3 areas of concern for India from the Test series against England

Ajinkya Rahane's technique against spin hasn't been convincing
Ajinkya Rahane's technique against spin hasn't been convincing

After suffering a shock defeat in the 1st Test at Chennai, India stormed back to win the 4-Test series against England by a 3-1 scoreline.

With the triumph, Virat Kohli's side qualified for the final of the World Test Championship, which is scheduled to take place later this year at Lord's. They will take on a formidable New Zealand side in the summit clash of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship.

India had many positives to glean from their series victory. Man of the Series Ravichandran Ashwin, opener Rohit Sharma, Test newbie Axar Patel and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant all had key roles to play.

But India have a few glaring concerns to address as well, and here are 3 of them.


#3 Shubman Gill's brief rough patch

Shubman Gill crossed 50 only once in the 4-Test series
Shubman Gill crossed 50 only once in the 4-Test series

After starting the series with a fairly fluent fifty, Shubman Gill's form tapered off drastically. For the first time in his short career so far, the youngster is faced with a few technical and temperamental challenges.

In a series where spin dominated most days of play, Gill got out to Jofra Archer, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. His pronounced shuffle and tendency to play around his front pad caught him in front of the stumps a couple of times, and his shot selection also left a lot to be desired.

With Rohit Sharma firing on all cylinders at the other end, all Gill needs to do is hang in there and his debut century will come. The Indian team management has indicated that the 21-year-old will be handed a long rope, but his form is a minor area of concern.


#2 India have a problem of plenty

The pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah is stacked
The pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah is stacked

After stellar performances from Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj, India have a problem of plenty, especially in the bowling department.

Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, who are three frontline Test cricketers for the country, didn't play a part in the series. With Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar, the spin department is stacked. The pace attack, which features Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur apart from Shami and Umesh, is also solid.

Selection headaches are usually good to have, but India need to be very careful with how they choose to rotate their players. England suffer from a similar problem of plenty, and they completely bungled their team selection for the Test series.


#1 The middle order

Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara haven't scored a century in over a year
Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara haven't scored a century in over a year

Perhaps the biggest concern plaguing India right now is the form of their middle order.

Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara last scored an international century in November 2019 and January 2019 respectively, and this has greatly impacted the backbone of the batting lineup. Ajinkya Rahane's indifferent home form and patches of inconsistency have meant that the rest of the batsmen have a lot on their plate.

The performances of Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar in the series against England and Australia may have masked the fragility of the middle order. But in the long run, India will be exposed. Kohli, Pujara and Rahane need to step up and raise their standards immediately.

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Edited by Prasen Moudgal