Virat Kohli and his 14 men- the Indian squad analysis

Virat Kohli and his 14 men- the Indian squad analysis:

When Sandeep Patil and company sat down in New Delhi on Thursday they had fitness issues, form considerations, and the Sri Lankan challenge to discuss while selecting the team to tour the Lankan island for a 3 Test series starting August 12. While India is considered to have an easy outing as long as they don’t cross subcontinent shores, the Lankan team is a force when playing at home. India do not have a recent record in Tests to boast off. Their last test series in the subcontinent was against the Windies at home and common sense would suggest that it’s not a worthy parameter to judge the team’s performance.

India last won a test at the Lords almost a year back and since then have pretty much been at the mercy of the visiting team whenever they tour. Even prior to that win India failed to topple either the Proteas or the Kiwis when playing on their soil. For much too long they have been coming close but seem handicapped with the perennial problem of handing over the initiative when in the drivers seat. From the time India became the number one in Tests they have had the taste of pretty much everything and have realized its one thing to play at home and quite another when you are away. All that is history now. Under Dhoni they looked a pedestrian side when touring and clinical when at home.

Perhaps Dhoni was waiting for the right time. You never know. And the series down under gave enough indications of the way Virat wants to lead the side. He is ready to lose at the cost of winning. He does not believe in playing safe and is willing to go the extra yard to get the results. He is ready to play five bowlers to get 20 wickets, the bottom line to win tests. Cricket lovers all over the world must be mentally prepared to witness a new approach and fresh ideas from their test skipper. Whether that brings results or not only time will tell. There were plenty of signs in the Australia series to suggest that Virat wants to lead by example. He believes that for his team to follow his track he has to first lead their way with performance on the field.

The last time India toured Sri Lanka they drew a memorable test series courtesy VVS Laxman’s brilliance in the last test. Sri Lanka themselves have a lot of issues to deal with. Nobody expected them to lose to Pakistan at home but they did. Angelo Matthews was quite vocal about his disappointment after the demoralizing loss. They would do their best to ensure that one of Sri Lanka’s greatest son Kumar Sangakkara leaves on a winning note. Sanga is slated to play the first two tests of the three match series.

Lets see what is the vision the selectors have gone with and analyse the team:

The pace bowling department has taken a major hit by the absence of Mohammad Shami who is nursing a knee injury. The duties will be shared by Ishant, Umesh, Varun and Bhuvi. While Bhuvnehawar hasn’t played a test for a while he would hope for some swing in Sri Lanka. Ishant will be the obvious leader of the pack while Umesh and Aaron would look to impress Kohli who likes guys with pace. They might not get a lot of assistance from the deck and thus it would be a proper test of their skills and temperament.

Amit Mishra was not a surprise inclusion considering the struggle of the Sri Lankan batsmen against Pakistan leggie Yasir Shah. The injury to Karn Sharma also helped his cause. The selectors said that though Ojha was discussed but couldn’t find a place. This will be particularly heartbreaking for the left arm tweaker considering he was a part of the eleven when India last toured the island nation. The wicket keeper’s place was a no brainer since Saha has been in the waiting line for almost 4 years now and the captain believes he should get a fair share of his chances.

KL Rahul who missed the one-off test against Bangladesh due to dengue has returned to the side. It will be interesting to see who partners Vijay to start with. Many would feel that the century against Bangladesh has made Shikhar Dhawan an automatic selection but it will depend on how the team management equates that knock to the fabulous century that Rahul scored in just his second test at the Adelaide oval. There will also be a similar competition for the middle order berth among Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara. Who will partner R Ashwin? Will Bhuvi again sit out? These are only some of the queries. The selector’s job is over. It is now upto skipper Kohli and the team management to pick the eleven and the indications are they are not going to have it easy.