Kohli and Dhoni deserve credits for instilling confidence in the India lower-order, says Sadhagopan Ramesh
What's the story
Former Indian opener and Sportskeeda Cricket expert Sadhagopan Ramesh opened up on his various thoughts, including the role of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in shaping up the attitude of lower-order players while batting, helping them contribute decent numbers to the scoreboard, saying that the two leaders deserve a lot of credit for their efforts.
In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, the former national player shared his opinions on several subjects, including either team's chances ahead of India's five-match Test series against England.
In case you didn't know
The Indian lower-order of late has been contributing some decent runs into the Indian total, as evident from recent performances in the Test series against Sri Lanka last year, and even in overseas conditions like in South Africa earlier this year. In a few of those occasions, the runs scored have also proved crucial for India. This is a new trend as opposed to the days of yore, where Indian batting usually ended effectively by the fall of the sixth or seventh wicket.
It can be understood that a change in leadership and the priorities of the new leaders might have played a key role in the fresh approach to lower-order batting. It is also to be noted that MS Dhoni often plays the role of No.6 or No.7 batsman these days, more often than not working with the lower order while batting. Such involvements might be key in how the Indian lower-order responds in England as well.
The details
One thing that was different from the Indian batting from Ramesh's cricketing days to the same these days, is the substantial increase in depth when it comes to quality while playing the ball. Be it seam or spin, the lower-order seems to play a more important role in India's batting these days, compared to previous occasions.
Talking about it, Ramesh said, "Even mainstream bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar is contributing to the batting scorecard these days, and in such cases where the middle-and-lower batsmen help in scoring some crucial runs, one thing that has to be accounted for is the role of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Credit has to be given to them, for helping the lower-order batsmen especially, for making them believe in themselves."
"When an opportunity comes, you have to try your best; give out the best result - this apparently seems to be the motto in application, hence it doesn't matter whether one is a bowler or not, you should just go out and bat when it's your turn. When someone goes to bat, they have to go in as a batsman, not as a bowler. Even 10 to 15 runs can play a crucial part in any match, so whatever best a player can score, he needs to score it by himself."
At the same time, Ramesh also observed that the situation when the batsman has to walk in and bat will play an important role as well. For him, it was important that all the recognized batsman put on a good show, for the lower order to click as well.
"Say for instance the score is around 100 for 7 or so," he said, "and then Bhuvneshwar walks in and attempts to turn the game around - it's not going to happen. It is alright to expect a consistent set of 20s and 30s from batsmen like him, but at the same time, the situations have to be conducive to favour batting for the lower-order players. Be it the scorecard at the time, be it the kind of wicket – in a wicket where even the likes of Kohli is struggling, there is no point hoping that the lower-order might put on a good show."
"Instead, if Bhuvi, for instance, walks in at around 300 and is then asked to push the score forward to 350-400, then he may be able to do it. The bigwigs always have to do good enough, so that the lesser-skilled ones can be encouraged to contribute as well," he remarked.
When asked about either team's chances, Ramesh seemed not to take sides as he just said that the team who made a major impact in the first game would go on to do well in the rest of the games. For him, the first game of any series mattered most, as it set the tone for games to follow. "It need not be a win, it may just be a draw or even a standout individual performance from a star batsman or bowler - if Virat comes in and makes a 150, or if Bhuvi picks up a fifer, it would bode well for the Indian side," he said. He also added that the crowds could be a major factor, especially in England, as fans are likely to turn up in large numbers which could, in turn, boost performance levels.
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What's next
Both England and India have their own set of questions to seek answers for, and they'll have to do so pretty fast as the Test series is almost underway - Game 1 begins at Edgbaston, Birmingham on August 1, 2018 - just three days from today. With India winning the T20 series, and England replying with the win in the subsequent ODI series, the Test series will turn out to be a true test of who has the upper hand.