Five weaknesses of Team India that could be exposed on overseas tours

The Indian team have been in belligerent form, winning almost everything possible in the past 12 months. Virat Kohli has led this team to great heights, winning nine consecutive ODIs and Test series after Test series in home conditions.

However, the successful run has hidden the chinks in the team's armour. The problems plaguing the Indian team were on show in the fourth ODI of the ongoing series against Australia, a game they lost. India's strong showings prior to that defeat allowed the BCCI to experiment and in this process of experimentation, quite a few things have gone wrong.

Inconsistent team selection

The squad selection has been extremely inconsistent over the past 12 months. The selection panel have picked and dropped players far too frequently, resulting in a constant chopping and changing of the playing XI.

Karthik and Pant have been in the form of their lives

Dinesh Karthik was named in India's 2017 ICC Champions Trophy squad after performing splendidly for the past year or so. He scored 704 runs in 10 Ranji Trophy matches at an average of 55 and 607 runs in nine Vijay Hazare Trophy games at a phenomenal average of 87 in the 2016-17 season. Karthik was finally given an opportunity, being picked in the Champions Trophy squad only to be dropped soon after, despite scoring 94 runs in the practice match.

Rishabh Pant was kept as a backup in the Champions Trophy squad without having played a single ODI for India. Now, though, he isn't being given a chance despite the fact that the ongoing series against Australia is being played at home with India having already won it.

There have been inconsistencies regarding the team selection as well. Initially, KL Rahul was brought in as an opener, then made to play in the middle order and now, after two failures, he has been shown the door.

Constant changes in batting order

Rahul and Pandey have struggled to find form following their ever-changing batting positions

Virat Kohli has been constantly changing the batting order in the past few matches, unsettling the batsmen in the process. KL Rahul's poor performances due to the ever-changing batting order are a case in point.

Rahul has just scored 28 runs in his last three matches at number 4 with an average of 9 while he had an average of 37 as an opener.

Manish Pandey too has been a victim of constant change. He was brought in to play at the number 4 slot but now, after two failures, he has been forced down the order.

MS Dhoni too hasn't been spared. He quit captaincy to concentrate on his batting but the management is now making him bat at the number 7 position. The constant changes have clearly affected the performances of a number of players.

Lack of match practice for reserve fast bowlers

Shami and Yadav looked rusty in their last match

India's bowlers performed stupendously in the first three matches of the ongoing series against Australia. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah performed their roles to perfection, both at the beginning and at the death. The problem, however, is with the bench.

Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav struggled, both at the beginning and at the end, in the fourth ODI. India leaked runs at the rate of 8.4 runs/over in the last 10 overs of the match against the 6 runs/over they had conceded in the first three matches.

One match is not enough to judge the abilities of proven talents, but what it does tell us is that they lack match practice. Shami has played in just three ODIs since the 2015 World Cup and Yadav has played just 20, while Bumrah has played 19 matches in 2017 itself.

In overseas conditions, India would require more than two fast bowlers in the playing XI and hence it is important that the fast bowlers who are warming the bench get more match time.

Hardik Pandya at No. 4

Pandya is an important bowler and is more suited to the finisher's role when batting

Virat Kohli has publicly stated that he is considering trying Hardik Pandya at the Number 4 slot on a regular basis. This move would compound India's problems rather than solve the existing ones.

Pandya has proven to be a great finisher thus far, but in the middle-order, he has struggled to rotate strike when required. Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni are being sacrificed in the process and it would serve India better if Pandey and Dhoni are promoted ahead of Pandya.

The ideal batting order would be Pandey at number 4, Dhoni at number 5, Kedar Jadhav at number 6 and Pandya at number 7.

Inexperienced spinners

India may require the services of Ashwin and Jadeja in the 2019 World Cup

The duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have performed splendidly in the current series but they lack the experience of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, especially in overseas conditions. The experienced duo has performed better in England than anywhere else in the world.

Ashwin has picked up 22 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 30 and an economy rate of 4.9 in England. Jadeja, meanwhile, has scalped 27 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 27. Ashwin and Jadeja have a pretty good record in England and overlooking them could prove to be a costly mistake.

The selectors have stood by their decision of not playing Ashwin and Jadeja in the current series, stating that the duo needs rest, but Ashwin is currently playing county cricket in England. This is a clear indication of the fact that the selectors aren't happy with his performances.

While Ashwin and Jadeja have struggled in the shorter formats recently, they have the talent to bounce back and should be brought back into the team once they regain their form.

Kohli has set a 1-1-1 target where he wants his team to become number 1 in all formats. The real test for Team India starts from the South African tour next year and course correction now would stand them in good stead for the forthcoming series and the 2019 World Cup.