Ageing stars, injuries and a Kiwi smashing: What’s gone wrong for India?

When India’s Test squad lands in Australia next week, it will do so in the aftermath of a first home series loss in 12 years, and a first ever to plucky New Zealand.

As Black Caps coach Gary Stead put it: “I think there’d be not many pundits around the world [who] would say that you would go to India and win 3-0. Probably deep down I’m not sure if we even believed that it was possible ourselves to do this, considering it’s never been done in history before.”

Virat Kohli is bowled.Credit: AP

It’s a portent of potential doom for Rohit Sharma’s team, which will be without its captain for the first Test in Perth for personal reasons, leaving fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to substitute as skipper.

India have a proud record in Australia, having claimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on each of their past two visits, in 2018-19 and 2020-21. The first of those summers was when David Warner and Steve Smith were banned for their parts in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

The second came amid tight biosecurity because of COVID-19. India’s players, marshalled by then coach Ravi Shastri, handled the situation rather better than their Australian opponents, who lost their cool as the series reached a thrilling conclusion in Sydney and Brisbane.

Now, however, India have a range of problems that were lit up like a neon sign during the loss to the Black Caps.

Two of those games were played on typical south Asian pitches aiding spin, but the first Test – which started it all – took place on a grassy Bengaluru surface that aided pace bowling.

That’s a particular worry ahead of an Australian trip that may recall memories of another tour, a little over a decade ago. Just to underline the point, India A lost four wickets in the first four overs of their game against Australia A at the MCG on Thursday morning, as backup pacemen Michael Neser and Scott Boland made merry.

Ageing and injured stars

Back in 2011, India arrived in Australia with a vaunted reputation but some troubling recent results. Still boasting the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, M.S. Dhoni’s team had been destroyed in England earlier in the year, and that turned out to be a bellwether for what took place.

Under a new captain in Michael Clarke, the Australians were ranked a modest fourth in the world, but proceeded to dish out a 4-0 thumping in which none of Tendulkar, Dravid or Laxman had an impact – other than by the roars that greeted their dismissals.

For the hosts, it was Ricky Ponting who enjoyed a final flourish to his long career with a hundred in Sydney and a double in Adelaide; Clarke and Mike Hussey also churned out big runs.

Back then, Virat Kohli’s first Test hundred against Australia was a sign that he was the coming man. This time around, his fading force feels similar to that of Tendulkar or Dravid in 2011-12. Notable for his absence is Cheteshwar Pujara, the impassive and impassible figure who outlasted Australia’s bowlers on each of the past two tours. Pat Cummins once likened Pujara’s defensive blade as “like a pillow” to smother the ball.

The other huge absentee for India on this trip is the 34-year-old Mohammed Shami, a splendidly skilful and precise seam bowler and the perfect foil for the more outlandish skills of Bumrah. Shami has had multiple injury issues, the latest a side strain that has effectively ended his chances of being called up after the tour starts.

Jekyll and Hyde approach

Under Dhoni as captain and later Shastri as coach, India had an admirably consistent approach to the game. They scored big runs, were relentless with the ball, and backed themselves to win in most conditions.

Rohit’s reign has, by contrast, been a little more spotty. As a captain and certainly an opening batter, he has played with a huge slice of positivity, scoring rapid runs and setting the agenda at the top of the order. In the middle order, the prodigiously talented Rishabh Pant has followed suit, and his successful return from a serious car accident is one of the major stories of this tour.

But that aggressive intent has contrasted with other more pragmatic agendas. Since the advent of the world Test championship, India have played on a succession of “result pitches” at home, tailored for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, leaving their batters to struggle for big scores and the pacemen to sometimes be underused.

A new coach, the combative Gautam Gambhir, has his own ideas, and a strong mandate to mentor the side based on his close political links to the BCCI’s principal Jay Shah and his father, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-hand man Amit Shah. For now, at least, it is not altogether clear how India best want to win, and that lack of clarity has contributed to losing.

Rishabh Pant.Credit: AP

Former skipper and respected voice Sunil Gavaskar has, in fact, called for India to appoint Bumrah captain for the whole series, in the knowledge that Rohit will miss at least the first Test.

“We have been reading that Rohit Sharma will not play in the first Test, perhaps he will not play in the second as well,” Gavaskar told Indian media. “If this is the case, then I say that, right now, the Indian selection committee should say that ‘if you have to rest, rest, if there are personal reasons then look at them. But if you are missing two-thirds of the matches, then you should go for this tour only as a player. We will make the vice captain the captain of this tour’.

“I would say that if we had won the New Zealand series 3-0, it would have been a different matter. Because we have lost this series 0-3, there is a need for a captain. The captain has to unite the team. If there is no captain in the beginning, it is better to make someone else the captain.”

One format to rule them all?

Then there is the challenge provided by Twenty20, with its competing demands for players and administrators. This year’s Indian Premier League auction will take place during the Perth Test and is being held in Saudi Arabia, as the BCCI and team owners continue to build relationships with the oil-rich nation.

Earlier this year, India became world champions in Twenty20 for the first time since the inaugural edition of the global tournament in 2007, and there can be no doubt that all Indian players have looked increasingly towards the short form as their primary outlet.

In some ways, Rohit’s proactive tactical approach to batting has been geared at bringing all formats of the national team a little closer together. But there was a decided lack of stubbornness against New Zealand, and in Australian conditions it is vital to know how to stick as well as twist.

The series wins over Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21 went to India because they had both a more well-rounded team and a better mindset. This time, the tourists will arrive on these shores with questions around whether they still have those qualities in rich enough supply to get past a far more settled and confident Australian side than last time around.

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