5 areas India need to address in their upcoming Test assigments

Can Saha emulate Dhoni?

Saha has big shoes to fill

Wriddhiman Saha will probably be playing Test Cricket for the first time with a hint of pressure. He has played four Test matches so far for India and everytime he got a chance to play, he would go out there knowing that how good he performs, Dhoni would return to take his spot.

But things are different now. He has been trusted by the team management to take over the wicket-keeping duties on a long term. But with a host of young keepers waiting for an opportunity, he knows he cannot afford to slip. He needs the backing from his skipper for now as he needs time to gel in to this side.

He also has to keep delivering with the bat and learn the art of batting with the tail like Dhoni did. Afterall, its not going to be easy to replace someone who almost averaged 40 in Tests batting at number 7 on most occasions.

Second spinner

Harbhajan? Karn? Or someone else?

This is going to be a huge challenge indeed! You have to play two spinners in the subcontinent without a doubt. But who is going to be the one to pair up with Ashwin as the second spinner? Harbhajan Singh is back in the squad after two years, but can he nail his spot down?

His Ranji numbers in the last two years aren’t that great, but he brings experience with him. Having picked 400 plus Test wickets, he knows how to bowl in these conditions. But what if he fails? Should the management be trying Karn Sharma in that case? Or how about someone like Chahal or Akshar Patel who have been doing well in the IPL?

Plenty of questions to answer on this front. For now, it depends on Bhajji’s form. If he bowls well, the management is likely to persist with him.

Team combination

India has always preferred to play with 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers in the subcontinent. But at times when the pitch is as flat as a pancake, four bowlers might just not be enough especially in humid subcontinental conditions.

This is where Kohli’s captaincy comes into the equation. He is been seen as someone who is going to be aggressive in his captaincy tenure. So, will he take the bold step to play 5 specialist bowlers and 6 batsmen? Dhoni did it when he had the luxury of having someone like Jadeja to bat at number 7. But the left-arm spinner has been dropped due to his poor form.

In that case, can Kohli place his trust on someone like Ashwin (who has two Test hundreds to his name)? Bhajji has two hundreds in this format as well, so he is well equipped to bat at number 8 and the likes of Karn Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are more than handy with the bat.

It will also depend on the bowlers that he will be choosing in his playing XI. If he goes for three seamers and two spinners, then his batting lineup will become thinner, but if he opts for the third spinner, he can relax a bit knowing that his spinners can bat decently especially in these conditions.

Overall, it promises to be an exciting period for Indian Cricket, and their success in the Test format over the next few months will largely depend on these 5 factors.