Five things with the Indian Test team that the fans need to be patient about

No one can deny that Indias overseas performances have been diabolical of late, having won just one out of the last 19 Test matches that they have played away from home. What has been disheartening to see from the fans perspective, in particular, is the fact that the team has not even given a fight and meekly surrendered in many of those 19 Tests. Indias latest 3-1 series loss to England has probably been the lowest point in that sense, with the team embarrassingly folding in less than 3 days in the last two Test matches of the series,at Old Trafford and the Oval.The 4-0 defeats to England and Australia in 2011 were, to an extent, understandable as the much celebrated players of the 2000s were on their last legs. But the newer generation in Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane,etc., brought a lot of hope, especially after their performances in South Africa and New Zealand in the last 6-8 months, despitestill beingvery inexperienced in overseas conditions. With that being the case, the abject failures of a talented group of players in the just-concluded Test series against England has taken everyone by surprise.With the current team being very nascent and embarking on a tough tour of Australia next, it would be foolish on the part of Indian fans to expect any miracles from this team anytime soon.Here are 5 things about the Indian team that the fans need to be patient about:

#1 Opening batsmen

A crucial facet of success in Test matches is the performance of the opening batsmen. Every successful cricket team of the past has had two gun opening batsmen: Australia had Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden during their period of dominance, while West Indies had Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes in the 1980s.

On that count, the Indian team has found itself desperately short in spite of trying several different players in those positions. In the last 3 years, the biggest opening stand for India abroad has been 63, which was during the Lord’s Test against England in 2011, and that is the only 50+ opening partnership in that time period. Despite such poor numbers, it would be prudent for the fans to be patient with Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. While they might have not been consistent, they have showed some promise at different times. Vijay looked good in South Africa and impressed during the early part of the England series, while Dhawan made scores of 115 and 98 in the series against New Zealand. It made little sense, then, to drop Dhawan after a few failures and bring back Gautam Gambhir after the 3rd Test at Edgbaston. Gambhir, after all, was averaging 20.21 from the 7 Tests that he had played in England and Australia and has only managed to worsen that average since with scores of 4, 18, 0 and 3 in the last 2 Tests.

There is no quick fix to the opening conundrums, but what fans should refrain from doing is demanding the return of players like Virender Sehwag and Gambhir every time that Vijay and Dhawan fail. These are relatively new players who are showing gradual improvement and need to be stuck with for a reasonable period of time before making a firm judgment.

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#2 Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli

With returns of 222 and 134 runs for Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, from the 5-match Test series, at averages of 22.20 and 13.40 respectively, there is no doubt that they haven’t lived up to expectations. However, their long-term quality as Test batsmen should not be doubted, and it should only be a matter of time before they come good on a consistent basis. While their recent performances are hard to justify at the present moment, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the two of them were plundering runs against Dale Steyn and Co. in difficult conditions in South Africa just a short while back.

Pujara and Kohli would do well to learn from Rahul Dravid, whose ability was also questioned after enduring a difficult series in Australia in 1999. But Dravid, instead of sulking, learned from that experience and became a better player for it. It is up to Pujara and Kohli to follow Dravid’s example and be determined to come back as better players for India’s next tour to England.

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#3 Ravichandran Ashwin

R Ashwin’s travails as a spin bowler away from home have been well documented. He has an impressive Test match record without a doubt: 107 wickets from 21 Tests. But Ashwin will be the first to acknowledge that he has benefitted, immensely, by playing 15 of those 21 Tests in favourable home conditions. His record of 12 wickets from 6 away Tests at an average of 64.50 is far from flattering.

Despite such a disparity between his home and away records, I think it would be wise to show a bit of patience with Ashwin. He, after all, is the quickest Indian to 100 Test wickets, having done so in just his 18th Test, and that is no mean task when you consider the great spin bowlers, in particular, to have played for India over the years.

It is also important to take note of the fact that Ashwin hasn’t had favourable situations to bowl in during most of those 6 away Tests. In his last 2 Tests at Old Trafford and the Oval, for example, India were bowled out for 152 and 148 in the 1st innings respectively. In those circumstances, Ashwin was absolutely helpless as he had no runs to play with and, therefore, couldn’t attack by having close-in fielders for the opposition batsmen.

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#4 Seam bowling attack

Indian fans, for decades, have been crying out for a potent seam bowling attack. They have been left disappointed in the past, but the current crop of seam bowlers have shown some promising signs in England and, seemingly, have all the makings to form a good pace attack in the imminent future.

While Bhuvneshwar Kumar is by no means quick, he is extremely skilful and troubled the England batsmen for most of the series, with movement either way, before tiring out towards the end of the series. Ishant Sharma, too, seems to have improved tremendously over the last 12 months and has taken a bit of responsibility as the attack leader. And then there are the likes of Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav, who have shown brief signs of promise and need to be encouraged to continue bowling quickly.

Too often in the past, there have been Indian fast bowlers who have had all the skills to succeed at the international level to start off with but have, for some reason or the other, faded into oblivion quickly. If the current set of bowlers can seek the right people for advice and the expectations from fans remain realistic, they have the wherewithal required to help India win Test matches overseas.

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#5 MS Dhoni as captain

MS Dhoni, under his captaincy, had seen India lose 4-0 in both England and Australia in 2011, and he has now overseen yet another debacle with India losing the Investec Test series, 3-1, against a relatively weak England side. Results in away Test matches have certainly deserted India under his watch, and the fans are, you could argue, rightly getting impatient with him. His tactics on the field have often been baffling, and, despite the poor results that the team has suffered time and again, he remains too stubborn in his opinions and refuses to change.

Yet, at a time like this, there is no option but to stick with Dhoni and hope that a viable alternative comes along in the next one or two years. Kohli has been mooted as a future captain, and there is no doubt that he can go on to be one; however, his biggest concern for the time being should be his lack of runs in England, and he does not need to be burdened with the extra responsibility of captaincy.

Kohli has the ability to get his form back on track, and, once he does so, thought can be given to the prospect of the 25-year-old as a captain. Till such a time, though, it is imperative that Indian fans give their backing to Dhoni by showing some patience.

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