5 things to look forward to from India during the Test series against Australia

With the announcement of a 19-member squad for the Test series down under, the selectors have added some new faces to the side whereas on the other hand, some players have still been overlooked and not been given a place in the squad.A 19-member squad unlike the usual 16 makes it clear that the selectors have some confusion after watching the performance of the team especially in Test matches overseas. The past seven years for the Indian Test team has been topsy-turvy. The side was over-dependent on the fab four for a long time. They took the Indian team to glory on many occasions.Their retirement, one after the other, has resulted in complete imbalance in the team. The new inexperienced side has been thrashed by top teams on many occasions for the past three years. It is sometimes a little unfair for the younger side to win series abroad on conditions still quite alien to them. But the supporters of the team want at least one thing from the depleted side: to give some fight.There is not much hope from the team to win the series against the mighty Aussies in their own den, but let’s see what we can expect from our team based on the selection made few days ago.

#1 A new leader in Virat Kohli

This may be a blessing in disguise for Team India. No doubt Dhoni is great as a captain in shorter formats as he is more comfortable playing ODIs and uses his resources wisely while taking some risks too. But his performance as a Test captain has always been under scrutiny while touring. This is an outdated point to make that his methods in longer formats have been predictable, slow and extremely ordinary. The way he takes risks, employs new tactics on the field in ODIs is commendable but in Test matches he is completely a different.

Dhoni remains in his shell and waits for the opponents to make a mistake. Maybe it’s because he has lesser faith in his boys in whites. But the decision to rest Dhoni for the Brisbane Test might just be fruitful. In his first stint as Test skipper, the focus will be solely on Virat Kohli. 

A change is what our team needs at the moment, it will be interesting to see how Kohli uses his bowlers, understands the game as it proceeds, how he sets his field. The aggressive nature of Delhi batsman may just be able to bring out the best from his boys who have nothing to lose as most of them are inexperienced in the longer format.

The team taking the field on December 4 may well be the team after Dhoni’s retirement and as Kohli is touted as the next captain, his captaincy will be put to test from the word go. No one expects him to win his first match as captain, but an inspiring show by the team may well set the tone of the series. It will also give Dhoni some time off to think over his strategies.