Ian Chappell, former Australian captain, had once quipped, “taking wickets should be a captain’s top priority”. Basically, one of Australia’s finest leaders was sharing his thoughts on picking a side with the required weaponry to take 20 wickets in Test cricket. For a moment base it on Chappell’s hypothesis, and you will start to wonder whether the current Indian think-tank has floundered a few times while selecting the bowling combination in the longest format.
For starters, let’s consider the Test debutant in the Old Trafford game, Anshul Kamboj. The pacer from Haryana was largely bowling at speeds in the range between 120 kph to 130 kph. In his first couple of spells, he did touch speeds in excess of 130-132 kph. But during the later phase of his bowling efforts, his pace had steadily dropped down to even low 120s, and there was no visible nip. The essence of the point being how couldn’t the management not pick up any cues during the net session before the game?
He is said to have bowled for long enough in the net sessions ahead of the Test. Even if we consider that Kamboj could have bowled better in the nets, the difference between the two scenarios couldn’t have been so stark.
The narrative surrounding the Indian think-tank’s queer selections doesn’t end with just Kamboj. Just consider the curious case of Kuldeep Yadav, India’s No.1 spinner in the squad. The wrist spinner hasn’t featured in a single Test in the series so far, which includes the just concluded fourth match where he could have made a difference.
In mostly good conditions for batting, a wrist spinner who turns it both ways, might have come in handy. In fact, in the recent past, we have witnessed a substantial number of first-class games held at Old Trafford ending in draws. However, the backroom staff ended up preferring Shardul Thakur for his batting ability. Although Shardul made a useful contribution with the willow in the first innings, he couldn’t make any impression with the ball.
There have been a few more instances where India’s choices haven’t made a great deal of sense. Just transport yourself back to the SCG Test this year, and the management selected two spinners on a green wicket. Ultimately, with Jasprit Bumrah getting injured, India were left with just two frontline seamers and one rookie all-rounder in Nitish Kumar Reddy.
On a brighter note, the Indian camp will be buoyant after drawing the fourth Test; a game that they looked set to lose. The relatively inexperienced side would believe there is a window of opportunity to usurp a rather deflated England team at The Oval and draw the series 2-2. For that to happen, the onus is also on the management to pick cues from the net sessions and the prevailing conditions before listing out the bowling combination.
Follow RevSportz for More Such Stories