Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

If there is something that draws attention immediately to the Indian squad for the tour of Australia, it’s the number of fast bowlers. For the five-Test series, there are five in the side of 18 — Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. Plus, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini have been added as travelling reserves. From the outside, eight pace options is an unusually high number. Rarely, possibly never, have India travelled with so many of them. Obviously, only five are the first-choice options, but effectively, the team can choose from eight if need…

The captain is the most important individual in a cricket side. In no other team sport does the leader of the troop occupy such a pivotal position. That’s what Australian cricketers are so clear about. They make it a point to target the opponent’s captain with the choicest of verbals ahead of any marquee series. They deliberately try to put that person under psychological pressure. Rohit Sharma will face that and more when he embarks on his most important overseas Test assignment a few weeks from now. He will travel to Australia with few runs under his belt. His returns…

If India’s defeat in the second Test against New Zealand has to be summarised in a few a words, here it is – they dug their own grave. By laying out a pitch that assisted spin, the hosts effectively reduced the gap between them and the visiting side. This was almost like a lottery, where luck played a bigger role than ability. Undoubtedly, it hurt India and led to first home series loss after 12 years. We were discussing this before the Pune Test started. That’s because this is the venue where India rolled out a spinner-friendly pitch against Australia…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune Indians live in hope. Whatever the odds, they think that the cricket team can surmount them. Even after Rohit Sharma’s boys got bowled out for 46 in the first innings of the first Test, fans believed something was possible. It’s no different in the second Test. Despite New Zealand taking a lead of 301 runs with five wickets standing, the Blue Army thinks this can be overturned. For hope, a lot of people are looking back to the India-England Test in Chennai in 2008. Trailing by 75 runs in the first innings and being set a…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune The collective struggle of the Indian batting line-up in the New Zealand series raises some tough questions. Looking ahead to the tour of Australia and India’s chances of making it to the World Test Championship final, does the team need some tinkering? Should there be out of the box ideas and some unlikely decisions? Right or wrong, there is room for debate nonetheless. Let’s start with something that sounds outlandish. What about bringing back Cheteshwar Pujara? He was the best batter by a distance in the win Down Under in 2018. Not as prolific in 2021,…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune The visiting side bowled out for 259 after electing to bat in Pune, on a pitch which is showing indications of becoming increasingly spin-friendly. Hardcore fans of Indian cricket will not take it as a good sign. It was here at the MCA Stadium in 2017 that Australia made 260 under similar circumstances and went on to win the Test by a whopping 333 runs. Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had played in that game, where India folded for 105 and 107 against Steve O’Keefe’s left-arm spin. That’s something this team led by Rohit…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune They call him ‘Washy’ in the dressing room. There was nothing wishy-washy whatsoever with the effort he put in against New Zealand on Day 1 of the second Test. Washington Sundar brought India back into a match they have to win to stay in the series and he did that in a manner which must have surprised even the hardest of his backers. A specialist batter who could bowl, he played at No. 4 in the 2016 U-19 World Cup final in a team led by Ishan Kishan, which also included Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan.…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune In India, the team looks up to him, especially when the chips are down. There is a reason for it. He is deadly in these conditions, as the records confirm. Cerebral and creative, he does tricks with the ball that few can. Not without a reason do they call him India’s greatest ever match-winner on home soil. The time has come for Ravichandran Ashwin to do that once again. The team is trailing 0-1 in the three-match series. At stake are World Test Championship (WTC) points, which will determine whether India can become the only team…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune Sometimes, players returning from injuries are under additional observation. The media keep asking the team management about their progress and follow their every step. Each move they make is subjected to scrutiny. In the context of the India-New Zealand series, this cricketer at the moment is Shubhman Gill, who missed the first Test due to a stiff neck. To be fair to him, Gill has looked earnest enough to make a comeback. He was seen batting in Bengaluru during breaks in play. Even in Pune, before the second Test, he spent hours at the nets on…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune All eyes are on the pitch at the MCA Stadium. Speculation is rife that it will assist spin. The Indian team has added spice to such talks by naming Washington Sundar in the squad. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate added intrigue to everything by saying that another off-spinner might be a handy option against a New Zealand batting line-up containing a number of left-handers. As the plot thickens and the Indian team contemplates how to come back in the three-Test series after losing the first, there is no doubt who the best bet is. Be it…