In England, the Indian cricket team starts over.
Indian cricket is in uncharted territory on the eve of the first Test of the five-match series in England that starts on Friday. The uncertainty isn’t just due to the exit of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two players whose auras were so large that they became the team’s identity. It’s also because the baton now falls on a younger lot of players who may not be quite ready yet for the oldest format in the game. The new-look Indian team and the captaincy of Shubman Gill are a leap of faith by selectors, and a big generational jump.
The young players in the Test team would do well to remember Kohli’s words at the end of an emotional celebration of his first IPL title for RCB: “It’s still five levels below Test cricket. If you want to earn respect in world cricket all over, take up Test cricket, give your heart and soul to it.” The big hole left by the two players has been evident so far in the pre-series build up in England by the local media. Most questions to the players have been about Kohli or Rohit. The large shadow cast on them can be erased by the new-look Indian team by their own performance in the home of Test cricket.
Luckily for them, they have their ace bowling trump card in Jasprit Bumrah, even if he is likely to play just three Tests. On the batting front, it will come down to KL Rahul, the senior-most batsman to set the base, Gill the captain to build on it, and Rishabh Pant to trigger consternation in the opposition camp. If the rest of the youngsters, and Karun Nair, a veteran domestic-cricket batsman making a remarkable comeback, can find their feet, then India can test England. The hosts, too, are sporting a depleted bowling attack due to a spate of injuries, and their batting isn’t quite a settled unit yet.