Wicket-taking should be Gill’s priority and big test as skipper given India’s penchant to play with 5 bowlers.
India’s commitment to wicket-taking will be Gill’s first big test.
We are experiencing the amazing sensation of gradually increasing excitement for Test cricket. The week leading up to the start of a five-Test series is something special, even though there has already been the fantastic World Test Championship final. At what is perhaps the most intimate and boisterous Test venue in the nation, England has already begun training.
After playing India A in a closed-door match on the outskirts of London last week, India will begin training on Wednesday.
It is inevitable that the mind will begin to reminisce about the previous season when you start a new one. Even though India hasn’t played limited-overs cricket for six months, the memories of the 3-1 series loss in Australia scarcely need to be relived. How they were one collapse away from drawing Melbourne, how they celebrated saving the follow-on in Brisbane, how they led the series in Perth, and how Sydney could have gone either way if Jasprit Bumrah hadn’t been hurt.
For the first time in a long time, you will also recall watching an Indian team and not knowing exactly how they were going to take 20 wickets as cheaply as possible. India’s goal since 2018 has been to take 20 wickets, even if it means pressuring the hitters to do more. The captain at the time, Virat Kohli, was astute enough to see that his bowlers were knocking the opposition out cheaply, so he was effectively asking himself and the batsmen to do less.
However, out of concern that they wouldn’t be able to bat after No. 7, India never used four quick bowlers in Australia 2024–25. It is difficult to determine whether the lineup would have looked different if Shardul Thakur, who is not a full-time tailender at No. 8, had been well and not just recovering from surgery. Even yet, the series’ recurring theme was to avoid being blown out once six wickets were lost.
Unless you can play real all-rounders, like R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja do in Asia, the comfort of those extra runs from the tail is merely theoretical. Jadeja and Ashwin were not very useful with the ball outside of Asia and the West Indies. Without that right all-rounder, India continued to prioritise theoretical comfort above offensive depth and penetration.
In the series, Bumrah sent down a greater percentage of India’s overs than Pat Cummins did for Australia, although bowling less overs overall. Despite almost missing the Sydney Test, that is. It can throw off the rhythms of effort and relaxation to have to keep going back for periods. 46% of India’s wickets were taken by him.
Both Australia and India had taken 34 wickets in the first 40 overs of the entire innings by the time Bumrah’s “zor” ran out. In actuality, India had done so at a higher economy and average pace. India was out-bowling at this point, averaging twice as many wickets as Australia with the old ball.
Not surprisingly, India’s win-loss record in Test matches outside of Asia and the West Indies from 2018 to 2022 was 6-7 when they used four quicks and 5-10 when they played three.
Despite being bowled out for 191 in the first innings, India had the extra bowling to be competitive and still had batting depth in Rishabh Pant and Thakur, which helped them reach a massive third innings at The Oval in 2021. That was one of those historic victories.
The team management has been made aware of the necessity of the additional bowling. Particularly considering that Bumrah is only available for three Test matches, which somewhat counteracts the fact that this is a simpler tour.
But there’s a good probability England will try to get rid of Thakur. For example, they gave him match stats of 18-0-113-1 at Edgbaston in 2022. We won’t truly understand India’s commitment to collecting 20 wickets as cheaply as possible until England effectively attacks Thakur, assuming he plays as the fourth quick at Headingley. The only real test of Shubman Gill’s leadership will be whether he plays four quicks, excluding Reddy, and how he responds to any early setbacks.