The India team for the tour of Australia appears lopsided. They have batsmen to give your life for but, on the contrary, their bowlers rely more on hope and little on conviction.
The biggest worry is Anil Kumble. It’s a sin to make such a statement about the skipper, who just finished with 18 scalps from three Tests against Pakistan and who has only got better with time in the past four years, having picked up 214 wickets from 41 Tests. That 22 of these Tests were played on foreign soil is a commentary in itself about a man who has overhauled his dubious reputation abroad.
However, all doesn’t seem well with his shoulder. Seventeen years in the circuit, 121 Tests, 37,773 balls and a few operations appear to have taken its toll on the 37-year-old’s
right rotator bone.
The tell-tale signs were visible in the Bangalore Test. The fire in his eyes was missing; the intensity absent and his usual crouch and then springing action was replaced with an amiable run to the crease and a gentle rolling of the right arm.
Thus it hurts to know that Kumble’s presence could rule out Harbhajan Singh from all the Tests in Australia, except Sydney. India are unlikely to go into any of the Tests with more than four bowlers, three of whom compulsorily need to be of the medium-fast variety. It would keep Harbhajan out even though ‘The Turbanator’ has picked up 97 wickets from 24 Tests in the past four years.
The three medium-fast bowlers, at least in the first two Tests, are likely to be Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh and Ishant Sharma. There can’t be any place for Irfan Pathan, despite his century in Bangalore. India need bowlers who can pick up wickets and Pathan’s only strength is his economy.
Zaheer and R.P. Singh can be effective operators with the new ball but have had their share of fitness issues. The soft run-ups and hard squares of Australian wickets usually spell disaster for the calf muscles of fast bowlers from the sub-continent. Yet both are impressive when on top of their form and fitness.
They can perhaps take care of their fitness; as for form, the Australia batsmen are likely to take care of it.
Sharma, the young colt from Delhi, picked up five wickets in the drawn final Test against Pakistan in Bangalore but has serious issues with his line and length. He was a nightmare for the wicketkeeper and one hopes nerves had a lot to do with it.
India have picked up strapping, tall rookies in Sharma and Pankaj Singh for the tour and at 6ft 5in, their height is expected to compensate for a lack of skill and experience.
Nobody, thus, backs India to pick up 20 Australian wickets.
When Sri Lanka recently failed to do so despite having Muttiah Muralitharan and the likes of Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Frenando in their ranks on the bouncy Gabba surface, India, with their pop-gun attack, are unlikely to do any better. The record of four wins out of 32 Tests played in Australia over the years could only get worse.
That leaves a draw as the only possible objective for the Indians. Luckily, they have batsmen who can do the job. Both Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are amply qualified to bat for long hours. Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh have the dash and panache, not to speak of the left-hand element to the line-up, and M.S. Dhoni is already seen as a poor man’s Adam Gilchrist. How early they get used to the conditions, though, is the key point.
India can draw strength from their previous trip to Australia. Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman were in sublime form but it was the openers who laid the foundation. However, it is unlikely to happen again. Wasim Jaffer has mental worms in his technique on bouncy tracks and is unsure who will partner him at the other end.
India’s fielding is another area which could cause derision among the knowledgeable and an embarrassment to fielding coach Robin Singh.
The big grounds of Australia seriously test the shoulder of fielders in the outfield.
Close-catching isn’t that inspiring either. India still haven’t found the answer to the riddle at forward short leg. Every series sees a new fielder in this position and invariably he is found wanting.
It even came to a stage against Pakistan when Ganguly, of all people, had to be stationed at the spot.
So, India fans are advised to rein in their expectations. Australia are never easy to tame in their own den and that they also carry a grouse against the visitors is not good news.
