CHENNAI: The pattern seen in batting as an unit appears to be singularly the most prominent factor behind defeats in three of the last four Tests abroad. It’s Virat Kohli scoring all the runs. In eight innings starting from the first Test in South Africa in January, just two half-centuries have come from the rest. The captain has made 486 runs at 60.75 in this period. That’s about 31 per cent of what the team has got.
While it shows that Kohli is standing out as the best batsman on both sides, it also shows something is drastically wrong with others in this Indian team picked to score runs. Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane were the discoveries of the previous tours of England and Australia. KL Rahul, too, had made a good impression. Cheteshwar Pujara was not a total disaster on those tours and played a part in India’s only win in the Tests mentioned above.
In four years, they should have formed the core of this batting line-up. Why they failed to do that is as much because of their own shortcomings as much as the captain’s bizarre selection philosophy. Despite proving in varied conditions of England, Australia and South Africa that they have the game and mentality to succeed, all of them have always been on trial.
Standout as opener in last year’s home series against Australia, Rahul has lost his place at the top of the order. Rahane was dropped in South Africa after a lean patch at home against Sri Lanka. Vijay has just about managed to hang on to his place, while Pujara has generally been the go-to man when someone is dropped. International cricket is a lot about handling pressure. Adding fear of failure to it doesn’t make things easier.
Grooming a player is an oft-used word. In contemporary Indian cricket, there is no bigger example of this than Kohli himself. He was persisted with in ODIs first when his performance was not jaw-dropping. Nobody even questioned the move to renew faith in him after he came back from England with 134 in 10 innings in 2014. He was given those chances because the captains and coaches believed it was worth investing in him, irrespective of dry patches.
Kohli seems to have forgotten this after becoming the captain. Incessant changes in the batting order — India have rarely fielded an unchanged top three in three successive Tests under him — suggest the captain doesn’t believe in persisting with those you see something in. He prefers axing after one or two failures and since the pool isn’t big, ends up rotating the same set of players. The problem this causes is, all of them are low on confidence since they are going through the same cycle: failure, drop, comeback, failure.
With accolades for gallant batting, Kohli has to deal with this. Out of favour when Anil Kumble was coach and India looked like giving a longer rope to the four mentioned, Shikhar Dhawan has come back and played Tests in South Africa and England. Rohit Sharma, too, was in the mix before being dropped for England. Based on their show of bravado against lesser teams in the sub-continent, they are selected for Tests in places they are found clueless in. A captain who likes to call the shots, Kohli has propagated this practice of carrying flat-track bullies to places where the game demands different skills.
Having done this over a period of time, Kohli now finds himself waging a lone battle. It’s a strange situation because the captain of this rocking ship is in a way responsible for making his weapons weaker. This also means he has to find the answers. For if the team keeps losing, these questions might get louder.
Stokes out, Woakes in
England recalled Chris Woakes in place of Ben Stokes and brought in Ollie Pope to replace Dawid Malan when they named a 13-man squad on Sunday for next week’s second Test against India at Lord’s. Stokes misses Lord’s Test because of his trial on a criminal charge of affray.
Chopsticks:
Murali Vijay
In Kohli’s first full series as captain in Sri Lanka (2015), played 1 and missed 2 because of injury. After playing the first Test in Caribbean, an injured thumb ruled him out of the second. Replacement KL Rahul scored a century and Vijay was overlooked for the third Test. After Shikhar Dhawan failed, Vijay came back for the fourth Test. Then went on to play 12 of the 13 home Tests in 2016-17 before missing the 2017 3-Test series in Sri Lanka with a wrist injury. In return series in India, dropped for the first Test. Played every Test since.
KL Rahul
After playing all 3 Tests in Sri Lanka in 2015, was benched for the first in the Caribbean. Injury to Vijay brought him back and he played all 3. But a hamstring injury in Kanpur ruled him out for 2 Tests against New Zealand and 2 more against England. In Sri Lanka, fever forced him out of the first Test. After 79 against Sri Lanka in the first Test, was dropped for the third. Dropped to accommodate Dhawan in the first Test in South Africa. Has played the next 3 Tests, but two as No 3.
Cheteshwar Pujara
In 2015 in Sri Lanka, left out of the first 2 Tests for Rohit Sharma. After 2 Tests in the Caribbean, dropped because of slow-strike rate. Then coach Anil Kumble played a part in bringing him back. Played 24 Tests on the trot, before being axed for Edgbaston.
Ajinkya Rahane
Though he struggles at times against spin, against pace his natural game of putting bat to the ball with fast hands makes him a rarity. Missed two Tests at home against England in 2016 because of injury, had a bad run of form leading up to the series in South Africa. Struggled in home Tests against Sri Lanka before Rohit Sharma took his place for the first two Tests in South Africa. Came back for the third and contributed to a winning cause.
atreyo@newindianexpress.com