India, arguably the most talent-producing country throughout all the cricketing nations, will seem to proceed in a transitional phase in their Test Cricketing era as some of their senior players are looking to depart in the coming years along with a few guns playing regularly; there needs to be proper balance and team synergy in the side so that the team can have the vigor to compete with the SENA countries at the highest level.
For some, the conversation may be a little too early, but for India, who are jointly number 1 ranked on the test side. This has to be a concern, which we will debunk as we proceed.
The Changes that will impact the most
There are quite a few concerns that will be going around on the test side, from the captaincy to the coaching panel, as well as handling the media even, which is precisely why a proactive approach is necessary.
The departure of senior players
Experienced campaigners like Ajinkya Rahane or Bhuvneshwar Kumar are out of the equation for selection due to injury problems, pulsing performances, and many other reasons. In the coming years, players like Pujara, Kohli, Rohit, and Jadeja will be shuffled or replaced so that young guns get that international experience and self-belief.
Struggle in overseas conditions
The latest victory against SA, which concluded in an astonishing 1.5 days, was the fastest-ever test match, bowling only 107 overs (642 balls). It is surely a positive for India, considering their struggles in overseas conditions against SENA countries. Since 2016, India has lost 17 matches, won 7, and drawn 4 in away games. With the transitional period coming, India’s concern with playing in overseas conditions surely needs to be dealt along with letting the prospects get the right amount of experience and just express their game.
With this convincing defeat, India’s pace battery looks solid, with Bumrah and Siraj leading, along with new sensations like Mukesh Kumar.
Being Open to failures with the prospects
With various upcoming players debuting in the Test and ODI teams, players like Jaiswal, Krishna, Umran Malik, and Mukesh Kumar need to be tested and given the experience, and they need to be given a game in the domestic circuits. So that they can play more and more, the young players that are gaining experience, such as Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan are already used to that level of performance frequently. The prospects should also be given to just express themselves.
And since juggernauts like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be replaced at once, a brief period where they will struggle to win against tough sides is inevitable, especially in the longest format of the game.
Furthermore, there are players in the Indian pipeline that are under the India team’s radar. Players like Sarfaraz Khan, who’s doing exceptional in the domestic and ranji trophy seasons, Ravi Bishnoi, who is currently ranked number 1 in T20is, Washington Sundar, who’s a spin bowling allrounder who can fill the gap of Ashwin, and many other rising sensation who are dominating the domestic leagues like IPL and Ranji Trophy should certainly be catered for the long run.
Building that balanced side right now with the senior players and prospects to adopt
The current side looks like the perfect blend of young, experienced, and prospects on the test side. With this victory against South Africa, the media and the dressing room must feel confident proceeding.
The overall team balance
In the first test, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jadeja Pujara are playing along with the young, experienced players who are doing well, Shubman Gill, Siraj as well including prospects like Jaiswal who scored a ton in the Asian Games and Mukesh, creating the right overall balance in the team so that there is flow of all the players getting the right sort of exposure and experience.
Things are looking good with this balance, as India has won 3 of their last 5 Test series away, losing one and drawing one.
Choosing the right captain
Virat let go of captaincy, and Rohit, at the age of 36, became the captain of the current side. Choosing the right captain should definitely be a concern for the future test side.
The two apparent candidates among currently performing young players should be Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. But before these two, it is quite likely that KL Rahul may be tested, but given his multi-faceted roles with keeping and batting at the top order, he may opt out of captaincy Gill and Iyer may be evident candidates given Shreyas have already experience captaining in Domestic sides, ODI and T20i and the IPL and Gill being recently announced as the captain of Gujarat. It will probably be Iyer who’s the captain in the test or other formats, and eventually Gill being the captain the formats which Iyer isn’t captaining.
Impact of Support Staff
BCCI has always been instrumental in developing the pipeline and hiring the correct coaching staff for the Indian cricket team to flourish. Currently, Rahul Dravid as the head coach and has a portfolio of an illustrious individual career along with coaching highlights like India Under 19 World Cup win; he, being the core think tank, has put India in a progressive winning state, and the brand of cricket they are playing is visible.
Before Rahul Dravid was Ravi Shastri, another individual who has done significantly well in grooming players and getting India into formidable positions.
These support staff members have taken India into the finals but couldn’t ensure victories in the finals with the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final. So, the think tank needs to ensure that the mentality of winning finals is instilled into the players; for that, changes may need to occur in the coaching. I would prefer someone overseas with a record for making teams win overseas and tournaments.
Challenges in the upcoming series
With the upcoming three tours in overseas conditions, one in England, another in the West Indies, and the other in Sri Lanka, over the entire year with the World Test Championship starting, the main squad and the prospects need to be rotated. The Indians will look forward to taking risks and backing their players like always, and through that, a lot will be answered about India’s future test side.
Team India will seek to go guns blazing with their best possible shuffle of squad in the England tour following the Sri Lanka and West Indies tour; they’ll likely be flexible with rotations and experiments.
Meeting the fans’ expectations and handling the Media
In the midst of it all, Indian fans are some of the wildest and craziest fans around the world; only the Bangladesh Fans can come close to them. So, certainly meeting their expectations needs to be a requirement, and the message to the players needs to be clear not to be active and around people so much that it affects criticism when they are in bad shape.
Also, the media needs to go hand in hand in these situations since India is notorious for spreading yellow journalism and triggering the fans’ emotions. They need to be the bridge for proper communication among the fans and the players by creating meaningful stories, writing truthful incidents, and generating positive, constructive criticisms so that the players and the support staff can be in a comfortable ambiance for the best possible outcome.
To Conlude!
Finally, as India enters a period of transition in Test cricket, highlighted by the departure of experienced players and the infusion of new talent, the difficulties and opportunities are many. The club is success depends on striking a delicate balance between experience and youth, both on the field and in leadership roles. While there have been obvious overseas challenges, recent triumphs show a hopeful shift. The captain’s selection and the impact of the support staff, led by Rahul Dravid, will be critical. Adroit team management and planned rotations will be essential as India prepares for future series in England, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka. In the face of high fan expectations and media scrutiny, cultivating a pleasant environment and effective communication will be critical for the team’s future success. The story of India’s new-look Test team is about to begin, offering a combination of difficulties, experiments, and, ideally, victories in the ever-changing world of cricket.
