England vs India 2014: 5 things MS Dhoni needs to make sure before the first Test

With the humiliating whitewash against England 4 years ago still very much fresh in the hearts and minds of sincere Test cricket fans, MS Dhoni’s men have arrived in England hoping and confident in competing ball by ball against England. The home side is definitely not in the best of touches and India might consider this as a window through which they can plan their strategies. The same line was written when India toured Australia – a team in transition then, but still India went down every time. Time to be more cautious in planning, that should not force the visitors to be defensive. With the series being a 5 match affair, a side cannot be written off even if they fail to get things going straightaway, but getting the advantage will be crucial and Indian side should have to attack from all possible ways to earn wins. Dhoni insisted that he will stay aggressive and I hope that he won’t forget making that remark. There are certain things he should do the right way with his team that will be crucial for the Indian prospects.

#1 Field the best XI for the warm-up games

No excuses like fatigue, fever, stomach ailments, should be put forward for failing to field the first team against Leicestershire and Derbyshire – to get maximum feel of the conditions and use them for good.

We have seen before on numerous occasions how the reserve bowlers will be bowling their hearts out in a practice game scheduled between the middle of a tour in an attempt to impress the team management, but will only be needed to carry drinks. 

Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher should zero in on the first team and ask them to bowl more than the people who can be used later on. Same goes to the batsmen and no altering the batting order to include your 3rd opener. This is where the things can go completely wrong, assume if Gautam Gambhir is asked to bat at No.3 for the warm-up games and does well. Eventually, you have to make him open for the 1st Test, and he would have never faced the new ball. Where will that lead the team to? 

Even though you can argue that he is experienced enough to handle that, you cannot deny the risk factor that the whole team will be batting in variable positions.