Given that I'm a cricket tragic, it won't be a surprise for me to state that I find the beginning of a new season exciting. Notwithstanding that, the upcoming season for India is one I'm particularly looking forward to.
For one, I can't recall India having played as many Test matches as they are going to between July and March next year. 17 Tests against a wide variety of opponents will be a true test of what this team is shaping up to be and of Virat Kohli's next stage as captain. Granted that the fact that 13 of these are at home means that the team won't be tested condition wise as much as they might have been. It will however show how much depth Indian cricket really has and who the next generation of match definers (I don't like the term match-winners in Test cricket given how much of a team game it is) will be. The most important questions in my view are -
For one, I can't recall India having played as many Test matches as they are going to between July and March next year. 17 Tests against a wide variety of opponents will be a true test of what this team is shaping up to be and of Virat Kohli's next stage as captain. Granted that the fact that 13 of these are at home means that the team won't be tested condition wise as much as they might have been. It will however show how much depth Indian cricket really has and who the next generation of match definers (I don't like the term match-winners in Test cricket given how much of a team game it is) will be. The most important questions in my view are -
- Who are India's best openers? (my current view is M Vijay and KL Rahul)
- Should Cheteshwar Pujara or Rohit Sharma play? (my current view is the latter)
- Should India play five bowlers and Saha at 6? (my current view is yes, with Jadeja and Ashwin at 7 and 8)
- Who should India's first choice seamers be? (my current view is Ishant, Bhuvneshwar, and Shami)
If we get to even 70% of the answers, that would be a long step towards getting to #1 again by the end of 2017. The fact that several of these Test matches will be played at new venues is a bonus that will give insight into the longer term health of the format in India (and by proxy the cricketing world then).
And while the Test matches will hold centerstage, the journey of the limited overs teams will also be fascinating. The big question of course is the captaincy. After a poor IPL, and with the next ODI World Cup some time away, there is an increasing sentiment that the time has come for Dhoni to make way for Kohli as skipper. And while it is usually folly to try to read Dhoni's mind, his recent views don't appear to indicate that he wants to quit anytime soon. And in my view, a fit Dhoni is best used as captain for India no matter what Kohli's form might entice people into thinking. If nothing, Dhoni's career has proved that he's masterful at reading situations even if his personnel or luck have not always backed him up. His almost catenaccio like style of captaincy in Test matches worked really well when he had the batsmen (or the defence if you will) to pile on the runs and the bowlers (in Zaheer and Harbhajan, and to an extent Ishant, Sreesanth, and Mishra) to counter attack. When those parts started to falter so did the Indian performances. He was quick to realise that the new order of Test match cricketers needed a more aggressive style of play and he stepped aside immediately. And his decision has been the right one, with Kohli showing signs that he can take the Indian Test team forward meaningfully.
The Zimbabwe series then provides Dhoni another chance to show that his ability to do things, lead inspirationally in short form cricket, and extract the best out of his team members, has not waned. The composition of the squad also means that we will get a true understanding of the depth of Indian cricket when it comes to limited overs contests and whether the IPL is really a good training ground or not.
As I said, exciting times!
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