Foreign pitches too alien for vulnerable Indian attack

                     

It’s high time for senior selectors to maneuver a plan to counter the fierce bowling attack that has led Indian batting vulnerable on foreign bouncy pitches. The recent performance in South Africa and New Zealand tour was a clear manifestation of their impending decline. A string of failures has raise questions on the ability of Indian openers to perform overseas. The percentage of away record win is significantly low against sub–continents which has been an area of concern. 

If concrete steps are not taken too soon, the route to coming World Cup in Australia will be a closed chapter. Indeed, it has dampened the prospect of winning consecutive World Cup under Dhoni reign. It’s a precarious situation but not insurmountable.

Barring, few players like in form Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara nobody have been able to score consistently .The duo has a lot in common when it comes to resilience and perseverance and has the ability to turn around the match on a given day. MS Dhoni has always been a firm believer in giving opportunity to young brigades and more importantly, vouch for them but sadly it hasn't paid off. The young Indian team is a strong force to reckon with, but expecting a miracle out of them on foreign bouncy pitches would me an uphill task. The situation, however, in India is just reverse since the pitches are flat and more ideal for spinner. Indian selection committee has to take bold steps and encourage more bouncy pitches to enable aspiring youngsters to get familiar with pace bowling. This initiative has to be taken soon else the future generation of Indian cricket will be prone to such problems repeatedly.

Unless, Indian team doesn't win overseas comprehensively, the tag of best batting line will soon fade away. Lot has to be done with respect to practicing short delivery and embrace the culture of preparing bouncy pitches. Very few players are comfortable in playing pull shots which is a worrisome factor and one of the grey areas that need to be sort out. As a matter of fact, top cricketing nations like Australia, South Africa and England are cashing on such opportunities to push Indian team on the back foot. Not to forget, our spin bowling has too suffered outside India. Needless to say, India is still searching for a world class fast bowler who can bowl at the speed of 145km per hour. Someone has to be accountable to mould the current squad and instill abundance belief.

As per Sportskeeda leading sports website, the beleaguered Indian squad is looking for a bowling coach who can change the fortune of bowlers. There is no dearth of talent in the country but until the culture of pace bowling and bouncy tracks won’t be embraced the future is uncertain, especially when going abroad. Ironically, with MRF Pace Foundation bowling academy, we still lack the lethal attacks who can spearhead the bowling department. Unfortunately, we haven’t produced any more Kapil Dev, Jawagal Srinath or Zaheer Khan who had immense potential to pierce the opponent. As long as the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble etc. were in Indian team there had been a hope and belief in dressing room that could breathe a fresh air. With their absence that wretchedness has engulfed the team and even prompted some senior players to come down heavily on the team management. Indian team need to spruce up their batting as well as bowling attack.

The dilemma of opening slot has to be addressed, since it’s a position where one can’t relinquish from the onus of scoring runs consistently, and give the team a much needed foundation in order to thrive on foreign pitches. Since there are not much experienced players left in the current squad, coach Duncan Fletcher has to led from the front and identify the problems or just be a mere spectator. We got to have a Plan B whenever we go for international tours as our players lack ideas, especially, when the conditions are adverse to our strengths. Taking home advantage is every team’s strength to which they bank on and relish the conditions, but executing it to a plan makes it even more important.