India: Best in all Formats by 2016?

Browsing various cricketing websites and forums, an almost religious tendency of mine during any given day, I get the distinct impression that many Indian pundits and fans alike are a little ‘doom and gloom’, shall we say, concerning the future prospects of their side in Test cricket. Indeed, some maverick heathens have even gone so far as to suggest that India should treat the game’s longest format as somewhat of a sideshow to high octane limited overs competitions.

As reigning One Day International world champions, and with the ever burgeoning success of the Indian Premier League seemingly gaining precedence amongst a number of supporters, players and of course the money men, the question of whether India are going to be sufficiently equipped to compete in Test cricket in the long-term is a valid one.

Naturally, with the recent retirement of Test batting stalwart Rahul Dravid, and the looming departure of fellow living legends Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, there is every reason for concern amongst the Indian cricketing fraternity. Augment that with recent Test performances packing all the punch of an alcohol free cocktail in a straitjacket and one could be excused in forecasting a rather bleak outlook.

Virat Kohli - Budding Superstar

But is the situation really all that dire? In fact, given the wealth of talent consistently performing to remarkable levels in first class cricket, would it be too preposterous of me to suggest that it is well within India's capabilities to become the world’s greatest side in each and every format over the course of the next five years?

Batsmen possessing the unique obdurate technical and mental qualities of the likes of Dravid are born and not made, but within a fanatical cricketing nation whose booming population exceeds one billion the talent pool runs both wide and deep. The conveyor belt of Indian cricket has historically produced exceptionally talented batsmen, and that is one trend at least that appears unremitting. Where Indian cricket aficionados shudder at the very thought of the retirement of their golden generation of batsmen, I would point them in the direction of domestic run-scoring leviathans Ajinkya Rahane, averaging 68.47 in first class cricket, Rohit Sharma (63.52), Manoj Tiwary (61.07) and Cheteshwar Pujara (53.50). After all, a top seven of Gambhir, Rahane, Pujara, Sharma, Kohli, Tiwary and Dhoni possesses a look as formidable as a rampaging Indian elephant commandeered by a tiger blood infused Charlie Sheen, does it not?

The gulf between Test cricket and Indian domestic cricket may be akin to a child’s progression from Subbuteo to playground soccer, but such records are not attained through inconsiderable talent. Of course, other highly talented Indian youngsters, Suresh Raina being a prime example, have come unstuck on quicker overseas decks, but with youth and talent in abundance there remains significant cause for optimism. Batting aside, the fielding standards of the Indian Test team will also undoubtedly be raised by the inauguration of these children of the IPL revolution. Fast bowling, India’s perpetual deficiency, is still very much the quandary.  

Powered by the financial juggernaut that is the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian cricket certainly has the wherewithal to address such a problem, and indeed is already showing signs of doing so. Umesh Yadav, a genuinely express bowler capable of reaching speeds of 90mph, garnered some success during India’s recent humbling on Australian soil, despite at times looking as economically sound as a Greek investment banking group. Varun Aaron, another young speedster, has recently been introduced to ODI cricket and looks to be a real find. Add medium pacer Praveen Kumar, a canny swing bowler that stood out for India in the 2011 tour of England in to the equation and India have a perfectly capable battery of seamers to complement promising spin bowlers in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Consistency amongst India’s young seamers remains an issue, but sceptics should remember that the world’s two finest fast bowlers, Dale Steyn and James Anderson, did not find immediate success in their respective Test careers. In Yadav and Aaron in particular therein lies hope that a new breed of Indian fast bowler is arriving on the scene, and that money ploughed in to developing such bowlers by the BCCI is beginning to bear a rather wholesome fruit.

Amongst my suggestions I have of course neglected to mention current Test stars Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan. These two mercurial cricketers still have a significant role to play going forward, despite the advance of years, but if anything their omission here further highlights that India have greater strength in depth than those naysayers would have you believe.

England, South Africa and the re-emerging Australia will no doubt have something to say about India’s chances of ascension to the summit of world cricket, but one key element of my hypothetical Indian line-up is consistency. Those players listed possess the all-round skills required to succeed in each and every format of the game, ultimately creating the possibility of a situation where the Indian Test team mirrors the Indian Twenty20 team. Their adversaries have no such luxury, and it gives India a decided edge.

There are plenty of trials and tribulations ahead for India’s latest crop of hugely exciting youngsters, of that there is no doubt. Batsmen will need to adapt their technique for faster and swinging conditions, as the great Rahul Dravid did before them, and bowlers will need to alter their lines, lengths and variations to suit. India sit on the cusp of seeing another golden generation break through, and their emergence couldn’t be timelier if it’d come disguised as a Rolex watch.

Will they rule the cricketing world within five years? Only father time holds that answer, but contrary to the beliefs of a dispirited nation I for one envisage India being a considerable force for years to come. Like any new relationship, there may be doubts and hiccoughs along the way, but once the dust settles India should be feared once more.

India's 'Wall' well and truly breached

*Copied across from my previous blog, posted 3rd August 2011*

Cast your mind back two weeks, a much heralded Indian team arrives on English shores, rightful holders of the world number 1 Test ranking and coming off the back of an impressive series victory away in South Africa - a notoriously difficult place to go. In the Test arena, not to mention their limited overs prowess, India have swept aside all before them under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.

The foundations upon which this success has been built comes in the form of solid Indian willow, an opening pair that combines pyrotechnics with patience and class in the form of Virender Sehwag and Guatam Gambhir, reinforced by arguably the finest middle order that Test cricket has ever seen in Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman. With more than 30,000 Test runs between those three alone, it is plain to see the daunting task facing any bowling attack when attempting to remove them from the crease.

Their opponents for this highly anticipated Test series, England, have had significant success of their own during India's rise to dominance, winning a home Ashes series against Australia in 2009, finishing all square away in South Africa, the Holy Grail of an away series win in Australia in 2010/11, and a recent 1-0 series win at home against Sri Lanka.

Heading into this current series, with England needing a clear two Test win margin in order to usurp India as the number one Test ranked team, the question on the lips of most pundits was whether England's impressive bowling attack had the skill to consistently take 20 wickets against India's batting stalwarts. On the evidence of the first two Tests at Lord's and Trent Bridge...the answer is unequivocally yes.

India's 'Wall', Rahul Dravid, has been the one stand out batsman for the tourists across these first two Tests, hardly surprising for a man that has occupied the crease for longer than any other batsman in the history of the game (approximately 40,000 minutes - equivalent to one month of solid batting). Whilst Dravid has looked to be the solid mortar steadfastly holding India's batting displays together, showing perfect technique in testing conditions, his team mates have looked to be the relative play-doh, attempting to hang on when stretched but eventually giving way to an English cocktail of swing, seam and venom. Even Test cricket's record run scorer, the 'Little Master' Sachin Tendulkar, has only managed to pass fifty once in four innings.

India, in fairness, have suffered through the loss of their strike bowler Zaheer Khan, a shoulder injury to explosive opener Sehwag and an elbow injury obtained at Lord's by his opening partner Gambhir, but nevertheless have so far failed their stern examination in English conditions. Their plight has not been helped by the fact that the general fitness levels of their players appear equivalent to those of an asthmatic sloth, and it will certainly be interesting to see if India do indeed have any response to the two crushing defeats they have suffered thus far in this series. It may well be that this team of invincibles have simply met their match against an England side hell bent on being the world's finest.

The next episode of this series takes place at one of England's happiest hunting grounds, Edgbaston. Win here, and the series is theirs, along with that highly coveted number one Test ranking. Conditions at Edgbaston are likely to be similar to those experienced during the second Test at Trent Bridge, with movement for the bowlers on days one and two, and the pitch becoming slightly more batsman friendly on day three. Don't expect much spin, it is likely to once more be a battle of the seamers. England clearly have the edge in this department, and on the evidence of the past two weeks, only a fool would bet against them.

Prediction: England win.