Are wrong team selections costing India overseas Test series wins?

Currently, India is touring Australia which is their third overseas tour this year. Before coming to Australia, India played two competitive Test series against South Africa and England. Both the series competitive but even though India had the skill they couldn’t win the series. There could be a variety of reasons for the losses but the one common reason in all the three series is the selection of the team playing on the field.

Virat Kohli might be the best batsman in the world, but he is definitely not the best captain. First and foremost even though the toss is based on luck how can one lose eight of ten tosses? Losing the toss is definitely not helping the team’s cause. Time and again, he has failed to read the pitch conditions which has resulted in the wrong team selection.

Pujara and Rahane were dropped in England and South Africa respectively

Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian vice-captain was dropped for the first two Tests against South Africa for Rohit Sharma. You could argue that Rahane wasn’t in the best of forms but you would always choose class over form especially in an overseas series that too if you are going in with only five batsmen. Rahane was included in the third Test and he made an immediate impact as he scored a crucial 48 in the second innings.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India’s best swing bowler who had not only reduced South Africa to 12-3 in the first hour of the first Test but also stitched an important partnership with Hardik Pandya in the first innings was dropped for the second Test with any significant reason. He too was bought back for the third Test and showed why dropping him was the wrong decision.

When both Rahane and Bhuvneshwar were included in the third Test at Johannesburg, India came out as the winners on one of the toughest Test wickets. On such wickets, you need people who can show character and Bhuvi and Rahane did exactly the same thing. These two selection calls in the second Test might have cost India the series.

Moving on to the next series where India played England earlier this year. In the first Test itself, India dropped one of their prolific run-scorers, who had scored a patient fifty in the first innings of the Johannesburg Test on a tough wicket, Cheteshwar Pujara. He was dropped based on his county form rather than his international form which is not quite fair. Instead, India went in with all the three openers and Rahul was made to bat at No.3. India lost that Test by just 31 runs.

As usual, after the first Test of an overseas series, Shikhar Dhawan was once again dropped. How does Shikhar Dhawan suddenly become out of favour based on just one Test when the team management believed he was good enough just before the start of the first Test? This was not the first time it had happened. It has happened a number of times before he was dropped in England.

And guess what, Shikhar was back just after one Test. This time he was picked in place of Vijay. Interestingly, India had three different opening combinations in three different Tests. It seemed as the openers were being rotated.

Kuldeep's selection in the Lord's Test was a big mistake

The biggest selection blunder was when India picked a chinaman bowler on a perfect green wicket with overcast conditions. It was the same Test where Adil Rashid famously didn’t bat, didn’t bowl and didn’t even take a catch! Hardik Pandya, later in the press conference, said that Kuldeep would have been effective if it was a five-day game. But it was never a five-day game because the first day was completely washed out and even the toss took place on the second day. This was a clear case of reading the pitch and the conditions wrong.

The latest of the debatable selection came when India went in with four pacers on a green Perth pitch. Obviously, Ashwin wasn’t available but was even Jadeja not fit? The long tail in their batting line-up just piled on his problems.

Bumrah's selection in the Test format is nothing short of a masterclass

Virat Kohli has also made some really good selections in this Test team. One of that being the inclusion of the fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah when he was given the debut cap in the first Test against South Africa. Not many expected Bumrah to make his debut in the first Test but this move has come as a pleasant surprise for the Indian fans as he has been absolutely brilliant in the longest format.

In the eight Tests, he has picked up 39 wickets with two five-wicket Hauls to his name. Importantly, India has won whenever he has taken a fifer. In no time he has become the go-to bowler for his captain which is a really good sign. You have to give credit to Kohli for such a great selection.

Who is picked at MCG?

If India wants to win the Test series in Australia they need to get their XI right for the next two games and that should start from the openers. India’s openers are in all sorts of trouble. KL Rahul has looked low on confidence as he keeps getting out bowled and LBW. Murali Vijay who made a comeback lately, too hasn’t done anything significant. It’s going to be a dilemma for Kohli as to who should open at MCG?

He has the option of picking Mayank Agarwal but he hasn’t played a single game for India. Having said that, Rahul too had made his debut in Australia and scored a century in only his second Test at the SCG. You can’t blame the captain for the opener’s failures as he has given them a fair number of chances. Now it’s up to them to repay that faith and make the captain’s selections into right calls.