India A tour of the Caribbean, once again highlighted the fact that Indian batsmen are sitting ducks against genuine pace bowling.
The squad which consisted of future stars turned out to be a story of batting collapses, with only Cheteshwar Pujara proving to be the bright spot of the campaign.
The Indian team, which crawled to victory in the first Test, lost the next two ties to lose the series 2-1. The tour was of great importance to many players with the some of them at the fringes of the senior team, while few making a comeback. In other words it was test of India’s bench strength.
Performance of our batsmen against the lanky West Indian pacers like Delorn Johnson and Kevin McLean, who troubled them with pace and bounce, left a lot to be desired.
India are to play 10 Tests at home in the upcoming season. Selectors’, who were in the hunt for replacements for the outgoing legends, would have no reason to hope after the disappointment in the Caribbean.
Though the knives are out over their performance in the Caribbean Island, the selectors should show patience before calling the failed players’ unfit for the five-day format. Most of them were in contention to fill in Dravid's slot in the Test team and surely must have been under pressure to perform which might have got the better of them.
As Aakash Chopra, in his book ‘Beyond the Blues’ stats that, “If our batsmen struggled on an India A tour against quick bowling, they would be abandoned forever, with the explanation that so and so guy isn’t comfortable against pace bowling, so he isn’t good enough to even get a look-in at the highest level, regardless of his domestic performance over the years.”
It would be unfair on the selectors’ part to discard these players over performance in one series. With India A team schedule to tour New Zealand in September-October, selectors’ should stick to the same team and provide one more chance to prove their worth at the highest level.
Poor Planning
Though players are to be blamed for the debacle, administrators are equally to be blamed.
At least half of the members of the squad were woefully short of proper match practice. A short three-day conditioning camp was held at the Feroz Shah Kotla before the team left for the West Indies.
But rather than the batmen getting a chance to fine tune their technique, the camp started on a lackluster note with Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) failing to provided a single net-bowler to the team.
Out of the 15-member squad, there were at least seven players who haven't had played any significant competitive match for more than month-and-half.
Skipper Pujara had last played an Indian Premier League match on April 12 for RCB while his deputy Saha played the last of his four IPL matches on April 28. Significantly, he got a chance to bat only once.
Rajasthan’s Robin Bist last played a competitive match way back in a Deodhar Trophy match on March 18 and did not play a single match for Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2012.
His colleague Shami Ahmed's case was even more baffling.
The 22-year-old did not play a single match since Bengal's National T20 encounter back on March 25. He has warmed the dug-out for KKR throughout the season and funnily his club side Mohun Bagan crashed out of CAB league depriving him of even the slightest chance of bowling in a competitive match.
Tamil Nadu opener Mukund last played on March 24 in a National T20 game and considering, he would be playing an active role in the 'A' team, he certainly was rusty.
Rookie Akshay Darekar and surprise selection Jalaj Saxena had last played for their sides on March 19 and 25 respectively. It's certainly not a good situation to be in especially this might have been a make-or-break tour for some of these players.
Considering the haphazard way the India A tour was schedule, the current crop of players deserve a second chance and the selectors should avoid the chop and change approach and provide the players with another chance to stake their claim for a spot in the Test squad.
The squad which consisted of future stars turned out to be a story of batting collapses, with only Cheteshwar Pujara proving to be the bright spot of the campaign.
The Indian team, which crawled to victory in the first Test, lost the next two ties to lose the series 2-1. The tour was of great importance to many players with the some of them at the fringes of the senior team, while few making a comeback. In other words it was test of India’s bench strength.
Performance of our batsmen against the lanky West Indian pacers like Delorn Johnson and Kevin McLean, who troubled them with pace and bounce, left a lot to be desired.
India are to play 10 Tests at home in the upcoming season. Selectors’, who were in the hunt for replacements for the outgoing legends, would have no reason to hope after the disappointment in the Caribbean.
Though the knives are out over their performance in the Caribbean Island, the selectors should show patience before calling the failed players’ unfit for the five-day format. Most of them were in contention to fill in Dravid's slot in the Test team and surely must have been under pressure to perform which might have got the better of them.
As Aakash Chopra, in his book ‘Beyond the Blues’ stats that, “If our batsmen struggled on an India A tour against quick bowling, they would be abandoned forever, with the explanation that so and so guy isn’t comfortable against pace bowling, so he isn’t good enough to even get a look-in at the highest level, regardless of his domestic performance over the years.”
It would be unfair on the selectors’ part to discard these players over performance in one series. With India A team schedule to tour New Zealand in September-October, selectors’ should stick to the same team and provide one more chance to prove their worth at the highest level.
Poor Planning
Though players are to be blamed for the debacle, administrators are equally to be blamed.
At least half of the members of the squad were woefully short of proper match practice. A short three-day conditioning camp was held at the Feroz Shah Kotla before the team left for the West Indies.
But rather than the batmen getting a chance to fine tune their technique, the camp started on a lackluster note with Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) failing to provided a single net-bowler to the team.
Out of the 15-member squad, there were at least seven players who haven't had played any significant competitive match for more than month-and-half.
Skipper Pujara had last played an Indian Premier League match on April 12 for RCB while his deputy Saha played the last of his four IPL matches on April 28. Significantly, he got a chance to bat only once.
Rajasthan’s Robin Bist last played a competitive match way back in a Deodhar Trophy match on March 18 and did not play a single match for Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2012.
His colleague Shami Ahmed's case was even more baffling.
The 22-year-old did not play a single match since Bengal's National T20 encounter back on March 25. He has warmed the dug-out for KKR throughout the season and funnily his club side Mohun Bagan crashed out of CAB league depriving him of even the slightest chance of bowling in a competitive match.
Tamil Nadu opener Mukund last played on March 24 in a National T20 game and considering, he would be playing an active role in the 'A' team, he certainly was rusty.
Rookie Akshay Darekar and surprise selection Jalaj Saxena had last played for their sides on March 19 and 25 respectively. It's certainly not a good situation to be in especially this might have been a make-or-break tour for some of these players.
Considering the haphazard way the India A tour was schedule, the current crop of players deserve a second chance and the selectors should avoid the chop and change approach and provide the players with another chance to stake their claim for a spot in the Test squad.
