Why India must not panic after the ODI series loss against Australia

"It's time for India to engage in some soul-searching." This seems to be a common theme that commentators to the arm-chair critics are talking about. Almost everyone is pointing at the lack of all-rounders being the major reason why India lost the series rather tamely.

The 2011 World Cup winning Indian team had four players among the seven batsmen who could roll their arms over – Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. All four were permanent fixtures of the Indian team, and each of them warranted a place in the team purely as a batsman.

It is in this context, the Indian selectors must desist from the idea of bringing in a Shivam Dubey or a Vijay Shankar. Gautam Gambhir is right when he says that there is a drought when it comes to quality fast-bowling all-rounders in India at the moment, with the exception of Hardik Pandya, who too is mostly playing as a batsman for almost a year now.

The Answers to India's Woes

What could then be a possible solution to India’s ODI blues then? The experts have pointed at a few options – short term ones like bringing in pace bowling all-rounders such as Dubey and Vijay Shankar, or spin all-rounders like Krunal Pandya and Axar Patel. Some suggest reverting to tried-and-tested all-rounders like Kedar Jadhav.

The long term solution offered is to invest in players with multiple skills. One does not get a player of the caliber of Kapil Dev or even Hardik Pandya frequently. This is why it's important to identify such talent at an early age and then provide them the right coaching and guidance.

Australia v India - ODI Game 2

No Need to Panic

What India need not do, however, is to panic. This Indian team is self-assured, confident in its abilities, moulded in the image of its leader – the irreplaceable Virat Kohli. The five bowlers that India have are the best in the business. They have not bowled as badly as the scores suggest.

This is evident from the way the Australian bowlers suffered at the hands of the Indian batsmen too, barring a few exceptions. Yes, they were slightly better than the Indian bowlers thanks to the fact they were defending a large score.

The toss also seems to make a difference. If India bats first, it will be interesting to see how the Indian bowlers fare against the opposition if India posts a massive score. Regardless, India must choose its best five bowlers and hope the batsmen do their job as well.