Having just succumbed to a historic low against New Zealand, India walk into an Australia tour knee-deep in issues. Two weeks away from the first Test, the signs are not good.
The promotions have long begun. The hashtags are out, the B-rolls have been stacked up, the broadcasters have started appending “#TheToughestRivalry” to anything and everything. The pundit predictions are rolling in. The touring party has been announced.
“Tough” is a loose term to define the India-Australia rivalry. It’s top-of-the-money, blockbuster stuff, from ticket sales to TV viewership and everything in between. Some even say it comes about to save Test cricket every two years.
The lead-up, however, has been ominous for the Indian team.
A home series against New Zealand was set to be a largely trouble-free precursor to the big one, weeks after a 2-0 sweep of Bangladesh. Well, that did not happen. Uno-reversed and whitewashed, it left India with a deflated feel, reeling from the dismantling of a proud home record that stood for three US President terms.
It’s huge, much bigger than a mere digit switch in the losses column. A tour of Australia couldn’t have come at a worse time.
For starters, it's a difficult place to tour. The Aussies have lost just about 12 per cent of their home Tests this century, the lowest among all teams. Six of their 17 have been to India across four different Test series, including two very famous series losses to them in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
This time, though, India's pursuit of a hat-trick is peppered with a mash-up of challenges.
Let’s start from the top. Rohit Sharma may miss one, maybe two Tests at the start, leaving India in a slightly similar situation to 2020-21. Then, Kohli had to fly back after the first Test for the birth of his child, leaving in his wake the horrors of 36-9. While it all turned out well in the end, beyond coincidence, it’s never good to have your permanent captain absent through half an Australian tour. At 37, his future and legacy depend on this tour.
It’s not the first time Jasprit Bumrah will be filling in for him, having held the post during the rescheduled fifth England Test two summers ago. It remains the only Test he has led in, in a very short captaincy career (of any level).
An unwell Bumrah sat out of the third Test of India’s 0-3 drubbing, after which Rohit admitted he was not at his best as a captain, and with the bat. The general criticism of his leadership was that he was too defensive, often keeping spread-out fields to loosen pressure on the touring team. In a year that has seen 17 overseas wins and only one draw, carrying that mentality into ruthless Australia will have very obvious side effects.
“Giving up is not in our vocabulary,” is what Ravi Shastri had said after the 2021 win, encapsulating the maxim of that Test team. Having foregone a home Test series as recently and as meekly will require serious retrospection, and course-correction, ahead of their flight to Perth.
Without Rohit, India will also be exposing a young opening pair to a generational Aussie pace trio. Although 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal has been sparkling so far, his first real test away from home was in South Africa last year, where he averaged 12.5 from four innings. Rohit’s spot could be taken by his understudy Abhimanyu Easwaran, still uncapped, who has managed 7, 12 and 0 in his three outings against Australia A in the ongoing unofficial “Test” series.
Unless India revert to having KL Rahul, who last opened in February 2023, back to the top. His last tour to Australia, in 2018-19, saw him fetch four single-digit scores out of five, and despite a fantastic Centurion ton last year, he averages 28 on the tracks of South Africa, not too dissimilar to the ones Down Under.
Further down, Virat Kohli’s form is probably one of their primary concerns. Nothing quite lights a fire under Kohli like an Australian pitch: among Asian players, his Test record there is bettered only by Sachin Tendulkar. That Kohli is somehow far removed from the Kohli of today, scratching about to come close to where he once was. This series could either turn it all around for him, or push him closer to the exit door.
If Sarfaraz Khan keeps his spot, it will be a test of his prowess against the short ball, identified as a potential drawback in his technique. He’s garnered the majority of his first-class runs so far on very different conditions in India. And while, to his credit, he averaged 62 on an A tour to South Africa, facing the Australians at home could be his toughest challenge yet.
On the face of it, bowling could be a big problem area. On the last tour, one tragedy after another forced them to scour deep into their reserves. This time, it gives the appearance of a raw unit, with very little experience of away conditions.
Bumrah leads, but there’s no Mohammed Shami for company this time. Mohammed Siraj, last tour’s leading wicket-taker, has been used sparingly at home – seven out of his last ten Test spells have been wicketless.
Akash Deep has done his best Shami impression so far at home with movement both ways, but has played just one first-class (or List A game) outside India. In Benoni against South Africa A, he sent down 21 overs for no wickets. Prasidh Krishna is tall and is known for his hit-the-deck skills, but since his maiden appearance in South Africa, he has missed part of the Ranji Trophy, the IPL and the Duleep Trophy to injury. Harshit Rana brings bite to the attack, but has never played a first-class, or List A game, outside Asia.
Combined, they all have an experience of seven Tests. There’s also no real workhorse this time to hold one end for long spells. Mukesh Kumar, who could potentially play that role, is only in the reserves for now.
In Nitish Kumar Reddy, India believe in a Shardul Thakur-like contribution, but is it too much to expect from a 21-year-old in his breakout season with zero Tests under his belt?
Spin will have a comparatively smaller role to play, but even that department isn’t without trouble. Kuldeep Yadav, effective on almost every pitch, is unavailable to injury. R Ashwin was far from his best against New Zealand (it was his worst home series by bowling average in a decade). He may not get a spot anyway, with Ravindra Jadeja generally the first-choice spinner overseas; but Jadeja did not bowl at all in South Africa due to injury, and averaged 56 with the ball on his last SENA tour before that.
All of it aside, there are murmurs of a difference in approach within the camp, specifically between the captain and coach. When Gautam Gambhir was appointed, a new era looked set to unfold. Less than half a year in, the coach’s in the firing line, with a disappointing tour giving more arsenal for his detractors to question his place.
And, there’s the small matter of the World Test Championship final. Even a 3-2 victory will mean depending on favourable results from other teams to book a finale spot. That’s added pressure to a team already reeling from a historic low.
There are too many variables and too much uncertainty, and too much on the line. If they still manage to beat Australia, it could be just as memorable as the last two triumphs. If they don’t, an already wrecked train will fall off the cliff.
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