Published: Nov 27, 2013, 05:31 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 21, 2014, 04:18 AM (IST)
Mohammed Shami (left) is one of the five pacers picked in the Indian squad to tour South Africa © IANS
India’s squad for the tour of South Africa has not raised many eyebrows as this looks like the group of players that will be there for the next few years. Obviously there will be some who might have missed out and some selected despite indifferent performances. The batting looks more or less settled, but it is the bowling which will hold the key to India’s success in the Test series. Shrikant Shankar has more…
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selected a 17-man squad for the two-match Test series in South Africa. The biggest news was Zaheer Khan getting back into the Indian squad. The selectors are of the opinion, and rightly so, that the other bowlers do not have enough experience in the Rainbow Nation and would need someone like Zaheer to guide them. Apart from Zaheer, the others in the Indian squad are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma. That is five pacers in the squad.
The seam friendly conditions in South Africa influenced the selectors to take as many as five quick bowlers, even for a two-match Test series. Now that the squad has been picked, the big question is what will be the bowling combination and who will make the starting XI. Zaheer is a sure shot. One does not pick a bowler of the caliber of Zaheer in a squad and not select him in the final XI. Plus he is the only left-arm seamer, so, he will make the cut.
If India go in with a three-pronged seam attack, then it could be Zaheer who leads the line with two out of either Bhuvneshwar, Shami and Umesh. At the current situation, Ishant is at best the last reserve. Ravichandran Ashwin will be selected as he is India’s premier spinner and a well capable batsman. The seam-friendly pitches may not allow for both Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja.
The top six takes care of itself — Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. That leaves five places. Three of Zaheer, Bhuvneshwar, Shami and Umesh will be there and Ashwin will also be there. Now the most important question is — who else will make the cut? For that one spot, India have Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Jadeja and Ojha. We can be assured that Wriddhiman Saha will only get a place if Dhoni gets injured.
India have to be careful here as South Africa have a fantastic pace bowling attack, probably the best around. So, do India play seven batsmen (including Dhoni) and select four bowlers of which three will be seamers? Or, do India go in with six batsmen (again including Dhoni) and select five bowlers?
If the first scenario is selected, then it is quite clear that the top six and either Rahane or Rayudu will be selected. Then Zaheer, Shami, Bhuvneshwar/Umesh can be selected with Ashwin as the lone spinner. In the second scenario Rahane and Rayudu will miss out and most likely it will be Jadeja who will make the cut. Ojha is a better bowler, but Jadeja is the better batsman and a brilliant fielder.
South Africa also have the best and most settled batting line-ups in Test cricket at the moment. So, the bowling attack has to be in pristine condition to cause them problems. The Proteas batsmen are not going to get intimidated by pace, so, India will have to rely heavily on swing and seam off the pitch. India began the 2010-11 series of South Africa in disastrous fashion. A Zaheer-less attack leaked runs more than an open pipe. In the second Test, once Zaheer was back, they looked a far better team.
It could be a case of the bowlers wandering about like a headless chicken without Zaheer. Now that he is back that should not be the case. But there are two other factors different from three years ago. Last time out, Zaheer was a much better bowler than what he is now and the Indian batting was much more stronger with Sachin Tendulkar in the middle of his second coming. That is why the Indian selectors have to get the team selection absolutely right if India are to get something out of the Test series. The pace attack definitely holds the key and have to perform to their absolute potential to even think of winning the Test series.
(Shrikant Shankar is a writer/reporter at CricketCountry.com. Previously he has done audio commentary for various matches involving India, Indian Premier League and Champions League Twenty20 for ESPNSTAR.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Shrikant_23)
