Testing the reserves - Which Indian bench player can make the most impact in England?
India is going into this tour of England with an unusually large squad. Instead of a standard 15-men side, BCCI shall be paying travelling expenses for 18 players for the next two months.
By doing this, India has tried putting itself in a risk free zone given its history with English tours. On the last tour, India had injury scares a way too many which became a major factor in their humiliating 0-4 whitewash defeat. This time the management has given its squad ample resource of reserves, especially in the fast bowling department.
The squad consists of 6 front line medium pacers, 1 spinner, 2 all rounders, and nine batsmen. Out of these 18 players only 11 can be fielded which would mean some bench time for 7 players. Every tour sees a team taking some reserves to keep their bench strong for “just in case” situations. First of all, who are really the reserves this time around?
If we leave the regulars of the previous few series that India has played, the six names which stand apart are Gautam Gambhir, Stuart Binny, Pankaj Singh, Varun Aaron, Wriddhiman Saha and Ishwar Pandey.
Among the regulars, there is a fight for a place between Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane as India would most likely go with 4 frontline bowlers and one all-rounder, be it Jadeja or Binny, leaving space for only 6 batsmen.
Let’s find out the prospects for all the 6 reserves. keeping out the top 12 aside.
Gautam Gambhir
This veteran batsman was the vice-captain when India last toured England. He has found his long lost form this year after some scintillating IPL performances, leading his side to a title win. He is counted amongst India’s all time great opening batsmen and his addition to the side provides strength and experience to the line up.
His stock has been going high this year and he began his English tour with a 50 against Leicestershire. He has not looked better than now in last 12 months.
Expect him to be in the playing XI and play an important character in this Indian line up. Murali Vijay, who has been a regular since Gambhir’s departure in 2012, may have to warm benches this time instead.
Wriddhiman Saha
Unfortunately, despite being extremely talented, Saha will hardly feel the grass on his palms. We live in “M S Dhoni era” which guarantees hard luck for other wicket keepers. Until the Indian skipper has to miss out due to an emergency, expect Saha to see the proceedings from the sidelines while being a good water delivery guy. Saha playing in the XI means that Dhoni won’t and that is the last thing India wants!
Stuart Binny
Oh, this poor lad! Only if he was not born a Binny. He could have been a Stuart Fernandes or Stuart Singh and he would have been just fine.
His selection has been credited to his father and not his talents and he would love to prove his haters wrong. Yes. there is Ravindra Jadeja who is an absolute favourite of the entire nation, making Binny an unpopular choice. Indian fans like to think what they want. They seldom go into the depths of technicalities. Cricket is not just a game after all here. And fans for some reason seem to have already dismissed poor “Stuart little”.
Despite all boos and cheers, Binny can be successful on English pitches which are ideal for his bowling. Expect him to play a match or two especially after his Bangladesh stinct. But he may not be a part of first Test. Jadeja will have to play poorly for him to get a chance from second Test onwards.
The question remains, will he be able to perform on this tour with all the expectations on his shoulders and guns pointed his side or will he become the quintessential Rahul Gandhi of Indian cricket? Only time will tell.
Varun Aaron
He has better chances of playing on this tour than Ishwar and Pankaj Singh because of his pace which must be luring the selectors. With Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami is fray, it is interesting to see whether he would be given a nod or not. His success depends a lot on the failure of the three top seamers especially Ishant Sharma who finds his position in danger.
If he does play, he needs to hit the deck hard and keep the ball straight. He can’t get a better chance of succeeding than this. Does he have the mettle to be what India wants him to be? It’s a long tour, let’s wait and watch.
Ishwar Pandey
His is a curious little case. He was the highest-wicket taker in 2012-13 Ranji Season which fetched him a national cap. He kept finding himself touring with the Indian team only to become a bonafide bencher. With the look of things, even this time around he may have to witness the matches from sideline.
Make no mistake though, even if he gets a game or two to play, this lanky Madhya Pradesh pacer can make the world notice him.
Pankaj Singh
I did a piece yesterday holding my opinion on why Pankaj Singh should NOT warm the benches.
He has so much angst and frustration inside and so much to prove that if he can channel his emotions into his bowling, he can become a nighmare for Englishmen.
Only condition? Let him play!
To play safe, India will most probably go with the good ol’ hit and trial method this time around. They would start the tour with their best XI which has all the recognisable names. The attempt will be to secure the series after which they can go on experimenting. Most of these benchers’ success on this tour depends on the performance or rather the lack of it on the part of regulars.