Lessons from India's tour of England 2018

The same story of 2011, echoed in 2014 and again on the display in 2018.

Overseas victory, especially outside the subcontinent, has been a rarity for the Indian cricket team. With the advent of IPL and considering the relative ease of the limited overs format, the Indian team has done really well to be a top-notch side in colored clothing.

However, things turn a bit dismal, when we analyze test cricket in overseas conditions. The Indian team does not possess a great record specifically in the SENA(South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries.

This Indian team had the opportunity to change the fortunes starting from the South African tour earlier this year. They lost that series 2-1. Sadly, the same errors have been committed again in the Test matches against England.

There are a few factors on which the stakeholders of Indian cricket must ponder about:

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1. Scheduling of Practice Games

England Lions v India A - Day Four

With the change in format, weather, nature of the pitch and ball type, there must be adequate practice games in place so that the players can get acclimatized to the playing conditions. A full 4-day game always helps in preparation as compared to playing in the nets. However, we observed the team had long breaks without playing any practice games.

In the hindsight, we witnessed a few decent performances from Pujara and Ishant, who played county cricket earlier.

2. Rethinking on Team Selection

Much was expected of Hardik Pandya in the series.

The horses for courses approach which the team follows is often befuddling. It impacts the confidence of the individual. Players with 50+ Tests experience are still unsure of their place in the side.

Moreover, the announcement of the team for the last 2 Tests in the middle of the series does not augur well for the spirit of the side.

The role of Hardik Pandya must be decided, he cannot be a half bowler and a half batsman, it disrupts the balance of the side.

3. Virat (the Batsman) vs Virat (the Skipper)

Kohli's captaincy has left a lot to be desired

Virat Kohli is undisputedly the best batsman across all formats of the game. However, the batsman in him outdoes the captain. He should back every player and understand that not everyone can play like him.

The skipper must be open to suggestions by the entire team and realize that his style of work ethics cannot be mirrored by everyone.

Are we missing a Dhoni like personality in the Test side?

4. Different team for Tests

Cheteshwar Pujara is a Test specialist

Having a Test specific side will surely improve the performance of the side. The glamour and glitz of the limited overs batting fades away instantly in front of a moving red cherry. We should back players who go through the grind and put up a price for their wicket.

We already have custodians of Test cricket in Pujara, Rahane and Ishant. Creating a line between a good limited overs player and a Test player will definitely work in India's favour.

5. Monitoring the responsibilities of support staff

Apart from the head coach Shastri and batting coach Bangar, no name from the support staff generally comes under the radar for questioning.

Why did an unfit Ashwin play in the 4th Test? Why did young Kuldeep play in seaming friendly and overcast conditions at Lords? Why did the pace attack fail to clean up the English tail? Why did the batsmen get out in similar modes? Why did the batsmen fail against average spin bowling?

These are a few questions which the stakeholders of the Indian cricket should seriously address.

7. Positives from the series

Indian pacers have been excellent in this series

The biggest positive from the series has been the much improved Indian pace attack (Ishant, Shami, Bumrah). A fit Bhuwaneshwar Kumar will surely add to the potency of the lineup.

Also, Virat Kohli has been writing a new chapter for himself in England as far as his batting is concerned. He has left aside the demons of 2014 and has performed admirably in the series.

We have one more challenging tour Down Under later this year, let's hope we have a different story to tell there in Australia