5 players who deserve to play Tests for India in the next one year
The Indian Test team might be number 1 in the world but they have some areas to address if they want to sustain their dominance in the longer run. The current Indian team has a better bowling unit than the batting unit, something you don't see often in Indian cricket.
The tour of South Africa in 2018 and the recently-concluded first Test against England at Edgbaston show that the bowlers are performing better than the batsmen and it is a serious reality check for Virat Kohli and co. who have eight more overseas Test matches (one starts in the first week of January 2019) and three matches at home by the end of this year.
The batsmen are struggling to get going and put runs on the board. If this trend continues, the selectors have to take some bold decisions and throw the axe on certain players, especially when a lot of talented and deserving cricketers waiting in the wings.
Let us take a look at five players who deserve to play Tests for India in the next one year.
Shreyas Iyer
Over the last few years, Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer has been phenomenal at number three for his domestic side in the Ranji Trophy. The right-hander has scored runs for fun irrespective of whether he plays for Mumbai or West Zone or India A.
His consistent performances have earned him a place in the Indian side, limited-overs side to be precise and the 23-year-old has failed to capitalize on the chances he got and has moved down the pecking order for a place in the Indian middle-order in ODIs.
Unfortunately, he was called into the Indian Test team only once, that too as a last minute replacement for Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who had to miss the fourth and final Test against Australia in Dharamsala in 2017. Iyer is yet to make his Test debut and a good series against South Africa A and Australia A in India should give him a good chance of making it to the national side.
Someone like Shreyas, who averages 54 in 46 FC matches deserves to play Test cricket for India and the selectors should consider him when they sit down to pick the team for the series against West Indies and the Australia tour later this year.