The trouble for India doesn’t stop at No. 3, but extends all the way down to No. 4, which is held by Virat Kohli, a modern-day legend.
Virat Kohli, The Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma. The ‘holy trinity’ has brought Indian fans many happy memories over the years, but how future-ready is India’s Test batting as the trio is getting set for its last dance? The bigwigs had to look for an answer to that question after the shocking loss in the WTC final at the Oval. Now! Pujara’s inability to perform against Australia is hurting him greatly since everyone thought he was in great shape following his success with Sussex in County Cricket. If we exclude the 77 Pujara scored against Australia in Sydney in 2021 and the 90 and 102 he scored against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2022, the cupboard appears to be empty.
India’s problems don’t stop at No. 3, though; they extend all the way down to No. 4, which is held by a contemporary legend in Virat Kohli.
Few other batsmen have controlled the bowlers with Kohli’s arrogance in the past ten years, but now only the façade remains as he battles to construct such edifices in Test cricket.
He seems to have discovered his range in white ball forms, but India will need more from Kohli the Test batter when they play in the West Indies next month and hit the next WTC cycle (2023–25).
Kohli scored 932 runs from 17 Test matches during the just finished WTC cycle, average 32.13 with one hundred, an 186 against Australia earlier this year in Ahmedabad. To be fair, though, the featherbed at Ahmedabad was among the flattest in recent memory.
In the same time frame, Kohli’s away average dropped to 28.43 with no hundred.
So who is our fourth hitter from now on? We might see Shyreas Iyer, who is now injured, replacing Kohli at some point, but the Mumbai native still has to establish his all-weather batting prowess.
Iyer will also need to overcome his dislike for short pitches that slant into his body and frequently get him tangled up, but he looks like a better fit as the No. 5 batter.
Sarfaraz Khan had a strong domestic run last season, but his dubious approach against top-notch fast bowling remains the topic of conversation in Indian cricket circles. Sarfaraz is more of a domestic run accumulator; he hasn’t exactly been a fan of anything faster than medium pace.
Additionally, Sarfaraz received at least seven India A Test matches, although he was unable to score even 100.
Despite playing in 50 matches, Rohit Sharma’s name frequently does not immediately spring to mind when people talk about India’s greatest Test batting players. But in the final WTC part, the India skipper shared a success tale.
Sarfaraz Khan had a strong domestic run last season, but his dubious approach against top-notch fast bowling remains the topic of conversation in Indian cricket circles. Sarfaraz is more of a domestic run accumulator; he hasn’t exactly been a fan of anything faster than medium pace.
Additionally, Sarfaraz received at least seven India A Test matches, although he was unable to score even 100.
Despite playing in 50 matches, Rohit Sharma’s name frequently does not immediately spring to mind when people talk about India’s greatest Test batting players. But in the final WTC part, the India skipper shared a success tale.
In his 11 Test appearances, Rohit scored two century and 758 runs at a 42.11 average. His record on the road has also been much better than at home over this time, averaging 52.57 as opposed to 36.88. But can he live until 2025 at age 36? Shubman Gill is ready to take over the mantle at one end, but what about his partner? Mayank Agarwal appeared to be a viable long-term option for India, but he hasn’t appeared in a Test match since the second Test against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru last year.
Technically sound opener Abhimanyu Easwaran seems to have faded for the time being, and the decision-makers would need to keep an eye on Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance in domestic matches.
