Five weaknesses of Team India that could be exposed on overseas tours

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The Indian team are flying high but there are certain problems that need to be addressed

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The Indian team have been in belligerent form, winning almost everything possible in the past 12 months. Virat Kohli has led this team to great heights, winning nine consecutive ODIs and Test series after Test series in home conditions.

However, the successful run has hidden the chinks in the team's armour. The problems plaguing the Indian team were on show in the fourth ODI of the ongoing series against Australia, a game they lost. India's strong showings prior to that defeat allowed the BCCI to experiment and in this process of experimentation, quite a few things have gone wrong.

Inconsistent team selection

The squad selection has been extremely inconsistent over the past 12 months. The selection panel have picked and dropped players far too frequently, resulting in a constant chopping and changing of the playing XI.

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Karthik and Pant have been in the form of their lives

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Dinesh Karthik was named in India's 2017 ICC Champions Trophy squad after performing splendidly for the past year or so. He scored 704 runs in 10 Ranji Trophy matches at an average of 55 and 607 runs in nine Vijay Hazare Trophy games at a phenomenal average of 87 in the 2016-17 season. Karthik was finally given an opportunity, being picked in the Champions Trophy squad only to be dropped soon after, despite scoring 94 runs in the practice match.

Rishabh Pant was kept as a backup in the Champions Trophy squad without having played a single ODI for India. Now, though, he isn't being given a chance despite the fact that the ongoing series against Australia is being played at home with India having already won it.

There have been inconsistencies regarding the team selection as well. Initially, KL Rahul was brought in as an opener, then made to play in the middle order and now, after two failures, he has been shown the door.

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