England vs India 2018: 3 questions that need to be answered by India

Questionable selection during the course of the series

Murali Vijay wasn't treated well

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri are known to be very vocal and open about selecting their team. They don’t hold back in supporting the players they back to deliver, irrespective of the player’s current form or confidence.

Murali Vijay has been India’s pillar at the top of the order over the past 15-18 months. Granted, he had a below-par Test series in England, but what message does it send to the other openers and aspiring openers for the Indian team when you see an experienced player like Vijay sent back to India after two poor games?

The team management should think about what damage that can cause to a player’s morale and self-confidence. Murali Vijay could have been retained in the squad and not selected in the playing XI which would have more sense.

And, the main reason for Shikhar Dhawan to get game after game despite his technical flaws is possibly the fact that he is a left-handed batsman. Shikhar Dhawan is extremely effective in batting friendly conditions, but on pitches that assist the bowlers, he sometimes looks like a fish out of water.

If the team management wanted a left hand-right hand opening combination shouldn’t they have they pushed Rishabh Pant to open the innings? It was clear that Shikhar Dhawan was not the right person to open the innings, despite him making some technical changes and showing more inclination to bat out more balls.

And what explains the decision of the team management not to select Karun Nair even for one game? Especially seeing how the middle-order fared? Ajinkya Rahane clearly wasn’t at his best, he lacked confidence. India should have tried Karun Nair in the middle order. And what Hanuma Vihari showed us all is if given a chance, there are players who have the capability and the intent to grind it out and make their opportunity count.

A lot of answered questions which led to the series loss. The selectors should give the likes of Karun Nair, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja a longer run in the team ahead of the tour of Australia?