INDIA WAITING..!!

"But this is just the foundation that's been laid for us to carry on. It's just the beginning. It's not even a tiny bit of what we want to achieve. We understand where we want to go and hopefully the guys can keep putting in this kind of effort and take the team where it belongs"

Is there a smell of warning in King Kohli's words? I Feel yes! This Team wants more. They are ready to take more challenges. India losing in India is a big headline for Indian Fans. Winning in huge margins is not a big thing here.

In 2001, without Kumble India Shattered the Australians, who were the Immortals visited India with 15 Consecutive Test victories in their name.Losing at Wankhede, the way India came back still remains as a phenomenal perfomance in the hearts of Indian Fans. 

Situation was also similar 3 years back, when Australia was whitewashed by India(4-0). Later on the same Australia, under Pup, won the World Cup. So beating any team in India doesn't signify their dominance.This doen't mean India is not dominating the Tests now.Yes they are!" A Player, Scoring 300 and yet doesn't know whether he plays in next test itself is a sign of a Champion team" or "An opponent scoring 477 in first innings and losing the test by an innings and 75 runs, is something that even makes other test playing nations who may visit India in a few months worry.." This is what's happening in the Indian cricket. 18 Tests in home soil without a defeat,This is Dominance,but as Kohli said "not even a tiny bit".

Dravid Hitting the winning runs in Adelide ,Winning Series in England, or becoming the first side to beat Australia in Australia in the gap of 2003-08(Perth Test) are the famous Test Moments we had. That is where the point lies: "BEATING AUSTRALIA IN AUSTRALIA ,BEATING ENGLAND IN ENGLAND,OR PROTEAS IN SOUTH AFRICA". Right now,in the world of cricket, there is no such a Dominating side,especially in the longer format. South Africa won in Australia recently, but they lost to England in their den the same year. England had a good run,but collapsed in India. Australia is not winning in their soil now, Pakistan is trying but still in transition, i'ts the same with Srilanka..Kiwis had a horrible run in India, and for Windies it's high time to quit test cricket and concentrate in the shorter format. On other hand, India had a good run in these 2 years,maybe because of their long home schedule, but still India managed to beat Srilanka in their island, Windies in their den. But the dominance is not complete. In the end of 2017, Indians will visit South Africa for the tests, that's where the real test for the team India is going to start. Then Indians will play in England in the English Summer,followed by another Australian Tour. Kohli may be safe till the end of 2017, but from then on he will have to start answering to all the critics. Last time India visited England is after the 2013 Australian whitewash, eventhough they had a memorable Lords test,they surrendered so cheaply. After fighting hard, the results looked the same in Australia last time. 

Will it be the same story this time??Though we have to wait till 2018, we should be able to say at this point. Does India have a good side to beat England or Australia on their soil?? The Side looks the same that visited England last time, only one or two differences. But the overall Team Morality has changed. Vijay,Pujara and all are not juniors anymore. They have got enough experience. Rahul Got more chances,Kohli & Rahane have got more responsibilties now. Like 2014 we can't rely on excuses now. Indian Batting Side looks the strongest Batting lineup in Tests right now. The biggest Positive they have now is their depth,depth in batting. Ashwin is the no.1 allrounder now, Jadeja can bat, Jayanth can bat. As we play Overseas, we could rely only on one spinner,or any one among the three should be consistent in the no.6 position. An another option is 6 recgonised batsman,one keeper,one spinner,one fast bowling allrounder and 2 fast bowlers. You could have 9 Batsmen then. This looks more balanced in overseas.But the role of fast bowling allrounder is critical. Right now in India there is only one option for it;- Hardik Pandya. But he should play more tests. 2 years are there, he should make maximum out of it. Exposure is something you need while playing abroad. The choice of one spinner is the biggest challenge. Eventhough Ashwin is more dependent as a batsman, in England,Jadeja's style of bowling will be the optimal one as he had already proved it in the champions trophy...but still 2 years to go...anything can happen in cricket. But one thing for sure, As Jayant Yadav also being a contender,it would be tough for Kohli to choose the best. The only way to get rid of this problem is testing KL Rahul as the Wicket Keeping option. Since He have the experience of keeping wickets,India could play both Ashwin & Jadeja. In that case you can have a third fast bowler too. But since Kohli is the captain ,this is not going to happen, he always prefer a specialist wicket keeper. Eventhough Saha is his boy, I feel there are more better options than Saha. Not that Saha is bad, but there are better choices. Parthiv Patel could be a handy batsman than Saha. But Parthiv is more preferable at the top order and since Vijay and Rahul at the top, followed by Pujara,Kohli, Rahane.. its not a good move to replace Parthiv at those positions. Simply we can say if Parthiv Plays he should open the innings, otherwise no. Since Ishaan Kishen from Dhoni's den or Rishabh Pant of Delhi having a great run in Ranji, don't wonder if they get a chance. They are young,but the International cricket is a different platform where experience matters. So if you are looking at the future, you need to give these young boys more chances , especially when they are at their peaks. At no.6 or no.7, we need a player like Gilchrist. Their contribution should have an impact. Dhoni was almost similar. His perfomance in England , when the entire ship was sacking,is still remarkable. So it's better to play Rishabh or Ishaan, especially when you are building a team for future. The last question we have to check in the batting department is "Who is going to bat at no.6, which specialist batsman is preferable?" Obviously after the Chepauk Test there will be only 2 choices;-Karun Nair or Rohit Sharma?

Courtsey:Telegraph

Since Rohit is one of the best limited over cricketer, he have the right to own, but One dayers and Long Format are completely Different.. Justin Langer & Michael Bevan are the best examples for it. Rohit Played well against Kiwis this year too, but he had many chances, he didn't made an impact as a test batsman like Kohli or Rahane did. For the Tests, Attitude & Patience is what matters. When we consider this factor, Karun Nair is more preferable. In his debut series itself,he proved his resilience. A Dravid-Student is always more preferable than others, especially in the longer format.

Courtsey:Telegraph

When we play Overseas, the ultimate weapon should be our Fast Bowlers. Like Zak's role in 2007 English Summer, a Pacer should rise to the occasion. Right now India is rich in fast bowlers. In this series they proved it by outplaying the English pacers.They got 22 wickets in the Indian tracks, providing break through for Kohli, whenever he deamanded.Ishant is experienced enough, he could be dangerous as before. Yadav had pace,bowled some decent spells in this series. As always these guys lack consistency,especially when playing abroad. The only Bowler India can rely upon is Mohammed Shami as he is consistent in picking up wickets.. But he is always prone to injuries. Hardik Pandya also have good pace but lack of experience may cost him leak runs. So Fast Bowling is a matter of concern for BCCI.Ranji Tracks are different from the Overseas, so it's timeup for the BCCI to allow these players to play County cricket. The pitches in England could improve their bowling skills. We shouldn't forget the fact that Zaheer with his 78 wicket experience for

Worcestershire, was the biggest factor behind the famous series victory in 2007 English summer. The players like Yadav and Pandya could get more exposure from the tracks in Lords, Trent Bridge etc...

Cortsey:Google

Keeping all these things in mind, one thing is for sure, when India visits England or Australia in 2018, it would be a promising one. Irrespetive of the strength of the opponents,Indian Team with this form can beat any team any where! This team Plays for Results and they are ready to take any challenges. Experience & Maturity along with the Young Blood can create miracles.This is just a Begining..!!

- Rohith Ramesh RJ