India are touring England for three ODIs next month, and the rubber is particularly very important for two players in the team, both very seasoned and great servants of Indian cricket.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. These ODIs will be India’s first away from home since October last year in Australia, where the team under Shubman Gill lost 2-1. Kohli got two ducks before scoring 74 in a pride-salvaging win. Sharma, on the other hand, yielded scores of 8, 73 and 121 not out.
Pitches in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are in stark contrast to the ones in India. While there has been an attempt in those four countries to make white-ball pitches batsmen-friendly in recent years, they have still not been able to produce pitches like the ones in India. Pitches over there are bouncy and more often than not help lateral movement. Plus, the boundaries are invariably bigger, which means a shot which is a six in India might be 5-10 yards in those countries, maybe with the exception of New Zealand. Basically a simple catch!
And the pitch point explains why Kohli struggled there in the first two games. Mitchell Starc and Xavier Bartlett bowled to him on bowling-conducive tracks, and the Indian batsman had no answers. In these two matches at Perth and Adelaide, India also batted first, which, due to the changed nature of modern-day cricket, often leads batsmen to take more risks than usual in order to set a higher target. Playing across is also a high-risk shot on tricky wickets. In the third ODI, India played at Sydney, which has a reputation as the only sub-continental pitch in Australia, and they were chasing a modest 237 to win. No prizes for guessing, Kohli returned to runs.
Readers will remember how Kohli was slammed after his first two outings. It got so bad that at one time it appeared that the 37-year-old would retire after the Sydney ODI. Experts and fans were on the same page and called him out for prolonging his career when he wasn’t good any longer. If truth be told, he was a subject of ridicule over those few days. Sharma, thanks to his 73 in Adelaide, made himself immune to criticism to some extent, even though India lost the series there. Once back in India against South Africa and New Zealand, Kohli piled on the runs and broke out of jail to all intents and purposes.
The fiery interview!
Kohli’s viral interview last month in the middle of the Indian Premier League suggested he wasn’t happy with how certain people in the BCCI set-up were working. From what he said, it appeared there were some who probably didn’t want him for the World Cup. If Kohli is right, then there is only one out. Till the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, he has to score runs profusely, which he will. As part of their ODI World Cup preparations, they will play quite a few one-dayers at home, where both Kohli and Sharma should not have any issues whatsoever. They will face issues only when they are travelling to countries like England, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
If certain people in the BCCI really want them out, then they would wish for them to fail in these countries so that they can build their case. So, if Kohli and Sharma shine with the bat and guide India to a series win in England, till September, they can have a nice breather. In November, India will also play five ODIs in New Zealand. That will be another very important series for them. At home, they will host West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in ODIs in the current cricket calendar. No sweat there. The New Zealand challenge is still several months away, so for now, they will have to spend all their energies on the upcoming England tour. This is one of the few series that will decide whether or not they last till the World Cup. India will likely play most of their matches in South Africa in the quadrennial tournament, where pitches are usually challenging for batsmen. Good shows in England and New Zealand for now, and both batsmen will really feel good about their World Cup chances.