Is India up ready for a Test transformation?

It is the Ashes time and the world is now basking in how traditional rivals England and Australia are battling it out. The Indian fans have enough time before their team starts their campaign in this World Test Championship against the West Indies. And that time is enough to pose the most critical question in the Indian cricket right now – is the team ready for the next wave of Test success?

Team at the crossroads

Before we look ahead, it is important to see how India have been successful in the Test arena over the recent years. Sustained success away from home has propelled them to finals of consecutive World Test Championships. It is another matter that they failed to land a title, losing to New Zealand first and Australia more recently.

While the inability to land an ICC title has been a lingering question and perhaps a topic for discussion later, the question now is to maintain the momentum in whites. There’s no hiding the fact that the ‘Men in Blue’ set up new benchmarks with their aggressive style of play, going for overseas wins with a five-bowler theory. Virat Kohli as captain and Ravi Shastri as coach was a perfect combination to run the team.

The results were there for everyone to see, but there’s a new set-up in place with Rahul Dravid looking to guide the side through a tough phase. Questions over Rohit Sharma’s longevity in the format adds a new dimension as India look to navigate through doldrums.

Future of batting

There are already a lot of doubts over the futures of certain players. Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped from the West Indies-bound squad with the 35-year-old losing confidence of the management. While his numbers haven’t been great off late, it is the timing that puts more question marks.

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been equally poor over the last couple of years, leaving the fans wondering if there’s a succession plan in place. While Rahane was dropped and had to make a comeback based on his IPL form, he did hold his own against Australia in the recent WTC final. That leaves the focus on Kohli, who has been struggling in this format for a long time.

That doesn’t absolve the team of the questions they are facing in the pace bowling segment. Their last wave of success has been driven by how Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj have performed.

With Bumrah injured and doubts raised over his long-term painless future, Shami isn’t getting any younger. That leaves the focus on Siraj, who has done incredibly well as a leader of the pack, but may need others to add spice. That leaves the upcoming WTC cycle to be an exciting one for the fans. This could actually define the shape of the Indian Test cricket team for the foreseeing future. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have already received a call up, while Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are being seen as the next bets. Then there are the likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimany Easwaran among the batters and Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat among the bowlers who may be keenly watched. You can keep hooked up to SportyTrader for more interesting news and free online cricket prediction & betting tips for upcoming matches. With so much happening, the next few series are going to be very exciting for the Indian Test cricket.

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