It’s heartening to see spinners playing a major role in not just Indian teams but foreign teams (as well). Normally, once the great players go in a bunch, a team needs at least five to seven years to come back.
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Former Indian batting great VVS Laxman sees a bright future for the country in the longest format, which he feels will see the current Indian side not only climb to the summit of the Test rankings but will also stay there for a long time. “I am amazed”, Kapil told PTI here.
There is no set formula to beat India in India in this mood, but England showed it can be done if you have four attributes: a solid defensive batsman in Alastair Cook, who showed to the rest that it was possible to bat, a maverick in Kevin Pietersen, who could drive the nail in, two spinners in Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, who were accurate and quick, and reverse swing in James Anderson.
Ishant’s unavailability will surely add to the troubles of the team management that is facing a tough time in picking the best 11. “You got to prepare for the harshest conditions”, he said. Rohit is yet to cross the 1000-run mark, having played 18 Test matches. When it comes to Tests, irrespective of the condtions, we have seen modern day cricketers struggle after doing well initially. “He is ready to take the challenge head on”. Starting from 1932 till today, there have been great players who have contributed to this great legacy of 499 Tests. “To me he is the team’s allrounder, a bowling allrounder”.
“The team depends on him, he is the most important cricketer, he is the one who can change the game single handedly”.
“Fast bowlers’ main worry is their fitness”.
Harbhajan said even the likes of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami should get to bowl a substantial number of overs in an innings. “We are more than capable of bowling good balls”.
Rahane, however, said the team doesn’t think about the duration of the game going into any Test. “He will instill the same dedication in the players”. When asked about Dhoni, he said, “Dhoni has already done so well for the country”. “I agree 100 percent because the greatest thing about touring is you are playing on different wickets”. You don’t get a player of his calibre every now and then. “He is a fabulous cricketer and he should know when is the right time to go”.
Laxman is impressed with the opening combination of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay. “Rahul has been an wonderful player, never thought he would be like this when I saw him first”.
“The weather is not in our control but we have generally seen slow and low wickets here, like it was in the ODI against South Africa previous year”.
Ever since India chose to play on pitches where the ball starts turning early and turns big, beating them in a home Test series has become arguably the biggest challenge in world cricket. “It’s one of the extra tests you have over here”. “This reminds me of the 1980s”.
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However, Rahane insisted that the team is focussed only on performing, irrespective of the conditions. “I am being very honest, you don’t know the pitches, what is the opposition team exactly, you pick the team accordingly, it’s a last minute call by captain and management”.
