Although the prospect of India taking on Bangladesh in a one-off Test match doesn’t sound enticing, there is a lot more hinging on this game when one looks at a broader perspective of things.
The one-off Test against Bangladesh will be India’s first after their tour of Australia, where they lost the four-match series 2-0. Virat Kohli had an extraordinary run of form in that series, scoring close to 700 runs, and also captained India in two games — first in Adelaide as stand-in and then in the last game in Sydney, after Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket. This will be his first series as full-time captain of the Indian Test side. He earned quite a lot of praise for his aggressive mindset towards captaincy, during those two Tests, Down under.
Even before leaving for Bangladesh, Virat Kohli insisted that the team should always look to win and not only try to be competitive. Kohli said:
“We have learnt a lot but I don’t think we have to keep playing with the mindset of ‘we have to keep learning all the time’. I think it’s time — we have played enough Tests so that we start executing our skills and getting results our way and have the vision and the focus to win Test matches, not just go out there with the mindset of learning with every game. Unless we want to have a vision of winning Test matches, executing our skills against the best in the world, we are falling short of the goals that we want to achieve. We have learnt in the past few Test matches and months but starting now, we want to start achieving the results that we really want, not go away from every Test match thinking about what we have learnt from it.”
The “New India”
On both the batting and bowling fronts, India will have a lot of things to look at, keenly. Apart from Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay, the other batsmen had quite a torrid time in the English and Australian tours that have taken place in the past 12 months. Someone like Cheteshwar Pujara, who was billed as Rahul Dravid’s replacement, lost his place in the side towards the end of the Australian Test series, following a poor run of form which spanned over seven Tests.
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan haven’t done anything of note so far, either. Dhawan, in all probability, wouldn’t have made the final XI if Lokesh Rahul, who has been ruled out due to illness, had been fit enough. This gives him another opportunity and it is absolutely vital that he grabs it with both hands. Rohit Sharma has flattered to deceive, as he has done for much of his career. This series provides both a chance to stamp their authority in the side, with nothing but a placid and flat deck awaiting them.
Wriddhiman Saha, who has taken MS Dhoni’s spot, after his retirement, will need to do well to retain his place. With Dinesh Karthik, who is a prolific batsman, in the domestic circuit, and youngsters like Sanju Samson and Kedar Jadhav, waiting in the wings, it is important that he has a good game, just to alleviate some of the pressure that is on him.
As far as the bowling resources are concerned, it will be interesting to see how the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav cope on these pitches, which have nothing in it for the pace bowlers. A surprise inclusion in the side, Harbhajan Singh, who regains his spot in the Test team after two years, will have a lot to prove.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who had a brilliant World Cup, will look to spin a web around these young Bangladesh batsmen, in pitches which will provide a lot of assistance for the spinners. Harbhajan Singh in particular will know that a poor showing here could mean that he will never get another chance in the Indian team. It is often the bowling attack that lets India down, so it is critical that they change their outlook, like they did at the World Cup, and look to be more consistent.
Anything but a win will be a failure, so it is extremely important that India play a positive brand of cricket that yields good results.
Likely Playing XI — M Vijay, S Dhawan, C Pujara, V Kohli (capt.), A Rahane, Rohit Sharma, W Saha (wk), H Singh, R Ashwin, B Kumar, U Yadav.
