Australia vs India Test series: 3 selection decisions made by India that could prove to be blunders
How much difference the right selection decisions can make was very starkly visible during the India England Test series. On one hand, England were brave enough to include a rookie like Sam Curran in place of some established but out-of-form names. On the other hand, India were reluctant to include newcomers like Prithvi Shaw and Karun Nair in spite of the repeated failures of some established names.
India made some tactical mistakes on the selection front as well - like the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the Lord's Test and playing Ravichandran Ashwin in spite of an injury in the fourth Test.
The selection of the right team is the first step towards a triumphant journey. But India seem to have made mistakes again with their Test squad for the tour to Australia.
Let's take a look at some of the selections which can hamper India's chances in Australia:
#1 No variety in the pace attack
The Indian fast bowling attack lacked variety in England. Though the bowlers performed really well during the series, they were guilty of one thing throughout the series - not being able to finish off the lower middle order/tail.
The likes of Sam Curran kept punishing Kohli's men match after match, but the Indian bowlers were clueless in finding ways to stop him.
In such scenarios, there's one thing that often helps a team - variety in the attack. Captains often make changes to bring in a different sort of bowler to try and see if they can break a partnership. The history of Test cricket is full of instances when variety in bowling helped in breaking partnerships.
With the exploits of Khaleel Ahmed on the ODI scene, India seem to have found a left arm pacer that they were missing for a long time. But by not picking him for the Australian tour, the selectors seem to have missed a trick.
Khaleel would have provided the much-needed variety that India need in their fast bowling department.