England vs India 2014: The blueprint that will deliver an end to India's overseas woes

The under-fire duo have to get their blueprint right

MS Dhoni’s devils departed to England looking reassured, and energetic about the gargantuan prospect that stands in front of them. Dhoni, in particular, will remind himself that he is immensely fortunate to still be the leader of the pack, after suffering 10 defeats in 15 Test matches that India have played since 2011. He can’t afford to slip up anymore, and still hold on to his captaincy – with due respect to the BCCI, N Srinivasan, and Dhoni’s integrity in itself. From national pride’s perspective, Team India somehow have to put an end to this perennial ignominy that has taken the sheen off the glory Dhoni and Team India have earned by winning the World T20 in 2007, the ICC 50-over World Cup back home in 2011, and the Champions Trophy in England in 2013.

Coming back to this 5-match Test series – first of its kind after India went down 1-2 against West Indies in the Caribbean, we all are of the notion that even if Team India gets off to a slow start, and maybe goes down 0-1, they can wrestle their way back into the series because it’s a long, 5-match Test series. But don’t forget that if we do go down in the 1st Test match in Nottingham, the 2nd Test match is played at the Mecca of cricket, where Team India haven’t won a Test match since the 5-wicket win over the Poms in 1986.

Albeit Lord’s has been a favorite hunting ground for India in limited overs cricket – most conspicuously, the World Cup triumph in 1983 on this day, and the NatWest triangular series win in 2002, Team India have struggled to replicate that form in the Tests they have played at Lord’s. That is something we need to be mindful of, and hence a win in Trent Bridge, or even a draw would be the ideal way to kick-off this crucial series for both sides.

Indian selectors have picked an 18-man squad, which has six genuine fast-medium bowlers, a specialist spinner in Ravichandran Ashwin – if you deem him so, two all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja, and Stuart Binny, two specialist wicket-keeper batsmen in MS Dhoni and Wriddhiman Saha, and 7 specialist batsmen, for the 5-match Test series against England. At this moment I wouldn’t want to delve into the selection policy, and who has made it in place of whom, is their selection justified, and so on and so forth. But, one thing that needs mentioning is the number of medium pacers that have been picked, and the consequent implications of it.

In conditions that hardly favor genuine spin-bowling, I would prefer a 4-man pace attack – wish MS Dhoni thinks that way as well, to go with a genuine all-rounder, and six batsmen. That would be my preferred, and yet an amiable combination, which should render you the desired balance.

In the past though, Indian sides have always fielded three medium pacers, one spinner, and seven specialist batsmen. It intrigues me whether MS Dhoni sticks with it, or he goes in with four medium pacers for the 1st Test match in Nottingham. With Ashwin’s capability to render you crucial runs lower down the order, I’d use him as a batting all-rounder, who bats at No.7, after Dhoni, and in that case Jadeja might not find a place in the side. No disrespect to Ashwin and his trade, but in overseas conditions, if he can give me 30s and 40s lower down the order, I’d take that option, and make optimum use of his batting capability.

My four medium pacers for the 1st Test match would be Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Varun Aaron – this quartet picks itself – based on the amount of time they have been involved with the national side, lately.

Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma/Ajinkya Rahane, and MS Dhoni would make my six specialist batsmen, who would do good to deliver 400 runs in an innings on an average.

As we all know, its easy to outline a blueprint, put out the task for everyone, and even keep a target to work towards, but its inexplicably difficult to get things done – more so when you’ve got to be consistent over a 5-match Test series.

Also, when it comes to assigning a role to everybody in the play XI, MS Dhoni has to be proactive – something that he has been shy of during India’s dismal overseas run since 2011.

Blokes like Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have to be given a free license to go for their strokes, and garner runs at their own pace. Because when it comes to Dhawan and Rohit, it can be a catch-22 situation for themself and Team India, if they curb their natural, stroke-making ability, and start to leave deliveries outside off-stump. Dhawan, especially, is the kind of player Team India can either benefit from or, be the culprit to India’s progress.

When India had memorable tours of England in 2002 and 2007, it was Virender Sehwag, who got the team off to good starts on a consistent basis, and put the brakes on the rhythm of the England quickies in 2002, and in 2007 it was the turn of Dinesh Karthick to play the role of the aggressor, and render Wasim Jaffer the cushion to play at his own, enviable pace for Test cricket. Shikhar Dhawan for me, has to be used as the launch-pad from where Team India surge forward.

Shikhar Dhawan has to be aggressive at the top of the order

Now when it comes to bowling, things get a bit dicey. Can the aforementioned quartet of medium pacers keep the runs down, and chip away at the wickets? They better do. Bhuvneshwar Kumar should relish the conditions on offer, but the medium pacer from UP will be under pressure to start off well with the new ball for India. Taking Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the equation, the other three medium pacers in Ishant, Shami, and Aaron are typically ‘into the pitch’ bowlers, and that’s where India can’t afford to leak runs from one end. But on the flip side of the coin, Shami and Ishant can render variety in the attack, and push the batsmen back on to their backfoot to keep them guessing. Bowling worries me because of the recent struggles Team India have endured, but good vibes and a different-looking English side, to the one that beat India 4-0 three years ago, should not pose much of a problem, you would think.

To sum things up,

The approach of Team India and MS Dhoni is what intrigues me, and I really hope that they would have learnt from their mistakes when it comes to picking the XI for 5-day cricket. India simply has to play 4 quickies to share the workload, and don’t forget that even if you play Jadeja alongside Ashwin, it would be goofy to ask 40 overs from them on day one of a Test match in England. And, that is the primary reason why 4 medium pacers will give you that balance, and more importantly act as a backup if things start to go wrong. MS Dhoni has to get rid of his penchant for using spinners in long spells in Test matches overseas, and being adamant in doing so.

Batting, I hope won’t let us down so badly as it did in 2011 when Rahul Dravid was the only one, who delegated India’s marauding batting line-up in every innings of the 4-match Test series. Coming back to action after a month long rest should keep Kohli, Dhawan, and Vijay fresh and hungry to go at it again. Aggressive batting is what I’d like to see from India against the likes of Anderson and Broad. You’ve got to show intent that you want to set the tone for the series, and bet you my life, if Indian batsmen start leaving deliveries more than they should, and give respect to Anderson and Broad, India would not be in a position to end the perennial jinx.

Not making any predictions for the series, but I have my fingers crossed for Team India’s resurgence in overseas Test matches after 3 years of getting bulldozed away deridingly.