Within a week’s time, the most anticipated series of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023 -2025) cycle would begin in the Asian subcontinent .The England side led by the management of Brendon McCullum and fiery all rounder Ben Stokes with their famous ‘Bazball’ approach is all set to take on the Unbeaten Indian side who are in the test series in their home conditions since 2012 and this time under the management led by coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma.
With the 5 match test series starting in Hyderabad on 25th of January 2024, the excitement of the series especially the Bazball approach which has been made famous by England all round the world ,talks of how Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will apply this on the cricket fields in India is already buzzing around the media alongside with the fact that how India under the charismatic leadership of Rohit Sharma will continue its dominance in home test series since 2012 to acquire top spot in the World Test Championship points table for the moment.
Effect of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on inexperienced Indian batting
With England ready to unleash its Bazball tactics on India in the upcoming series, India without the likes of experienced Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in their test ranks in order to create a new test squad with the inclusion of youngsters like Yashaswi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill alongside Shreyas Iyer to their squad it is evident that the crux of the Indian batting will heavily depend on Rohit Sharma , Virat Kohli and KL Rahul to some extent.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid will be aware of the fact that though in Indian conditions , the English bowlers would come in full force and he and Virat has to do chunk of run scoring across the series.
Rohit Sharma who last played some valuable knocks versus England most vividly the century he scored on a difficult wicket in Chennai when England toured India last time around and a match winning century in the 3rd innings that set up India’s win in the subsequent tour to England at Trent Bridge knows for the fact that it would be his responsibility to carry young and fiery Yashasvi Jaiswal alongside him and give India rollicking opening stands for the middle order like Gill, Iyer, Kohli and Rahul to settle down and pile on the runs on England.
This heavy dependence on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could be a boon for youngsters like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to grab their opportunities to be big names in the tournament as the English bowlers will be busy concentrating on the methods to get Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli out early and might slightly overlook them in the process. However England former fast bowler now commentator Steve Harmison feels otherwise and believes his team is ready for the advantage if they manage to get Rohit and Virat out early in the match.
Steve Harmison makes a huge statement on Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma
Former England seamer Steve Harmison has cast doubts on Team India’s batting unit ahead of the five-Test series, suggesting that it is not as intimidating as one of the yesteryears. Harmison stated that he remains unsure of Yashaswi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill’s potential in the longest format despite faring well in limited-overs cricket.
With Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara out of the Test side, India have some relatively inexperienced faces in their line-up. While Gill and Shreyas Iyer have struggled in recent times, Jaiswal has adapted to Test cricket well, averaging 45.14 in four Tests alongside a century and half-century.
Speaking to IANS, Harmison feels India will heavily depend on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as they currently lack the class of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman. The 45-year-old elaborated:
“India will fancy their chances in their own environment, especially with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in their batting line-up. England, though, will feel that there are some vulnerabilities in that batting line-up. When I toured India, you had those big batters in the likes of Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman – all stellar players. I am not sure if it’s as intimidating as it was back in the day,”
“Shubman Gill is a very talented player and Yashaswi Jaiswal is a good player, so as Shreyas Iyer. But I don’t think there are more of established international players in red-ball as compared to white-ball set-up,” he added.
Harmison equally pointed out England’s vulnerabilities and believes Joe Root and Ben Stokes must shoulder the burden of scoring runs amid an inexperienced line-up.
“Ben Duckett is still finding his way, while Zak Crawley is still trying to find his way, though he’s an exciting talent. So, Ben Stokes and Joe Root will have to shoulder the burden and the majority of pressure if England are to perform with the bat,”
“A lot of their success with the bat will be largely down to Joe Root having one of his better series because he’s the best player of spin in the current line-up, and is amongst the modern-day great players of this generation alongside Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.”
Joe Root was the leading run-getter when England visited India the last time, aggregating 368 runs in four Tests. However, the wheels fell off for the Yorkshire batter after the opening Test when he made a double-hundred in the first innings.
Mohammed Shami will be a big miss for India in the initial period – Steve Harmison
Steve Harmison reckons India are well stacked in the fast-bowling department despite Mohammad Shami’s absence for the first two Tests.
“Both teams would be happy with their fast-bowling line-ups,” he added. “Mohammed Shami is one of the best bowlers of the present time, whether it’s red-ball or white-ball cricket. He will be a big miss for India in the initial period. India are well-suited with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, but if Shami is available later, he will enter the equation,”
Speaking of England, Harmison feels the tourists must use the available resources judiciously.
“England have James Anderson, who did bowl well when he was in India last time. I can see him doing the same thing again, as England are going to use his experience wisely. So, they might go in with one of Anderson, Robinson, Wood or Atkinson in these games, where England would need a sublime and skillful fast bowler. England have picked their best four possible fast-bowling options,”
Hyderabad will host the first Test, starting on January 25 2024 and Rohit Sharma with his men would like to make Steve Harmison’s words go to vain as India will look to defend its mantle of being unbeaten in a test series in India since 2012.