jadeja’s dominance in tests. Kuldeep Yadav has been fantastic in his limited test opportunities so far: his four-wicket haul was crucial for India’s victory in last year’s incredible series with Australia.

More importantly, Yadav was fantastic in the limited-overs leg of this tour, suggesting an ability to bowl well in English conditions.

If India elect to go with two spinners (in an attack with five bowlers), then Yadav could be used as an attacking option combined with the comparatively defensive bowling of Ashwin or Jadeja.

If India choose to go with one spinner, it is likely to be Ashwin considering the paucity of left-handers on the English side and the fact that India will not want their sole spinner to be leaky.

Pace Attack:

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India’s Pace attack continues to be the biggest question: the only surefire starter was Bhuvneshwar Kumar and now he has been ruled out of the first three tests. India’s main second option in the South Africa series was Jasprit Bumrah who will not be available until the second test. Thus, Team India are in a hellish scenario where their two best pace bowlers are injured (a reminder of many nightmarish foreign tours of yesteryear).

This will mean an opportunity for some backup pacers: India have selected Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami as potential options. Pandya is trusted by the team management as a pace-bowling all-rounder and thus is likely to be chosen at least in the first test. Questions surrounding the rest of the composition of the pace attack.

Sharma provides experience and his 2014 spell against England at Lord’s provided India with their only test victory in the country over the past decade. Yet, the Delhi bowler’s inconsistency and inability to bowl full makes him a risky option. Yadav is similar in the sense that his pace could create problems for English players but is often leaky and inconsistent.

Shami would be an interesting option in such conditions but he hasn’t played a first-class match since December 2017. Finally, Thakur hasn’t played a test yet but has shown some promise in first-class cricket. This is a conundrum that will need to be solved correctly if India are to win their first series in England since 2007.