India should groom youngsters for WI tour to avoid Australia-like situation

By Madan Mohan

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The Indian selectors have a great opportunity to beta-test a few new names in the upcoming Test series against West Indies. Player-administration conflict continues in the West Indies and the team only seems to get weaker with the passage of time. With the opportunity to net an away series win against a weak opponent, India can afford to take a few risks and see what some rising stars are capable of in the highest form of the game.

There are also suggestions that some of the Test stars may be fatigued after the IPL (ahem!) which could in fact leave vacant spots up for grabs in the Test line up. So here is my guess at which Indian players might make their Test debut in this series.

Strongest in contention would be proven names from the ODI squad who haven’t yet been thought Test-worthy. The promising Virat Kohli could well be given an opportunity, even though he looks a limited-overs player through and through. He doesn’t have the look of a Test batsman, but his calm and assured approach to building innings will stand him in good stead.

Given that the selectors have persistently ignored Subramaniam Badrinath, that trend may continue and they may give Kohli a go. It would be a better bet to ease him into Test cricket against the weak West Indies than against solid England who can be pretty formidable in home conditions.

The frail bowling attack has brought Praveen Kumar into the spotlight. Not that he is some Wasim Akram -incarnate foolishly ignored by the selectors, but he gives a measure of reliability that Shantakumaran Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma are too inconsistent to produce.  Pravin, though, is likely to relish English conditions much more than the West Indies.

Speaking of inconsistency, Rohit Sharma is another promising young player who has hurt his chances with inconsistent performances. His batting style has wowed observers, but he has failed time and again to build on starts and has an alarming tendency to lose concentration after he’s set. Perhaps, though, a confidence booster by way of strong performances in the West Indies may go a long way in kick-starting his international career afresh.

We haven’t touched upon the carrom ball dude yet. Will Superman Ravichandran Ashwin get a look-in this time?  Like Kohli, Ashwin has the look of an ODI specialist, but so did Sanath Jayasuriya. But he hit two triple centuries, one of them in England and not on a subcontinent road. It may be a good idea to blood him against the West Indies before moving on to sterner tests (pun unintended).

One thing I haven’t touched on is why the list of players who could be capped in this tour?  India is the No.1 Test team, what’s the need for tinkering, you say. But the Big Three of the Indian batting line-up may well retire in the foreseeable future, leaving a gaping hole in the middle order. India has failed to groom suitable candidates to take the place of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman so far and if it doesn’t do so now, it may face a situation similar to Australia’s currently.

As for the bowling, with India’s bowlers persistently running out of either form or fitness, developing an adequate bench is imperative. There should not arise a situation where a Javed Unadkat is pressed in like a lamb to the slaughter against South Africa. India’s second string must be strong enough to hold its own in a Test match and not merely the next best it managed to send.

There are several other aspirants for the Test cap out there who merit selection to at least some extent. What other names can you think of? Write in and maybe we could send it for the esteemed consideration of Kris Srikkanth! 

(Madan Mohan, a 25-year old CA from Mumbai, is passionate about writing, music and cricket. Writing on cricket is like the icing on the cake.)