How do you pick a perfect Test XI for a side whose last red ball game was two years ago? Form changes, techniques evolve, and talents come knocking on the team door, but without regular competitive games in the format, how does one do justice and pick the most competitive bunch?
“It is a four-day game. So even if you have to bowl for two days, you have to look at who can bowl for two days and who are those batters who can bat for long,” India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said here ahead of the one-off Test against England.
“If we look at the pitch and decide the combination, it will be different but if we look at our strengths, it will be a different combination. I would like to go with our strengths,” she added, holding her cards close about what India’s lineup for the four-day game could look like.
England captain Heather Knight was blunt in pointing out the perils of picking squads when the calendar offers you one or two Tests a year.
“It makes things like selection hard because the form you’re leaning on is from like a year ago. It’s quite a hard thing to do and you’re just trying to make your best judgement about the game in front of you,” she said.
The right way to do Tests
Due to the gaps, the learning curves are steep but valuable.
“Earlier in my career, I went too much into my shell in trying to be defensive thinking that’s how it should be played but at the end of the day, the game is about how many runs a team can score in a given time. So, I’ve found a better method after the matches I’ve played recently,” Knight pointed out.
Healthy competition
When India last played a home Test, in 2014 in Mysore, Kaur starred with the ball, taking nine wickets across two innings to help seal India’s innings and 34-run win against South Africa. Looking back at that Test, Kaur is happy with the problem of plenty facing the Indian think tank.
“In that Test, I was the only offspinner in the side, and my first wicket was off a full toss. Getting a first Test wicket via full toss was unexpected but then I bowled well. Now we have enough spinners to ensure I won’t be needed with the ball,” she said.
“Competition in the team is challenging. The challenge is also for the two off-spinners (Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana) and two left-arm spinners (Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Saika Ishaque). If there is only one bowler, she knows she will play but if there is a back-up they will know if they don’t do well someone else will take their place,” Kaur added.
History beckons
This is the first Test India will play since the turn of the millennium which will not feature veteran Indian batter Mithali Raj. Kaur realises she has the opportunity to script a victorious start to her legacy as a Test captain.
“Butterflies are always there, no matter how much you have played. I missed the last Test because of injury and this time there is an opportunity to lead the team. The talk has been about being positive and playing with excitement. Only the ball colour changes and we play in whites, otherwise the process remains unchanged,” she said.
Knight will hope to foil Kaur’s plans and head home for the year-end break on a winning note.
“I am desperate to win a Test match. It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve done that as an England side. It’ll be a great finish if we end with a win in the Test. It was so pleasing- the T20 series win. With the T20 World Cup coming up, it feels like we’re in a really good place. It gave our youngsters some time in conditions they’re not otherwise too used to. Playing cricket out here in the heat and humidity is not easy. We’re going to have to play really well. It’ll be satisfying to have a good four days and then wind up with a win and head home for Christmas,” she added.
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