India have always been a formidable side at home, but usually have come unstuck when mounting challenges overseas. It all changed under Sourav Ganguly, when India started being competitive. But, it stayed at that - being competitive and winning the odd match. India have never traveled with authority. Could it possibly be any different with this Indian team under Kohli. They have played enough cricket together, won a lot, and have shown a lot of character in stringing together wins from tight positions as well. The just concluded home season was superlative, with India conquering all in their sights. They seem to have all the right ingredients - batsmen who are not worried too much about bounce, spinners who are more than handy with the bat, and pacers who can play headlining acts - to travel much better than most of their predecessors. The upcoming tour to South Africa will be a litmus test and the cricketing world will watch with a great deal of interest. So, who should start in the first test match, for India to mount a serious challenge
My XI for the first test:
Murali Vijay
Lokesh Rahul
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
Hardik Pandya/ Rohit Sharma
Wriddhiman Saha
Ravichandran Ashwin
Mohd. Shami
Umesh Yadav
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar/ Ishant Sharma
- Murali Vijay has (easily) been India's best test match opener over the last few years. On cricinfo, so much has been written about how good a leaver (of the ball) Vijay is. That is one skill which can come really handy on the bouncier pitches in South Africa. On this tour however, Vijay has multiple roles to fill. Not only does he have to score his share of runs, he is also India's best bet to bat time. And while we do have a strong middle order, they would not mind some protection against the nagging new ball bowling from Vernon Philander.
- Lokesh Rahul is thought of by some pundits to be the most improved batsman in the last 18 months or so. That argument is not without merits. Rahul has made the most nimble transitions across the formats, it is hard to think of someone who appears so at ease across all formats. Since his scintillating test match century in his debut series in Australia, his stock has only risen. India will likely start with him and his form needs to tail off real bad for Shikhar Dhawan to get a look-in.
- Cheteshwar Pujara is the new wall of the Indian batting line-up. Or so people claimed when he came on to the scene. While his performances in the sub-continent warrant a great deal of praise and the Dravid-comparisons seem not entirely unfounded, his performances away are somewhat of a mystery. ChePu has not made truckloads of runs (like we are used to seeing him do) but has not looked entirely out of sorts as well. This could be the tour where he turns this around. But for that he needs to bring his defensive A game out of the closet, especially on the deliveries tailing in off the seam, where he has seemed most vulnerable.
- Virat Kohli because he is Virat Kohli! No questions asked. There has been no batsman more prolific across all three formats as Kohli over the last few years, as evidenced by the fact that he is the only batsman to be in the top 10 of batsmen rankings in all three formats. In fact he is in top 5 in all three. But then, it is his test match batting that is under the focus on this tour. Kohli himself says that the other three (of the quartet completed by Steven Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root) are probably better test match batsmen than him. He even goes on record that ChePu and Rahane are the best test batsmen in his team. But, for pure impact and the way Kohli responds to challenges, he is right up there in being an impact batsman in test matches as well. Lest we forget, Kohli has been racking up double centuries for fun in the last 18 months. He might not be the strongest bet walking in at a score of 15/2, but there is no one in the world you would rather want coming in at 150/2, to take full toll. What score he walks in, however, is down to the top 3.
- Ajinkya Rahane on song, is a beautiful sight. Unhurried by bounce, technically adept to cover late seam movement, good on both front and back foot, Rahane seems like the complete test match batsman. One somehow makes the assumption that he (of course) has to be good against spin, he is in the Indian XI after all. But for someone coming from Mumbai, Rahane is unbelievably suspect against even an average tweaker. He is one of the few world batsmen with significantly higher away batting average than at home. For an Indian batsman, that is a startling anomaly. So, Rahane is a definite starter in the first test match, one has to wait and see what the psychological impact of the terrible home run has been on him. If he is able to block the SL tour out of his mind, India can be assured of some good totals while batting.
- Wriddhiman Saha is the number one keeper and should keep his place throughout the tour unless he has more than a few shockers. South Africa is unlikely to challenge his supreme wicket-keeping skills, but his main challenge will come with bat in hand, facing up to the tall South African pacers. Given his short stature, fast bowlers can bowl real quick short balls against him. And taller quicks like Morne Morkel can probably get the ball around his throat off a good length. While Saha is a gutsy batsman who fights it out and scores valuable runs for India, it remains to be seen if he can do the same in alien conditions.
- Hardik Pandya/ Rohit Sharma Hardik is the next "next Kapil Dev" in the Indian ranks. The elusive search for India's next fast bowling all-rounder may have come to a close. Or may be not. Hardik has all the right ingredients going for him, but the true mark of an all-rounder is if he can be picked in the side just on the basis of his batting or bowling. Right now, Pandya is still at that phase of his career where he is not good enough as a batsman or as a bowler, but might just sneak in as the all-rounder. Having said that, India rested him from the Sri Lanka tour to keep him fresh for this one, so he is right in the mix. If a flat deck is served up, India might go in with Hardik. If the pitch is green and 6 batsmen is the way to go, expect Rohit to get a nod. He has done himself no disservice, by scoring two centuries in his last two test matches. He would be high on confidence as well, as he topped that up with his third ODI double century and the fastest T20 century in world cricket. From his own perspective, there could probably never be a better time to get a prolonged run in test matches.
- Ravichandran Ashwin must be smarting. He is a very proud cricketer, who has been completely sidelined in the shorter formats in favor of wrist spinners like Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. In test matches though, he has been India's number one match winner in the sub-continent. The last big overseas tour was the one to Australia. And by his own confession, that is where things really turned around for him. The wickets column did not show it during the series, but he has been a much better bowler since that experience. This is now the litmus test for the new improved Ashwin. Can he keep one end tight and in the process get a few wickets as well? He will have to weave his magic in the air as the pitch itself might not help him too much. He is likely to start the first test as he is the number one spinner, more so as Ravindra Jadeja seems to be nursing some sort of a niggle.
- Mohd. Shami when fit is the most exciting Indian pacer. He can get wickets with the new ball and old. He is the best proponent of reverse swing in the current bowling line-up, though the pitches and outfields in South Africa might not scuff up the ball enough for it to be a major factor. Shami works up quite the pace and has a mean bouncer to boot. He has been in and out of the team with injuries, but whenever he has had a long enough stint, he has been a wicket taker. He has to be one of the first names on the sheet.
- Umesh Yadav has been around for quite some time, but this prolonged home season has been somewhat of a breakthrough year for him. He always had the pace, but he added a lot of discipline and consistency to his bowling. Getting a long run and the confidence of the captain definitely played a part in this. And knowing how aggressive Kohli is as a captain, Umesh is almost a definite starter in the first game. If he can start off with a disciplined performance, we will see a lot more of Umesh, not only in the series, but in the years to come.
- Bhuvaneshwar Kumar/ Ishant Sharma Bhuvi has been India's best swing bowler for some time. What has made him more lethal of late is the fact that he has added a couple of yards of pace to his bowling. On green pitches and in overcast conditions, he is probably a definite starter. But he is still to prove himself to be a reliable workhorse in unfriendly conditions. And going by the water scarcity in Newlands and the fact that the pitch might not really be as green, India might just be tempted to go in with Ishant. He has one of the worst averages for bowlers who have played for so long. But what he brings to the table is metronome consistency. Over after over, he can run in hard and bowl just short of the length, maintaining a tight line and keeping a leash on the scoring. That is the reason why Dhoni always had him in his team. Of late though, Ishant has shown willingness to learn and has worked on his bowling to make his natural length a little fuller, making him much more dangerous than before. That might just clinch it in his favor for the first test.
5th of January. Newlands, Cape Town. Grab your pop corn and make some space on the couch!