India’s Tour Down Under- Squad Review in a Nutshell

GEET BEHERA

20/12/15

2K16 is fast approaching. And also approaching another tour down under for the Indian cricket team. It may have lost some of its relevance, given that the mental fatigue of the complete Australian tour, including the CWC 2015, just a year back, is yet to wear away. Another factor is the T20 World Cup just after, to be organized in India, which raises the question that why India have to warm up and acclimatize in Australian conditions, when they should be providing the finishing touches to their preparation exclusively in home environs.

Even though India will play against Sri Lanka and in the T20 Asia Cup, the logic behind the team going all the way to Australia is beyond comprehension. It may wrongly influence selection for the WC, since the conditions are going to be vastly different- rather a tour of Kangaroos to India would’ve augured well for both the teams. Another factor, which can be considered against this series is the format itself – Lately, ODI bilateral series has got quite cold responses from the spectators.

Still, this series is quite relevant, from both teams’ perspective. There are a host of contenders in both the teams, claiming their stake for being a part of the pinnacle of T20Is. If we talk about the Indian team, an unexpected chance has come in the hands of many new faces as well as supposedly spent force. Whereas, quite a few players are sent the signal that they can’t take their place for granted, by dropping them after the dismal home performance against South Africa. Let’s take a ephemeral look at the players and their individual aspiration apart from the collective goal in this seemingly bizarre tour down under.

1.      Shikhar Dhawan: Surely, he is surviving on borrowed time and some extra-ordinary confidence, invested on him by the team management and selectors alike. Despite ordinary performances in the recent past (just a single half century in past 13 international innings), he has been retained for both the squad, a squad which is short of batting reserves. It’s a clear indication for him. He has to make it count, if he wants to prove his critics wrong. And there is no better place than Australia to turn it around.

2.      Ravindra Jadeja: He is in the middle of a purple patch again, as he overwhelmed the South Africans in the recently concluded test series. Many would argue that this success came on some tailor made surfaces against some insipid batting performances and he had previously enjoyed similar success on home soil before fading out in more gruelling environments. But he can be the key to the much needed control in the crucial middle overs in ODIs and can also provide 4 economically threatening overs in T20Is and is crucial in the scheme of things, as far as the World Cup is concerned. He has to prove his worth in this tour to dispel the doubts surrounding his abilities and should also look forward to contribute with the bat in hand.

3.      Axar Patel: The surprising fact about his selection is his exclusion from T20I squad. This underlines the fact that he has not provided the control needed to inhibit the rampaging batsmen, a threat, which gets magnified in the shortest format. It also sends a signal that he has effectively got behind in the pecking order, as far as the World Cup is concerned. After some disappointing performances in the previous series, where he had the freedom to take the responsibility, courtesy Jadeja’s absence, he must deliver in the ODIs, should he get his chance. And for that to happen, he should work on his bowling, which appears so one dimensional due to the darts, as well as on his batting.

4.      Manish Pandey: The man, most remembered for his IPL debut’s exploits, he came across as a responsible head in his debut match against Zimbabwe, early in the year. Subsequent return of regulars left him with no place in the home series against the Proteas. But he continued to remain in the radar of the selectors and ousting of Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu made him an immediate choice, ahead of the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Shreyas Iyer. He should look forward to grab the opportunity with both hands.

5.      Gurkeerat Singh: He had been in the fringes in all 3 series against the Proteas, but didn’t get a single chance to exhibit his skills. Known for his explosive lower order batting and handy off-spin, he provides another dimension to the spin bowling all-rounders present in the squad. Still, the management would ideally like him to come good with his batting, given the paucity of option in the batting reserves in this squad.

6.      Barinder Sran: The most surprising and out of box inclusion in the squad, Sran will do well to know that the spotlight has shifted to him, from nowhere. He didn’t exactly set the stage on fire in the recently concluded group stage of the Ranji Trophy. Nor he has outstanding List-A record against his name. But the fact that he is a southpaw, went heavily in his favour. Add to that, the promising spells delivered for Punjab and apparently good pace with some natural swing made him a choice, which can provide an unforeseen boost to Indian fast bowling reserve, which appeared quite uni-dimensional.

7.      Rishi Dhawan: When he was ignored for the last tour down under, and also for the tour England earlier, even after being the highest wicket taker in the preceding Ranji season by a distance, he might have lamented the lack of significance and focus, generally associated with the weak group C teams in the competition. By no means, he is just a beneficiary of playing in the weakest group. On top of that, Stuart Binny from more celebrated side of Karnataka, getting a chance ahead of Rishi, was inexplicable for all those, who observed and were impressed by Rishi. He appears to be the best option to India’s continued hunt for a pace bowling all-rounder and can be the long-time answer to this nagging problem. He sent a timely reminder of his batting abilities by hitting a crucial century to propel his team HP to the knock-outs of Vijay Hazare tournament. During an interview, when asked about his batting, he said that he primarily is a batting all-rounder, who has to take responsibility of strike bowler due to paucity of options. He may be India’s greatest find of this tour.

8.      Suresh Raina: A player, who always seems to promise much, before invariably sucked into his own fallacies. There are talks of selectors sending a strong message to him over his non-performance and his lack of runs- his primary job amidst the peripheral roles of handy off-spin and extra-ordinary fielding. Still, it appears to be more of an exclusion resulted from selectors trying to weigh in other options and Raina’s constant conundrum against short pitched bowling – which he would’ve faced more in Australia and which would not have done any good for his confidence ahead of an important tournament like World Cup. T20s will provide him the much needed match time before the tournament, hence justifying his inclusion in that squad.

9.      Hardik Pandya: A hyped stint with Mumbai Indians, the eventual champion in this year’s IPL, where he played a couple of good knocks, and a handy season with Baroda in Ranji trophy, were enough to draw focus of the national selectors. Especially when he belongs to the endangered species of Indian cricket-seaming all-rounder. He, along with Rishi, has the onus to provide hope of a brighter future and come out with some promising, consistent performances.

10.   Bhuvaneshwar Kumar: 106 runs from 10 overs in the final ODI against the South Africans, was one of the lowest ebb, Bhuvi has seen in his career so far. And his inability to contain at death has forced the selectors to overlook him for the ODIs, especially on hard and non-seaming pitches down under. What made it tough for him is his lost panache for taking wickets, with the new ball. He has to rediscover himself soon, if he wants to be in the team for the World Cup and not just a reserve in the T20I squad.

11.   Yuvraj Singh: The most anticipated and talked about comeback, Yuvi is making it with an unpleasant mental baggage, the infamous 11 off 21 in the 2014 T20 WC final. He acquired a villainous image among the fickle minded Indian supporters, after that innings. Still he is the man behind the 2K11 ODI WC victory and 2007 T20 WC victory and the epitome of fighting spirit after his perilous battle with Cancer. But selections for national team neither happen on the basis of past laurels or emotions. And extending the criteria for past failures also, selectors reposed their faith back on the man, who is a proven match winner and also displaying some his best recent form in the ongoing domestic List-A tournament. He is the highest run getter for his team, Punjab, in a successful Vijay Hazare knockouts’ foray. Many ongoing arguments about his selection has reached on a conclusion that he is better suited for ODI than T20, in that, recently, he is taking a bit of time settling down, before opening up. He himself has expressed his ‘personal’ disappointment for being ignored for the ODIs. Still, any kind of international cricket would be most welcomed by him and his supporters. And these 3 T20Is are going to be crucial for him to showcase his appetite and commitment to team’s cause, if he wants to make the cut for the T20 WC. The spotlight is firmly on him.

12.   Ashish Nehra: “Age is just a number.” This is the popular sentiment regarding Ashish Nehra’s unsurprising, yet unlikely inclusion. The veteran of two excellent World Cup campaign, Nehra had an outstanding IPL 2k15, as he was one of the most successful CSK bowler. It’s a general perception that he always had lot more to offer than he actually did. His injury ravaged career always came between him and long term success. But no one can forget those career defining spells- the 6/23 against England in WC 2003 is one of the best spells ever by an Indian pacer. Surely, he is well past his prime and he may not have much to offer. But by virtue of being left armed and his fast yorkers, he can still prove to be handful for the Aussie batsmen and can earn a berth in the World Cup squad. Whatever may be the outcome, he is definitely going to provide some nostalgic moment along with Bhajji and Yuvi.

With this selection, the national selectors stressed on the fact that they’ve not side-lined anyone, but have increased the pool for selection and are of the view that everyone deserves fair chances to showcase their talent. If we are to believe this viewpoint, the World Cup hopes of the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Sreenath Aravind, Amit Mishra, Stuart Binny and Mohit Sharma are far from being over. To be fair, Rayudu and Mishra have faced the vagaries of inconsistent selection in the playing XI, even if we consider their limitations. They’ve performed well in whatever limited chances they’ve got, but they surely have to stand out in performances, in whatever chances they are going to get from now on. Aravind’s indifferent Vijay Hazare campaign may have contributed in his fall in the pecking order while Stuart Binny’s limitations and his struggle to overcome them are far from hidden. Mohit Sharma’s injury is quite unfortunate, as he had performed exceptionally well in the CWC 2015 as a core member of the 3 pronged pace attack, which destroyed batting line-ups after line-ups. His travails in the recent home series, though, presents a different story, still no one fared better than him then. Harbhajan Singh is also facing a stiff prospect, after already finding him out of the ODI squad. He has to come up with strong performances to justify the faith of the management on his experience and abilities.

Still the T20 selection showed that there is no long term strategies, as far as the shortest format is concerned and experience and current form is as valuable as youth and an eye on future. Overall, the selections reflected the fact that selectors have mulled quite a bit over the repercussions of the home drubbing, India faced in the hands of Proteas and are looking forward to build a solid and versatile team by giving players, the confidence and backing. Opinions are formed and changed, but at the end of the day, performances matters and the results of this tour will go a long way in giving a much clearer picture of the ultimate team composition.