Monitoring Desk<\/p>\n
Such is the World No. 1 Test team\u2019s bench strength that there are ready replacements for all players, barring skipper Virat Kohli.
\nOf all the things that this Indian team has done well in the recent past, one outstanding act stands out: for almost each player in the team there is a body double waiting in the wings to take over in case of any slip-ups. The rarity of it in Indian cricket history makes it all that much more special. If Ajinkya Rahane goes out for a game, Karun Nair not only fills in but almost threatens the incumbent\u2019s spot with a triple hundred.
\nIf Shikhar Dhawan is struggling, no problem, let\u2019s get back KL Rahul and also, why not throw in Abhinav Mukund into the mix! Even if the wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha gets injured, Parthiv Patel steps in\u2014and the RAC ticket is with the likes of Rishabh Pant. If Cheteshwar Pujara messes up, Mukund can be even played at No. 3 or with some juggling in the batting order, Nair can be brought in. Only Virat Kohli is irreplaceable right now as the captain and the batsman. Even R Ashwin has been dropped overseas in the ODIs.
\nThe problem of plenty isn\u2019t just seen with the batsmen. Ishant Sharma, the Test specialist these days, has been travelling with the team without able to get a look-in. Even when the best seamer Mohammad Shami is injured, they have Bhuvneshwar Kumar to move in without much fuss.
\nIt was tough to imagine this scenario in the past. An injury or two would affect the balance so much that it would lead to team\u2019s chances being torpedoed. The bench strength used to be a first-world luxury\u2014 Australia could have it, South Africa could do it, but India? No way.
\nThere he was in Hyderabad, in the batting nets that lie outside the arena, reverse-sweeping R Ashwin and using his feet against Jayant Yadav.
\nBatting adjacent to him was Ajinkya Rahane, punching and pushing, mostly of the back foot.
\nBoth Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli have already made it clear that Nair would have to sit out. Kohli framed the scenario this way: \u201cI feel one game doesn\u2019t overshadow two years of hard work from another player \u2026 Sealing a spot as far as the squad is concerned \u2013 that\u2019 what Karun did.\u201d
\nAnother noteworthy aspect of this was that it wasn\u2019t just the youngsters who stepped up when they were drafted in but also the comeback men like Yuvraj Singh and Parthiv Patel. Happy problem that throws up pressure?
\nIt would be interesting to see how this happy problem plays out in the time to come. Purely from the mental scheme of things. Would the knowledge that if you slip up for a series or two, there is a ready replacement waiting to swoop in add that much more pressure? Here is where the team management has really excelled with the move of backing Rahane publicly as they have done. \u2018You might have hit a triple hundred, but boss, chill, and wait your time\u2019 can be of a great pressure-reliever to Rahane. And it also sends out a message to others that we would try to back you as much as possible.
\nThe replacement would squeeze you out only if you had been given a fair chance to succeed or fail. Like with the case of Shikhar Dhawan. He can\u2019t complain about his exit \u2013 he was given a fair run and only then, was he dropped. The other positive of in all this, though, is that the scenario could toughen up the players mentally and get complacent ever.
\nHow it will play out in the future should be fascinating to track. Would the Indian team management continue to be as patient or having seen the replacements showing mojo, would the temptation come in for more frequent shuffles?
\nKohli indicated the road map for the team. \u201cAn injury should not deplete a team; that\u2019s something that bench strength contributes from. I think bowlers can be switched according to conditions. You might want to play three spinners, sometimes you might want to play three seamers; some seamer might be more effective on a seam-friendly wicket, some guys might have more pace for reverse swing,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cBut to chip and change regularly doesn\u2019t help a batsman gain confidence. We are lucky to have guys who are up and ready for Test cricket. Jayant walked in beautifully. In T20s and one-dayers you saw Chahal and Kedar stepping up. If a form or that kind of thing happens, then obviously, you need to change,\u201d he added.
\nIt\u2019s a tricky balancing act of course\u2014to keep the confidence of the established batsmen, and to keep up the morale of those waiting outside. It comes down to communication, Kohli felt. \u201cI think communication is a big thing on that front and that\u2019s something we do really well with the team management and myself as well, to convey to the players what we want.\u201d
\nThe communication has come through in various instances \u2013 Kumble telling Pujara not to fret about his strike rate, Kohli telling Yuvraj that he is in the scheme of things, the selector MSK Prasad keeping Parthiv in the loop, or the public backing now of Rahane.
\nOnly one irreplaceable man in the team is Kohli, who Ricky Ponting called as the best batsman in world cricket. Ponting even saw bit of himself in Kohli\u2019s temperament. As a captain, Kohli has had quite a stunning ride in the recent times and so his answer to what has been the biggest learning from the home season was quite revealing.
\nThis Indian team is learning how to be more patient, he said. \u201cThere was one instance in West Indies in Jamaica when we kept going positive and we didn\u2019t hold back but we couldn\u2019t take 20 wickets and the bowlers got tired. I think we done the patience bit very well in the series against New Zealand and England, bogging down the batsman and earning the wickets in difficult situations in the game. When everyone is young, everyone is excited in the team. Sometimes people tend to get carried away and you don\u2019t understand the importance of being patient. That\u2019s something we want to do and to improve on as a team.\u201d
\nClarity in communication, a healthy bench strength, and patience\u2014not a bad mix at all. No wonder they have been winning consistently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monitoring Desk Such is the World No. 1 Test team\u2019s bench strength that there are ready replacements for all players, barring skipper Virat Kohli. Of all the things that this Indian team has done well in the recent past, one outstanding act stands out: for almost each player in the team there is a body […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n