Was 2024 a satisfactory year for Indian men’s cricket? That’s a tough one to answer. After all, it was a year in which the team became T20I world champions after 17 years and also dominated the shortest format (24 wins in 26 games). But it was also a year of historic lows in both Test and ODI cricket. For the first time in 45 years, India couldn’t register a single win in ODI cricket in a calendar year, albeit they played only three ODIs (vs Sri Lanka and one match ended in a tie).

The memory that is the freshest in our minds is that of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which rounded off a rather disappointing year. Ironically, it had begun with a lot of promise with a historic win in Cape Town. India had to hand over the trophy to the Aussies for the first time in a decade. Overall, 2024 was a year that exposed some rather large chinks in India’s Test armour. India won only one of their last seven Tests last year. That is not a statistic any top team would like to claim. Losing a three-match Test series at home 0-3 for the first time was a real body blow. As former India captain Anjum Chopra told me during a chat recently, “This will be a bitter pill to swallow for the longest time because losing is one thing, but not being in the contest is another thing altogether.”

A Subpar Year

‘Not being in the contest’ is a great way of summarising Team India’s forgettable performances in both ODI and Test cricket in the year gone by. There were some highs, of course, such as the Test wins in Cape Town and Perth, Jasprit Bumrah’s heroics in Australia, his being crowned the most successful Indian Test bowler on Australian soil and finishing the year with the maximum number of wickets across all teams and formats. Likewise, Yashasvi Jaiswal finished as the second-highest Test run-getter in the world, and Rohit Sharma averaged over 52 in ODIs. Even so, the fact remains that 2024 was a subpar year for Indian ODI and Test cricket. So, what are the big lessons that the powers that be should learn in 2025?

The first ODI assignment of the year will be against England, at home. It’s a three-match series and will be the perfect platform, in many ways, to test new strategies and attack plans. One concern that’s common to both the ODI and Test arenas is the top-order batting form. If you ask experts about what’s the biggest kryptonite hurting Indian batters, the answer will be, their vulnerability against left-arm spin, in particular, and quality spin, overall. This is something that the coaching staff should be addressing on a war footing.

A Practice Issue?

In Sri Lanka last year, left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage ran through the Indian batting line-up like a hot knife through butter. Leggie Jeffrey Vandersay topped the wickets’ list and Kamindu Mendis tried to fox the Indian batters with his ambidextrous bowling skills (in a T20I). Team India hit a new low when they were bowled out for 138 in 26.1 overs in the third ODI, with the spinners taking nine of the 10 wickets. India’s problems with tackling spin are not a new headache, but the ODI series against the Lankans was a wake-up call. That turned into a blood-curdling scream when left-arm spinners Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner took 28 wickets between them to break the back of the famed Indian batting line-up, and that too on Indian pitches. Even part-timer Glenn Phillips took eight wickets. There was a time when a left-arm spinner troubling Indian batters was not a common occurrence. Yes, there was someone like Monty Panesar who troubled even the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag during England’s Test series win in India in 2012, but that was a one-off. Now, things have changed and the team finds itself in a tangle they are not able to resolve.

There is a view that since most batters these days play and practise more for T20 cricket, it has affected their ability to play spin. Batters go at the ball with harder hands, resulting in more edges. Also, with the DRS around, defending with pads is now a thing of the past. You now see Indian batters being foxed while attempting a defensive shot against a ball that is turning away. Sunil Gavaskar, arguably one of the most technically adept batters ever in world cricket, put the Indian batters’ struggles against spin down to “technical deficiencies”.

Look For A Lasting Fix

Many feel that India should stop producing pitches that are rank turners for home series. While that might be a stop-gap solution, it can’t be a long-term fix. Don’t the Aussies, Proteas and the English welcome visiting teams with spicy pitches, even though drop-in pitches have somewhat dulled the bite? The solution to this problem is right here, at home: domestic cricket. Why can’t our ‘star’ batters play Ranji Trophy cricket, especially when they are not in form? (For that to happen though, the selectors and team management also have to take tough calls) Why can’t an underperforming batter be dropped in the middle of a series? Or even after a disastrous one? Rohit Sharma was, after all, not part of the Sydney Test. We didn’t see the Aussies hesitate in dropping Mitchell Marsh—someone who won the Allan Border medal for being the best Aussie cricketer in 2023—for the last Test.

Many of India’s tracks where domestic cricket is played are spin havens and there are plenty of quality spinners in domestic teams. The best way for a batter to fix their technical issues is to actually play more cricket against opposition, something that will continually address their weaknesses, rather than face throw-downs or net bowlers for a few hours during team practice sessions. It’s high time our superstars realised that going back to domestic cricket is not a step back but a wise call to make. Will Gautam Gambhir and the BCCI crack the whip on this one?

Over-Dependent On Bumrah

In the bowling department, the biggest worry, especially in Test cricket, is the over-dependence on Bumrah. There’s no point being in denial about this one. Bumrah is a once-in-a-generation kind of talent. Sure, when he rocks the opposition single-handedly and swings the momentum towards his team, it’s fascinating. Over the years, we have come to expect nothing less from this magician. But surely he can’t be the only one winning matches for India. I also hope someone is tracking his workload very, very closely. Bumrah walking off the ground with an injury or niggle is not something any cricket fan would want to see again. Now there’s talk of him being made ODI vice-captain as well. The selectors need to keep looking for and giving chances to new fast-bowling talent, as they did with Harshit Rana in Australia.

Another aspect of India’s bowling problems, especially while playing in SENA countries, is playing another out-and-out specialist fast bowler—a proper wicket-taking option—in the first XI. This is possible only if the team is confident enough to drop a batter or all-rounder. Mohammed Shami hopefully will be fit soon and cleared to play international cricket. But for the long term, Rana, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna should be backed to the hilt, and new talent should be explored. This will also, in turn, reduce the burden on Bumrah.

The coach should have a clear vision of how he wants to tackle big-name batters and their own individual styles of play. Case in point: Rishabh Pant. Does Gambhir allow him to be who he is, regardless of how many times a completely out-of-textbook shot results in his dismissal? Or does he curb his natural instincts?

Some former players say that another thing that is doing no good is leaked information. The last thing Indian cricket needs right now is news of ‘a divided dressing room’ making headlines. There are problems, yes. There are egos, yes. But this is not the first time something like this has happened to a proud cricket team. These are professional athletes and they know exactly what needs to be done. It’s just a question of putting in the hard yards. How they do that and what the differences are shouldn’t be public. Please, stop the leaks.

(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Virat Kohli, talks to Australia’s Sam Konstas (L) and Usman Khawaja (R) looks on during play on the first day of the fourth cricket test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne on Thursday (December 26, 2024).
| Photo Credit: AP

Australia’s rivalry with India turned physical as Virat Kohli collided with 19-year-old Australia batter Sam Konstas on Thursday (December 26, 2024) on the opening morning of the fourth test.

After choosing to bat first in hot conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia was comfortably placed at 112-1 at lunch. Konstas dominated an opening stand of 89 before he was out lbw to spinner Ravindra Jadeja for a daring 60 off 65 deliveries in a memorable debut.

The on-field action heated up at the end of the 10th over. Kohli collided shoulder to shoulder as he walked past Konstas, whose risky stroke play was attracting much banter from the fielding side.

Konstas and former India captain Kohli exchanged words after the collision and Kohli started walking back towards Konstas. Australia batter Usman Khawaja hurried to stand between the pair, patting Konstas on the arm then putting a friendly arm around the shoulder of 36-year-old Kohli in a bid to calm the situation.

“Virat’s walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that,” former Australia captain Ricky Ponting told Australia’s Channel Seven.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan added on Fox Cricket that Kohli would face scrutiny from the match referee. “It’s Kohli that goes off line and he walks into Sam,” Vaughan said.

Earlier, Konstas looked nervous as he played and missed four times in the opening over of the match, bowled by Jasprit Bumrah.

But in a sign of the bravery of youth, Konstas played three audacious reverse scoops over slips in Bumrah’s fourth over, hitting two fours and a six.

At lunch, Khawaja was unbeaten on 38 and Marnus Labuschagne was on 12.

Australia captain Pat Cummins had chosen to bat first on a green-tinged pitch in hot conditions.

The five-match series is level at 1-1 after a rainy draw at Brisbane.

Australia made two changes to the side which dominated the drawn test in Brisbane. Seamer Scott Boland was recalled for Josh Hazlewood, who suffered a calf-muscle strain in Brisbane. Konstas replaced struggling opener Nathan McSweeney.

India named a bowler-heavy lineup, bringing in offspinner Washington Sundar so the visitors have six bowling options. Top-order batter Shubman Gill has been dropped and captain Rohit Sharma has been named at No. 3 in India’s batting order.

The series has added significance as Australia and India are ranked second and third, respectively, behind South Africa in the race to qualify for the World Test Championship Final to be held at Lord’s in June 2025. South Africa is hosting Pakistan in a two-test series that also starts Thursday (December 26, 2024).

The fifth and final Australia-India test is scheduled to start on January 3, 2025 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Indian host broadcasters of the upcoming edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia are advertising the series as ‘the toughest rivalry’. Like most things in life, cricket rivalry, among the top of the pops, is also subjective. But this one, especially over the last few editions, has become increasingly spicier.

India and Pakistan don’t play bilateral cricket anymore. And let’s face it, for a sport whose Test version is played by a total of 12 nations, a clash between the Number 1 (Australia) and Number 2 (India) teams, and that too on mostly fiery Aussie pitches, is a main course to drool over. Add to that the statistical hors d’oeuvres of India having won the last four versions of this rivalry (2016-2023), including back-to-back historic series wins the last two times they toured Kangaroo Land, and you have yourself a meal to die for.

A High-Stakes Game

This time, don’t be surprised though if the five-match series breaks all viewership records. After all, this enticing meal also has the added spice of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two batting Titans of the sport, perhaps playing their last series Down Under. But that is not what will make the biggest headlines. Those will undoubtedly be reserved for their performances with the bat. After all, there is very little doubt that the number of runs these two players end up scoring and how big an impact they have on positive results for their team will determine how many miles there are still left in their Test journeys. Needless to say, the upcoming series is an extremely important one – for the team overall and for these two stalwarts of Indian cricket, along with a couple of other ‘super seniors’ like R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The entire cricketing fraternity will be watching very, very closely.

And that begs the question—what will happen, realistically, if Virat and Rohit’s bats are largely silent in Australia this time, just like they were against Bangladesh and then New Zealand, when India were whitewashed 0-3 at home for the first time in a Test series?

Virat and Rohit, who are synonymous with Indian cricket, have over the years been tagged by many as rivals, adversaries and competitors. Right now, however, they find themselves in the same boat, trying to weather the same storm, with time running out. The two also found themselves right next to each other on the run charts of the recent Test series vs the Kiwis, as Numbers 12 and 13, respectively. Virat scored 93 runs in six innings and Rohit scored 91.

Dawn Of The Young

No athlete wants to go out on a low—especially not Virat and Rohit, who we saw bowing out big when they announced their T20 international retirements right after India won the last edition of the T20 World Cup. They knew that the second, even third-rung players, were more or less fully baked—especially in the shortest format of the game—with a whole host of young talent ready to break down the senior team door. Similar thoughts must be running in their heads right now ahead of the Test series with the Aussies. Change is already imminent. Sarfaraz Khan has a century and three fifties in the six Tests he has played so far. Abhimanyu Easwaran, a First-Class legend for Bengal, is itching to make his Test debut. Dhruv Jurel, the son of a Kargil war veteran, recently averaged 74 in two innings for India A in the second unofficial Test against Australia A, with scores of 80 and 68. All three are in the India squad for the series against Australia.

Virat and Rohit’s biggest priority right now will be to prove to the world—and perhaps to themselves, too—that they can still convert the hunger in their bellies to Test runs on the board. They have to do that against the top-ranked team in the world – both in the Test rankings and on the 2023-25 WTC cycle points table, and, that too, in their own den. The head curator of Western Australia cricket has promised that the drop-in pitch for the first Test in Perth will have great pace and bounce. 

Why Australia Is A Litmus Test

Nothing short of a litmus test awaits the duo. Virat for one will take confidence from the fact that he has a very good record on Aussie shores—an average of over 54 in 13 Tests, with a highest score of 169 and overall, six centuries. This might just be the perfect setting for him to roar back to form. Rohit’s batting average in Australia, 31.38, is not great, but it’s not too bad either. He is yet to score a century Down Under.

It’s no secret that at 36 and 37, respectively, Virat and Rohit are in the twilight of their careers. Both would have given serious thought to Test retirement and set rough timelines and goals. Remember, Test cricket is also the most physically demanding format. Also, there’s no doubt that they would have both fantasised about helping India win the ICC WTC Final at Lord’s in June next year, something the team hasn’t managed to do yet despite being finalists in both the completed editions so far (2019-21 and 2021-23). Apart from beating the Aussies in their own backyard for the third straight time, there is also the added incentive now of qualifying for that final (though India need to win 4-0 to qualify on their own). The final outcome of that pursuit could also play a big role in determining Virat and Rohit’s Test futures. If all the pieces fall into place, it could well be the perfect time for them to bring the curtain down on their Test careers, silence the critics, and then leave nothing to chance. 

England Is Beckoning

However, here’s the catch—the big difference this time as compared to the last T20 World Cup, when they chose to ride into the international T20 sunset on a high, is that if they manage to bounce back hard in Australia and play a series-defining knocks, it perhaps won’t be that easy for them to take the call to end their Test careers. There’s another high-profile Test series on foreign soil coming up in about seven months, with India scheduled to tour England for a five-Test series from June to August of 2025. That is too tempting a chance to miss, especially at this stage of their careers. They have to make sure that they are very much in the mix when the squad for that tour is picked.

The bottom line is perhaps that it’s now or never for both star batters, because the one thing that both these senior players would like to avoid like the plague is the ignominy of being dropped by the selectors. And that is a real possibility if they don’t get at least a few big scores each and if the team overall doesn’t do well. BCCI sources have been quoted as saying that they will not be on the flight to the UK to play England if India fail to qualify for the WTC Final. At home, in the series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, Virat’s average in 10 innings was under 23, while Rohit’s was 13.30.TC Final.

Don’t Write The Champions Off

Beyond these calculations though, let’s not forget that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are titans of the sport. You can count them out, sure, but only at your own peril. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, while describing the two batters as ‘incredibly tough men’, made it a point to convey the message that the two are still very ‘hungry’. It’s the same hunger that saw a certain Sachin Tendulkar silence his critics after 2003, when his Test average dropped to 17, and then again around 2005-2007, when critics said that it was time for him to hang up his boots. Michael Hussey recently talked about how it is “silly” to write off champion players.

Sure, some might also argue that things are different now. Star value matters, but questions are asked. Gambhir himself has said that he wants his players to be ‘absolutely selfless’.

Ultimately though, everything is likely to boil down to a few very simple questions—were there any ultimatums given in the chat that the BCCI, the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, and the coach had with Rohit after the New Zealand series debacle? If the two star players do fail in Australia and are still kept in the mix, how prepared are the Indian Board and the coach to weather the storm of the inevitable public outcry? And, the most important of questions: what exactly are Rohit and Virat themselves feeling in their bones right now?

The one thing you can bet on is that neither player would want to be pushed out.

(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Cameron Green lauded star batter Virat Kohli for playing a “vintage” innings to keep RCB in the race. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Cameron Green lauded star batter Virat Kohli for playing a “vintage” innings to keep Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the race to the IPL playoffs.

Kohli made full use of the three reprieves, including one on zero, to make a 47-ball 92 that set the tone for their 60-run win over Punjab Kings in a must-win match here on May 9.

“He played the vintage Virat that we all know. It was a beautiful watch from the other end. That’s the beauty of having Virat in your team, as opposition you can’t give him that many chances,” said Green in the post-match press meet.

The Australian all-rounder, who helped himself to a 27-ball 46, said Kohli was trying to be aggressive and the drops did not affect him.

“He’s always going to make you hurt, especially if you drop him three or four times. Early in his innings, he was trying to be really aggressive. I think he looked like after a couple of dropped catches, he didn’t have much to lose,” added Green.

The Bengaluru side still need to win their remaining two matches against Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings at home to remain in the mix for playoffs.

Green said the team has done well to win four matches on the bounce after a string of defeats.

“Yeah, I think what we’ve done really well is just look at the next game. I think obviously at the start of the tournament you can always look further at what’s coming up, where are we on the table.”

“But I think that’s the beauty of where we were at (now), we kind of were pushed into a corner and all we could really do was focus on the next game,” he added

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin blamed the dropped catches for his side’s defeat.

The Kings let-off Kohli and Green more than once and they bruised them with quickfire knocks as RCB posted a tall 241 for seven.

In reply, PBKS could only manage 181 before getting bundled out.

“100 percent we lost the match because of dropped catches. If we look through the game, we dropped two guys on a duck, and both of them scored big runs. That was where the game was lost.

“There was not too much difference in the batting and bowling of both teams. The catches we put down cost us the game,” said Haddin.

Virat Kohli celebrates his century during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between India and Bangladesh in Pune, on Oct. 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Virat Kohli’s last World Cup hundred had come in 2015 against Pakistan at Adelaide and he was determined to make it count against Bangladesh on October 19.

Thousands of fans watched with bated breath as Kohli completed his 48th ODI century. K.L. Rahul helped his iconic teammate get to the three-figure mark by refusing singles and letting Kohli score the 25-odd runs to complete his century.

Kohli, who with 48 hundred is now just one short of legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s world record of 49 tons, cheekily apologised to teammate Ravindra Jadeja for “stealing” what could have been a sure-shot player of the match award for Saurashtra all-rounder.

Jadeja, who returned with figures of 2/38 on a batting belter along with a stunning catch at point would have got that trophy on any other day.

“Sorry for stealing it (the player of the Match award) from Jaddu. I wanted to make a big contribution. I have made fifties in World Cups, wanted to finish it off this time,” Kohli said at post-match presentation ceremony.

In fact, Bangladesh bowlers presented Kohli with a couple of free-hits and he couldn’t stop cracking a joke about it.

“I was telling Shubman that even if you dream about this situation, you go back to sleep. It was a dream start. It just calms you down.” The master chaser admitted that it was a great strip to bat on.

“The pitch was good, allowed me to play my game— hit the gaps and find the boundaries whenever I could.” The team is gelling well, said the elder statesman of the team.

“There is great atmosphere in the dressing room. The spirit is there for everyone to see. You need to create some momentum in the changing room to come out and play like this,” he added.