India’s Washington Sundar in action during the second day of the India- Afghanistan Test at the New Chandigarh Stadium on June 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam celebrates after the dismissal of Pakistan’s Babar Azam during the fourth day of the second Test cricket match between Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet on May 19, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh’s Mahmudul Hasan Joy watches the ball after playing a shot during the second day of the second Test cricket match between Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet on May 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground isn’t just a cricket match. It’s a social gathering, a coming together of peoples, a spectacle that is often the best way to bring the curtain down on a year of compelling action. It generates a buzz and an enthusiasm akin to a home side contesting the final of a global tournament; the energy is constant and infectious, the air crackling with electricity and bonhomie, all with no little help from Bacchus.

It’s a stop on the cricket calendar eagerly awaited for reasons beyond cricket, though the sport is invariably the driving force. And yet, here we are, on the scheduled day three of five, engaged in post mortems and critiques, wondering how such a fiercely anticipated showpiece devolved into a damp squib.

Upwards of 90,000 people crammed the marquee stadium, affectionately called the ‘G’, on each of the two days that witnessed play. The action was frenetic, furious, maybe even fascinating. Test cricket, particularly, is meant to be an equal contest between bat and ball, with the odds slightly tilted in favour of the latter. The MCG provided anything but that as the fourth Ashes Test got over before you could say Steve Smith and Ben Stokes in the same breath.

Vocal critics

Smith and Stokes have been among the vocal critics of a grass-laden knoll that made batting impossibly hazardous. One cursory look at curator Matt Page’s creation was enough for both captains to jettison any distant thoughts of fielding a specialist spinner. Both sides went seam heavy, hoping to rely on part-time spinners if the need arose. That need, as we all know now, hardly did.

In all, the Boxing Day showdown lasted 852 deliveries. That’s 142 overs, condensed into two days of fast-forward frenzy, culminating in a nervy four-wicket win for the visiting side. You’d think that the captain of a team that had won a Test down under after 5,468 days would be delighted at the outcome. But Stokes, the maverick with the heart of a warrior, minced no words as he slammed the playing surface, unequivocally laying into the green carpet.

“Being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want. Boxing Day Test match. You don’t want a game finishing in less than two days. Not ideal,” Stokes thundered, before adding, “I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world, there’d be hell on. Not the best thing for games that should be played over five days.”

At the press conference where he made these comments, the all-rounder was asked if ‘somewhere else in the world’ was directed at spin-friendly pitches in the subcontinent. “Your words, not mine,” was the riposte.

Much-needed victory

For England, this victory was much needed after the flak they have received over their preparations coming into the Ashes, their insipid performances in the first three matches, and an alleged drinking binge when on vacation in the long gap between the third and the fourth Tests. It has reignited, if only just, their World Test Championship prospects; on the other hand, Australia have surrendered their hitherto all-win record, undone by the 11 millimetres of grass that Page, in his infinite wisdom, laid out for pacers from both sides to feast on.

Even in isolation, a 142-over Test that saw 36 wickets crumble inside two days for just 572 runs scored is an alarming development. Combine it with what happened at the Optus Stadium in Perth five weeks previously, and it is clear that Cricket Australia (CA) must start to ask its member units how things have been allowed to come to such a pass. In the first Test that usually sets the tone for the rest of the series, Australia raced to an eight-wicket victory on the back of an outrageously freakish century by Travis Head. The irrepressible left-hander took his chances on being promoted as an opener in Usman Khawaja’s unavailability, though 123 off 83 deliveries can hardly be dismissed as chancy.

Until the Head carnage that decisively settled the contest, the ball had once again been the dominant entity. The first three innings of the Test yielded a frugal 468 runs in 112.5 overs. The hectic rate of scoring — England went at 5.23 and 4.73 an over in piecing together 172 and 164 respectively — was due to the fact that no batter felt he could trust the pitch, that he had to lash out before the ball with his name on it arrived at some stage. Harry Brook’s 52 in the England first innings was the only knock of any substance, until Head tore prediction sheets to shreds by making a fourth-innings target of 205 appear tiny and grossly inadequate.

Falling like ninepins

As many as 19 wickets fell on day one at the Optus; the MCG topped that with 20, both first innings ending before stumps and the hosts even getting to bat for one over in the second innings. Even accounting for the fact that batting standards have dipped somewhat in recent years, these are unacceptable numbers. How can such diabolical statistics not attract sanction and censure and penalties to go with the ridicule that is already ruling the social media waves?

CA chief Todd Greenberg didn’t hold back as he reflected on the second two-day finish in four games. “A simple phrase I’d use is short Tests are bad for business,” he remarked. “I can’t be much more blunt than that.” Greenberg donned his financial rather than cricketing hat, perhaps dismayed by the potential $6.7 million loss that didn’t allow him to ‘sleep well’ after the first day of the MCG fiasco. But he did strike the right note. Hopefully, he will now put the (much reduced) money where his mouth is and embark on course correction, sooner rather than later.

Australia once was the perfect place to play cricket in simply because of the vast differences in the nature of the playing surfaces across the huge country. The hallowed WACA ground in Perth — replaced by the Optus in December 2018 — and the Gabba in Brisbane tested technique and mettle, courtesy pace and bounce. The Adelaide Oval was largely a very good batting surface before starting to help the spinners as the game went on, the Sydney Cricket Ground was the most spin-friendly of the lot and the MCG was a combination of The Oval and the SCG.

Consequently, in a long series, or even in a three-match showdown, cricketers of every ilk had the opportunity to showcase their wares. They could rely on their skills to make an impact instead of riding their luck and hoping for the best, like has been the case in the last few years. The MCG and the SCG have totally changed in character, and there is a similarity to the tracks, most of them drop-in, that have dulled some of the charm of Test cricket in Australia.

The convenient and lazy reasoning for this development will be the quest for the World Test Championship (WTC) points, but Australia have been picking up points in most venues. If they missed out on qualifying for the inaugural final in 2021, it was less because of cricketing inadequacies and more due to their tardy over-rates. The docked points for slow over-rates allowed New Zealand to sneak ahead of them and into the final, where the Kiwis schooled India in Southampton. Australia have contested each of the next two finals, winning against India in 2023 and going down to Temba Bavuma-inspired South Africa at Lord’s this summer.

Do they need external help to bolster their chances? Sure, every team will welcome the opportunity to make the most of home advantage. But by producing decks with 11mm grass, aren’t they selling themselves short, much like India have been doing by rolling out turners of dubious bounce at home that their batters aren’t equipped to flourish on and which have brought opposition spinners of modest skills into the equation more and more?

Greg Chappell, the wonderfully articulate former India coach, once told this writer that if the stakeholders themselves are disrespectful of the game, it is impossible to expect the fans to be energised by Test cricket. “When the game itself denigrates the longest form of the game, it is understandable that the public might not be as stimulated by it, which is a great shame because I still think the greatest form of the game is the long form,” he said. “We’ve allowed the game to be showcased poorly, and it is no surprise to me that we have probably got a generation of people that never really understood what the attraction of Test cricket is.”

Chappell was referring more to ‘your 550 plays my 600’, which used to be the case in the subcontinent for long when winning wasn’t as important as not losing. That was in the pre-WTC era; now the onus is on results and therefore ‘doctored’ pitches designed to maximise the benefit of playing in one’s backyard, though we have seen, especially in India in the last 14 months, how spectacularly the best-laid plans can unravel.

Stokes has stoked the fire by talking about ‘somewhere else in the world’ during his takedown of the MCG surface. In a way, he was echoing Rohit Sharma’s thoughts of January 2024, when the then Indian Test captain lambasted the Newlands track in Cape Town after it was the scene of another two-day game. Interestingly, like Stokes, Rohit too was on the winning side on an abomination of a surface where the chances of succeeding with the bat were less than those of winning a lottery. After Mohammed Siraj helped bowl South Africa out for 55 on the first morning and India completed a seven-wicket on the second afternoon, Rohit let loose: “We saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played. I honestly don’t mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don’t talk too much about Indian pitches.”

Point taken, Rohit, though at the end of the day, it must not be about where the pitches are below-par, or which aspects of the sport are taken out of the equation. Test cricket owes its most passionate stakeholders, the uncelebrated fans, respect and gratitude. Two-day games are hardly the way to showcase that.

“If it’s a batting-friendly pitch, I become a batter. If it’s a bowler-friendly pitch, I become a bowler. It is simple.”

When Ravindra Jadeja was asked to shed light on his sustained all-round excellence during India’s second Test against West Indies in New Delhi last month, a throwaway response that evoked chuckles from the press pack was all that came by. It seems to be intrinsic to his nature to not harp on his skills, preferring instead to let his runs, wickets and catches do the talking.

Uncommon flexibility

Even then, the light-hearted reply begs the question: how many actually have the ability with both bat and ball to switch their primary skill based on the vagaries of the 22-yard strip?

On a track conducive to run-making, he is perfectly capable of batting in the top six and peeling off a century. And on a spin-friendly surface, he is equally adept at weaving a web and producing a five-wicket haul. Add his sharp ground fielding and safe catching to the mix, along with his athleticism, endurance and explosive burst of speed, and he clearly belongs to an exotic breed even within the category of all-rounders.

The wide-ranging attributes have helped him scale exemplary numbers in Tests: 3,990 runs, 338 wickets and 49 catches in 87 matches. As and when he crosses the 4,000-run mark, he will join a select gathering of all-rounders — Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Daniel Vettori — to have scored these many runs and claimed 300-plus scalps in the classical format. With a two-Test series against South Africa beginning November 14 in Kolkata, the landmark is imminent.

Yet, as eye-catching as these figures are, it seems reductive to view the 36-year-old’s career purely through the prism of numbers. For as long as he has been around — his Test career will complete 13 years in December — he has been defined by his proclivity to seamlessly slot into different boxes, like water taking the shape of its container, rather than by any conscious pursuit of personal milestones.

“I won’t lie that I don’t think of personal milestones at all. It seems like it will feel good when such things happen. But once it happens, it feels the same as earlier. There is nothing new,” Jadeja explained in the press conference in October. “More than my own milestones… if I perform, does it make the team win? Are my runs and wickets having an impact on the team? Right now, my mindset has become like that. That’s more important. If you score runs and take wickets and the team loses, it has no relevance.”

That Jadeja, famously dubbed ‘rockstar’ in the infancy of his career by Shane Warne, has reached this sweet spot is a reflection of the maturity he has gained over time. Though his slim, supple frame continues to glide across the turf like it did in the reckless rush of youth, having not gained a visible shred of fat in all these years, he is now the oldest member of the Indian team.

In a year that has witnessed the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from Tests — his old spin partner R. Ashwin also exited the stage last December — the all-rounder from Jamnagar, set to turn 37 on December 6, is remarkably enjoying his most prolific period with the bat. In eight Tests in 2025, he has scored 659 runs — more than in any other year — at an average of 82.37.

Putting it together

Akin to the ripening of a fruit, Jadeja took time to fuse all the ingredients as a batter at the highest level. Though the raw material was always there — three triple tons in First Class cricket by the time he turned out in Test whites — it was only towards the latter part of 2016, more than three years after making his debut, that Jadeja began to pull his weight with the willow. His batting has scaled up substantially since 2018, producing 2,814 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 44.66. All of his six Test hundreds have come in this period.

He was at his apogee in England this year. In a largely parched summer that facilitated a spree of runs, Jadeja duly filled his boots with 516 runs in 10 innings at 86. It included a streak of four successive half-centuries and was followed by a ton that contributed to India saving the Test in Manchester on the final day. A simple technique, devoid of exaggerated trigger movements, and a steely temperament were the driving forces in this purple patch.

The tour of the Old Blighty, however, wasn’t rewarding with the ball for Jadeja for obvious reasons. There are limitations that the left-arm spinner has as a wicket-taker outside the subcontinent, but even when the conditions are inimical, what he always offers is control from one end as the pacers probe from the other.

Numbers are instructive in this regard. Since January 2010, among bowlers with 200-plus Test wickets, Jadeja’s economy-rate of 2.59 runs per over is the lowest. In an era of rising run-rates, it is a testament to Jadeja’s accuracy in hitting a good length that he is still able to tie batters down. It makes him deadly on turning tracks at home where the benefit of natural variation becomes all the more pronounced, for even the bowler doesn’t always know whether the ball is going to grip and spin or skid into the pads after pitching.

The modus operandi has yielded majestic results, his 338 scalps in the format being the fifth-highest by an Indian behind Anil Kumble, Ashwin, Kapil and Harbhajan Singh.

In the broad spectrum of skills he brings to the table, there is also his contribution to India’s white-ball teams. His last act in T20Is before retiring along with Rohit and Kohli was lifting the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean last year. In ODIs, he hasn’t played since winning the Champions Trophy in March.

Strangely, despite his illustrious career, Jadeja hasn’t necessarily got his due from the public at large. Even when he was left out of India’s ODI squad for the recent series against Australia, although chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that it had no bearing on the medium-term, it was no more than a footnote.

Legacy vs. popular memory

It is perhaps because, notwithstanding all the runs, wickets and catches in numerous victories for India, he isn’t associated with a singular defining moment of glory that lives on in popular memory. While he won Chennai Super Kings its fifth IPL title in 2023 by hitting a six and four off the last two deliveries in a cliffhanger, he has had some ‘so near and yet so far’ heartbreaks on national duty. The 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand and the Lord’s Test this year spring to mind.

But in the grand scheme of things, this shouldn’t matter. Because whenever Jadeja hangs up his boots and reflects on whether his runs and wickets had an impact on the Indian team, the answer will be a resounding yes.

Published – November 08, 2025 12:15 am IST

Let’s cut to the chase. Has T20 cricket deskilled Test cricket?

Wasim Jaffer: It surely has, and it’s quite exciting too. In our time, we had to play three-day or four-day cricket. We had to score big hundreds and double hundreds to get noticed. But ever since T20 came in, at the start of a season, players’ main focus is T20 cricket. This is very unlike our time where we used to look forward to the Ranji Trophy or even the Duleep Trophy because that was the pathway. Now, IPL (Indian Premier League) provides the platform to get noticed. To be honest, if I was playing in this day and age, I would probably be doing the same. My only concern is that you should fit in all three formats (ODIs, Test cricket, and T20) and today’s youngsters don’t do that. They want to play white-ball cricket. They want to play T20 cricket. But four-day cricket takes a back seat. Those small pretty knocks of 30-40 in quick time look very good in T20 cricket, but they don’t win you games in even one-day cricket, let alone four-day cricket or Test matches. We need to instill the mentality in them that even if they want to play in the T20 way, they will still need to score hundreds to make a statement. Up until players are 32-33, when their body is still fit and strong, they need to fit into all three formats. But prioritising T20 cricket… I’ve got no problem [with it].

Jaydev Unadkat: I agree. You can’t really blame youngsters coming into the game because they look at financial security. T20 cricket has helped a lot of players and families that way. On the field, I won’t say T20 has helped or has made the job easier. When we started playing, it was always red-ball cricket, which was looked up to in terms of starting a season. No one really noticed a lot of performances in white-ball cricket. The IPL has changed the game for youngsters. I was talking to Cheteshwar (Pujara) recently about how we are seeing players who have started their cricket just watching IPL. Even until 2015-16, it was a mix of T20 and red-ball cricket. Red-ball cricket is hard work. For a bowler to bowl 18-20 overs a day, sometimes without reward, is hard work. Even batters have got to grind through phases, play out sessions, play some good spells. Those were the skills that used to be seen in extraordinary players, not just hitting boundaries. It is changing, but I don’t want players to forget that sometimes bowling an eight- or a nine-over spell — despite what your physio or strength and conditioning team has told you for managing workload — is the need of the hour. You have got to do that for your team and for playing at the highest level.

With IPL having become the epicentre of world cricket and not just Indian cricket, is it too much for old-timers to expect good-old batting to be on display in the coming years?

Wasim Jaffer: Yes, it will be non-existent. You probably won’t see a player getting a hundred in 200-250 balls. Or a player leaving a ball outside off stump over after over. You’ll see a counter-attack. Pujara is the last lot of that old batsmanship, but that (old batsmanship) is the need of the hour.

A coach will now encourage a child to attack first and then teach him to defend later. It was the other way around when I was growing up. If you teach a young kid to defend first, he will lose interest because he wants to play all those fancy shots because that’s what he has seen on TV. If you try and stop him from doing it right from the word go, he will stop playing cricket.

Today’s batters give up easily mentally. They have got fantastic shots. Australia’s Sam Konstas, for example. Playing like that in one’s first Test match… we would have not even dreamt of playing like that. But today’s generation is like that. They can go out and play outrageous shots and get 20-30. They just need to understand how to dig deep. Once they understand that, the sky is the limit because they can change a game within a session or two. To make them understand this is a big challenge for the captain, coach, or mentor.

Jaydev Unadkat: The counter-attacking game has produced a lot more results and generated greater crowds, even for Test cricket, which is important. Sometimes, as players, we don’t understand the importance of the game needing crowds because that’s where you generate revenue.

As a captain, if I see the shift from T20 cricket to Ranji Trophy, the first couple of net sessions, the batters just put the bat to everything. They have got to leave some balls outside off stump as well. They have the ability but maybe not the hunger to fight it out.

You touched upon generating support from the fans, but will it last? If Test cricket played merely as an extension to T20 cricket, why will anyone follow it over five days?

Wasim Jaffer: T20 will always be the most viewed format. Obviously older people won’t enjoy it, but for the guys who are growing up now, that will always take a front seat. Test cricket has its own beauty. It’s like a game of chess or a marathon, so people enjoy it. It’s never a straight route in Test cricket. It gives you a different high and the spectators also understand that. We saw that when India won in Gabba (2021).

Jaydev Unadkat: At Gabba, you needed a Pujara and you needed a Rishabh Pant. It’s the balance and it starts from the top. If you have the mindset of rewarding those who can grind it out and those who can play those shots, that’s where we can find the balance. I can give you an example about bowlers. We (Saurashtra) have a couple of young fast bowlers who have come in, but all they think about when they want to take a wicket is whether to bowl a bouncer or a slower ball or a yorker. When I ask them about their wicket-taking plan, they never say sticking to the off-stump line or playing with a batter’s patience.

One of the challenges young batters face is managing an array of scoring strokes. How do you make them understand to manage the shots?

Wasim Jaffer: You need to make them understand that they don’t need 12 shots in every match. Probably three-four shots and they can easily get a hundred. They need to understand that they have got all the armoury but they don’t need to use all of it. On a flat wicket, they don’t need to play a sweep shot because they can score runs by just playing straight. After they hit a boundary or a six, the best way is to take a single and go to the other end and let the other guy play the next ball. That’s the challenge for the coaches — how to get them to play 100 balls? Stopping them from playing shots is not the right way. In Test cricket, you don’t need to score at a strike rate of 150; a 60-70 strike rate is good enough.

Jaydev Unadkat: Everything comes down to balancing it out. They have to figure out the strongest four on a particular day and stick to it. The captain’s and coaches’ role has also changed in that way.

Wasim Jaffer: Today’s batters are not scared to get out. I find that very strange. If they see a ball which is above their eyeline and even if the fielders are at long off, long on, deep cover, and deep midwicket, they will still play the high-risk shot. It is difficult for them to realise that if they play such a high-risk game, they could lose the wicket and if they keep doing that for two-three innings, they are playing for their spot. They need to play that ‘low risk, high reward’ game to be successful.

What’s the way forward?

Jaydev Unadkat: There is no comparison in terms of the incentives that you get in IPL and a domestic tournament. That is not going to match. Individually, if you look at domestic cricket, they could keep incentivising how much a player gets in Ranji Trophy. But that is just the financial part; it is not the solution. I feel some players just don’t want to go through the grind. You can give them financial incentives, but you have to find ways of keeping that hunger going, of providing that motivation. [They should know] how much it means for a State to win the Ranji Trophy or to win a four-day contest.

Wasim Jaffer: I am against under-19 boys getting huge (IPL) contracts. The BCCI needs to put a cap of probably ₹50 lakh or something. A youngster getting crores of rupees if he doesn’t have a good mentor… it’s going to do more harm than good for him. And players getting selected for their potential rather than performance nowadays… [That needs to change too].

Listen to the conversation in The Hindu Parley podcast

Youth or experience? Old formulas or out-of-the-box ideas? Playing it safe or high-stakes gambles? What are the best tactical plans Indian Test cricket strategists need to draw up in terms of personnel as we head into a new year?

Unless you are an extremist, chances are you would say the best strategy is a healthy mix of all of the above. But let’s face it—that is the safe answer. Treading the middle ground when it comes to deciding which way to steer a team in transition is not the easiest thing to do. When you go neither this way nor that, there can be confusion and mixed signals, and a lot can be lost in translation. 

Any cricketer worth his or her salt also knows that they can’t adopt the ostrich formula—you have to be ready to embrace change. See how seniors like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami etc take the young guns under their wings and also don’t fail to notice the confidence that the youngsters these days exude, thanks to the backing they are getting from the powers that be—both on and off the field.

A Safe Change

There was a time when fans broke out in a cold sweat when they thought about what would happen once Sunil Gavaskar or Kapil Dev or Sachin Tendulkar retired. Today, the team could be minus a Virat, a Rohit or a Shami, and no one would bat an eyelid. In the five-match home series with England earlier this year, there was no Virat and no Shami, and India had as many as five Test debutantes: Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep and Rajat Patidar. The 22-year-old Jaiswal was the Player of the Series, thanks to his mammoth tally of 712 runs, as he became only the second Indian batter ever to score 700-plus runs in a Test series after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. India won the series 4-1.

The change that is currently unfolding in Indian Test cricket feels almost safe. The youngsters are playing very promising cricket, both at home and away (though more consistency is needed in away Tests). Indian cricket is in an unprecedented phase wherein both the batting and bowling supply lines are incredibly healthy. You don’t need to look beyond four players who are playing in Australia currently—Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana—to understand this. Don’t focus on individual scorecards but on the overall picture of the impact youngsters are having in Indian Test cricket. After all, the team is being built for at least the next five to ten years, and the First-Class arena is throwing up some incredible talent.

A Replay

The model to boost youngsters is working and needs to be strengthened. In Gautam Gambhir, the BCCI has the kind of coach who doesn’t fear backlash or brickbat as long as the long-term plan for the future is on track. The big question here is, how much of the Board’s backing does he have? It’s not just rebuilding, India need to start winning the big series under him. The home loss against New Zealand can be forgotten perhaps only if they win this time in Australia. That along with qualification for the WTC could have a significant impact on Gambhir’s performance assessment. 

India shouldn’t fear change right now. Almost exactly a decade ago, we witnessed a huge transition in Indian cricket when MS Dhoni handed the baton of Test captaincy to Virat Kohli. Under Dhoni, the team had reached the number-one spot in the Test rankings, but there came a time when they had lost 15 of 23 overseas Tests. Dhoni himself decided to step down as Test captain in the middle of a Test series in Australia. The next chapter saw “Fighting fire with fire” becoming the new Team India mantra. Fresh blood was infused and Indian Test cricket evolved as the team went on to become a real force to be reckoned with in the longest format, winning 16 away Tests. Kohli overtook Dhoni as India’s most successful Test skipper and also became the most successful Asian captain in SENA countries (seven Test wins).

Curtains Down On An Era

We stand on the cusp of another tectonic shift in Indian Test cricket today. The team has moved on from Test veterans like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha. Ashwin, too, has brought the curtain down on his career. The likes of Yashasvi, Shubman Gill, K.L. Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj have been effectively integrated into the Test system. Jurel, Washington Sundar, Rana and Nitish Reddy will, in all probability, also follow suit. That effectively leaves the likes of Virat, Rohit, Shami and Jadeja as the only ‘super seniors’.

For Virat and Rohit in particular, time is running out. Legacy and superstar status still go a long way of course, but with the kind of talent that is knocking on the door and with ‘evolution’ becoming a keyword, these two stalwarts have to start performing consistently if they want to continue playing Test cricket. In 24 Test innings this year (till after the Brisbane Test vs Aus), Rohit has scored a total of 607 runs, at an average of 26.39, with two centuries and two half-centuries. Virat in the same period has played 17 Test innings, scoring 376 runs, at an average of 25.06, with one century. His career batting average in Tests stands at an eight-year low (47.49). Unless they go completely ballistic in the two remaining Tests in Australia, will we see them board the flight to the UK for the tour of England next year? 

It would be fair to say that the jury is out on that one. It wasn’t a surprise to see both these icons retiring from T20Is after India won the last edition of the T20 World Cup. They went out on a high. Another Test series win in Australia this time could be the best opportunity for them to bring the curtain down on their Test careers as well, though this is the toughest format for a cricketer to say goodbye to. The management knows very well, just like every cricket fan in the world, that Jasprit Bumrah is more than ready to take over as Test captain. Shami still has to prove his fitness and will be given a few more chances of course, but with the likes of Rana, Deep and Prasidh Krishna finding their names on the squad sheet more regularly, the competition in the fast-bowling space is also heating up. Because of his all-round abilities, including fielding smarts, Jadeja might hold on longer than the others. But again, with the likes of Axar Patel, Tanush Kotian (who replaced Ashwin in India squad) and Tilak Verma around, he, too, will be feeling the heat.

It’s a cliché, yes, but change is indeed the only constant. No one knows that better than an athlete.

(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

A file image of Australia’s Nathan Lyon
| Photo Credit: AP

Veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon believes that rival players often serve as the “best coaches”, acknowledging that his Indian counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin has “taught” him a great deal through their faceoffs since 2011-12.

Having made their Test debuts in the same year, Lyon and Ashwin will face each other for the eighth time in the longest format during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy five-Test series beginning in Perth on November 22.

“Ash (Ashwin) is an incredible bowler. I’ve gone head-to-head with him for basically my whole career, so I’ve learned a lot from Ash,” Lyon told Fox Cricket.

“He’s an incredibly smart bowler, and he’s able to learn and adapt very quickly, and I think the best bowlers in the world are able to do that. He used his skills to benefit himself and his team.

“So, you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due, he was the best bowler (in 2020/21), as he usually is. So, hats off to Ash.” It will be Ashwin’s fifth Test tour of Australia, where he has claimed 39 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 42.15.

Lyon further admitted to having studied Ashwin’s bowling closely, especially before Australia toured India in the last few years.

“He’s taught me a lot,” Lyon said. “I’m a big believer in the players that you play against are your best coaches that you eventually come across.” “I’ve watched a lot of his footage heading over to India, the way he goes about it here in Australia, see if I can pick up anything.

“The way I look at cricket is that I’ve never met anyone who has conquered the game, never played against or with anyone who’s conquered the game.

“There’s so much to learn in this great game, and there’s so much for me to learn from Ash. He’s a world-class bowler. He’s taken over 500 Test match wickets, and he should be extremely proud of that.” Ashwin (21.76) outshines Lyon (30.81) in terms of having the best Test bowling average in Asia. However, the Australian has better bowling figures outside Asia — Lyon: 30.09, Ashwin: 33.14.

Asked if they could face again post this tour, Lyon reckoned, “Spin bowling is a craft that the older you get, the better you get with age.”

“There’s definitely no limit for me, and I don’t think there should be a limit for us as well. He’s absolutely world-class, and there’s a series in a couple of years’ time. So, who knows?”

Asked about the secret of his success on non-spinning tracks, Lyon quipped: “I know Jadeja reads all of this stuff, so I can’t really share all my secrets.”

“My big thing is spinning up the back of the ball and getting bounce, but it’s a hard craft to be able to do that in Australia. Your size for error is extremely small,” he said.

They may not have won a Test series against India in nearly a decade, but Lyon feels their World Test Championship final triumph last year would give them the edge.

“India’s got the wood over us in the past few series, but if you’re looking at the World Test Championship (final) in England, we were able to beat them there, and I know that should give us a bit of confidence heading into (this summer),” Lyon said.

“We understand that we’re coming up against a world-class side, but we can take a lot of confidence out of where we are at as an Australian cricket team.

“I feel like we’re on the journey to becoming a great team. We’re not there yet. There’s a bit of work to do, but we have the opportunity to do something pretty special this summer.”

India are reeling from an unprecedented 0-3 home defeat against New Zealand, a result Lyon believes will make the second-ranked team even more determined.

“I think they’re extremely dangerous. They’re a class outfit, and they know their best preparation and how to come out here and perform. It’s going to be a cracking Test series.”

“It’s been a long ten years since Australia’s held the trophy. There’s only a few of us that would probably be in the squad that’s actually held the trophy, so it’s time to bring it home,” he concluded.

The pitch area is covered with plastic sheets as it rains, ahead of the first test match between India and New Zealand 2024, at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru on October 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Rain could disrupt proceedings in the first India-New Zealand Test which commences at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Heavy showers forced both teams to call off their training sessions on Tuesday. Play is likely to be interrupted in the first two days of the Test, at a minimum.

New Zealand will be wary regardless, as India recently showed that even a heavily truncated encounter cannot stop its march to victory.

Bangladesh learnt the hard way, going down in two days in the second Test at Kanpur earlier this month.

Poor record

The Kiwis must overcome a particularly poor record in India. The last Test win on these shores came all the way back in 1988 at Bombay, inspired by stellar shows from John Bracewell and Richard Hadlee. The 19 Tests that have followed have resulted in ten losses and nine draws. To make the task harder, key batter Kane Williamson is out for the first match due to a groin strain. Fast bowler Ben Sears, known to hurry batters with extra zip off the pitch, is also out injured. His replacement, uncapped Otago Volts bowler Jacob Duffy, will not be able to reach the city in time for start of play.

The visitor is expected to rely heavily on spinners Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips and Ajaz Patel to carry the bulk of the load.

A 0-2 loss to Sri Lanka last month cannot help confidence.

Sitting pretty

India, meanwhile, is sitting pretty on a six-match winning streak. A 3-0 sweep in this series, which will guarantee a spot in the World Test Championship final, serves as timely motivation.

If India can manage to secure early passage to the summit clash, it will considerably reduce the pressure when the side tours to Australia later this year for five Tests.

The rain and damp pitch could prompt India to feature three pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep. The trio is more than capable of turning it on in the absence of an injured Mohammed Shami.

Focus on Ashwin, Jadeja

Spinners R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who took 11 and nine wickets respectively in the Bangladesh series, will once again prove to be a handful.

On the batting front, Virat Kohli will welcome the chance to feature in his second home. Kohli will hold fond memories of scoring 103 and 51 n.o. against the same opposition at this venue in 2012, to hand India a hard-fought win.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who found form in the Bangladesh games, is capable of deflating the opposition in a single session. The young opener received high praise from his captain Rohit Sharma. “The guy has got real talent. He has got the game to play in all conditions. From what he has shown us in this brief period of time, you can bet on him and expect him to do wonders for the team. We have found a great player,” Rohit said.

By all accounts, India’s proud home record – the last series defeat came at the hands of England in 2012 – is set to continue.

Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.

New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Mark Chapman, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell (wk), Ajaz Patel, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, William O’Rourke, Jacob Duffy.

Match starts at 9.30 AM IST.

India’s Coach Gautam Gambhir during a press conference ahead of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on October 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Back in 2009, Gautam Gambhir played a stellar knock in the second India-New Zealand Test at Napier. His nearly 11-hour vigil helped India force a draw when following on.

Now the India head coach, Gambhir does not entertain warm tales of nostalgia. “All that is history. It is in the past,” Gambhir said at a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday when reminded of his exploits.

The follow up question, however, got Gambhir’s attention. In this age of attacking cricket, is it possible for a batter to show the immense patience that Gambhir did in that Napier match? The former opener certainly believes so.

“We want to be a team that can make 400 runs in a day, and bat for two days to get a draw. That’s called growth. That’s called adaptability. That’s called Test cricket. If we’re in a situation where we have to bat for two days to draw, we have a lot of individuals who can do that. The first motive is to win the match, and the second or last option is to play for a draw,” Gambhir said.

The first Test between India and New Zealand, which commences here on Wednesday, could see Virat Kohli reach 9,000 Test runs. The former India captain is 53 runs short of the mark.

Kohli has not made a fifty in the three Tests he has played this year, but did chip in with an important 35-ball 47 against Bangladesh in the second Test at Kanpur. Gambhir stated that Kohli is as hungry as ever for the big runs.

“My thoughts about Virat has always been very clear – he is a world-class cricketer. He has performed for such a long period of time, and he is as hungry as when he made his debut.

“I remember opening the batting with him when he made his debut in Sri Lanka (in 2008). Even now, his hunger is always there. I am sure that he will be looking forward to these three Tests and the series in Australia as well,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir explained that this era belongs to bowlers, and that it is time to get over the general obsession with batters.

“This is the time of bowlers. Batsmen only set up matches. It is very important that our batsman-obsessed attitude ends.

“If a batsman makes a thousand runs, there is no guarantee that he will win the Test match. But if a bowler takes 20 wickets, there is a 99 per cent guarantee that he will win the Test match. In any format, bowlers win you the tournament. I hope that in this era, we will talk more about bowlers as compared to batters,” Gambhir said.