By Venkatesh Prasad
Let me begin by being blunt. On the evidence of the first game against the Sri Lankans, this series is certainly not going to be the best preparation for the Indian team ahead of picking their combination for the World Cup early next year.
I was one of those who believed, before the hurriedly arranged series began, that it would be a good test for Indian aspirants but, the total mismatch in the opener at Cuttack has belied my expectations. At the least, I am hoping the Ahmedabad game will not be so one-sided.
It was certainly not the kind of contest – or should we say non-contest – that the Indians would have been looking for. It is one thing to outplay a team in all departments by being extremely good oneself but its altogether different when the opposition looks like they have little clue as to what’s going on. It makes for a false confidence in one’s abilities and it’s not something this talented Indian side needs.
That the Lankan bowling wasn’t up to the mark would be an understatement. They just didn’t fire one’s imagination. The variations were totally missing, none seemed capable of bowling to the field and on the whole it was a totally listless bowling display. The batting, by failing so against a second-string Indian pacer attack, only made it worse.
Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron would probably be India’s third, fourth and fifth bowlers and only figured as a trio in the absence of Mohd Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. So, the Lankans should really have no excuse for the poor display with the bat. That said I did relish the sight of Umesh and Varun coming on real quick. It was good to see them hit 140kmh consistently but it’s still a worrying factor that the consistency in other aspects is still missing. At the international level, being quick isn’t enough, you have to bowl in the right spots and our young bowlers can take a cue from someone like Javagal Srinath, a perfect example of someone who bowled quickly but with telling accuracy. It does need some experience though to get it right and on that front we need to be patient with this young crop.
Consistency also means being fit and available over a length of time and here I am quite disappointed with the way Varun has been going. The young man has to give the selectors and team management the confidence to select him, something which gets dented with frequent breakdowns.
If you keep breaking down and don’t manage to bowl your quota of overs or make yourself unavailable for every other game, it disrupts the team’s plans. So working harder on one’s fitness is the key. Hopefully, the Lankans too would have worked harder in the break between games.