India’s tour of Australia (2014) is one of the most awaited tours of the year, as the young Indian team will take on the mighty Aussies in their own backyard. Many former Australian cricketers including the likes of Glenn McGrath and Damien Fleming have said that Australia will too good for India and they will 4-0. Considering India’s abysmal overseas record in the recent past and Australia’s power-packed squad that too in their own backyard, many would agree with McGrath and Fleming.
But, having said this, there is a lot of talent in the Indian team and it’s just a matter of applying themselves in the right manner. The biggest challenge for the relatively inexperienced Indian team will be to get used to the fast and bouncy conditions in Australia as quickly as they can.
Now the biggest question that arises is- “What India need to win a Test series in Australia?”
FIND THE RIGHT COMBINATION AND JUST STICK TO IT
India have picked a squad of 19 players for the tour of Australia 2014. There’s no obvious reason as to why India have picked such a big squad. One reason can be to manage the workload as the all-important Cricket World Cup 2015 is just a few months later. With such a big squad, there will be a temptation to make the changes, but the right way to go about it would be to pick the best playing XI in the first Test and just stick to it, unless there’s an injury or a complete failure in the first two Tests.
DON’T REPLY TOO MUCH ON SPIN
India’s captain MS Dhoni relies too much on his spinner, irrespective of the conditions. But, this time, India are going to Australia with a very power-packed fast bowling unit. The likes of Umesh Yadav, Shami Ahmed and Varun Aaron can bowl very fast and make use of the conditions in Australia. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli (who will captain India in the first Test) must show faith in their fast bowlers and give them the authority and confidence to unleash themselves and bowl as fast they can. India need bowlers who can take 20 wickets for a period of 2-3 matches at a stretch. And this bowling unit has the potential to do this.
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KEEP TALKING TO SENIOR-PROS THROUGHOUT THE SERIES
The likes of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman will also travel to Australia as commentators. These three have played a lot of cricket in Australia, and most importantly, they have performed well. Talking to these players will provide the young players with the first hand experience and it will allow them to learn more about the conditions and how to adjust their game.
