5 Players India Need To Find A Place For In Their Test Team
After their recent loss to England, these are 5 players that need to be included in the next Test.
Cricket is like a religion in India. Everywhere you go, in every available space, kids are playing cricket. Youngsters hone their skills playing tape ball street cricket, before graduating to club level and playing with the hardball. They all dream of one day donning that Indian jersey and stepping out on the field to represent their country. In the land of a billion plus people, it’s no overestimation to say that in excess of 95% of the population are obsessed with cricket. A lot of those who make the grade and play club cricket do so to a pretty decent level. But it’s that star quality that separates decent club cricketers from stepping up and becoming international stars.
There’s a lot of competition for places in the Indian team. Youngers grew up emulating batting greats, hoping one day to follow in their footsteps. India’s renowned for producing top-notch batting talent. Sunil Gavaskar, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Ravi Shastri, are just a few names that come mind. Then who can forget that golden generation; Laxman, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman. Then there are the bowlers, mainly spinners.
The current crop isn’t half bad. They’ve risen to number one in the Test rankings for a reason. But are they worthy of the top spot? A lot feel that this current tour of England will be their toughest test of late. They need to prove themselves as the best Test team in the world by emerging victorious from the series. So far it hasn’t gone to plan. England have won the first Test at Edgbaston. It was a closely contested match that resulted in a nail-biting finish. India just didn’t have enough firepower with the bat.
Just as everyone thought, there was an overreliance on Virat Kohli. He’s one player who emerged with some credibility, having banished his demons of old. But batting wise, India need to sure up. In the bowling department, they need to be more ruthless. There’s plenty of competition for places. It’s baffled many as to how some of these names weren’t included in the first test. India need to find a place for these five players if they’re going to make any sort of headway.