India themselves haven’t played a Test match since surrendering to Australia in Sydney in January
Arshdeep Singh during India’s practice session at Leeds yesterday. The left-arm pacer is likely to make his Test debut today. Pic/Getty Images
It isn’t quite the moment of truth, but Indian fans will get their first taste of life after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in Test cricket from today when the first of five Tests against Ben Stokes’s England gets going.
Under Shubman Gill, India venture into the unknown, in a manner of speaking, as they embrace transition with open arms, relying on the skills of their batting group to tide over the loss of massive experience against an England side that has played just one Test since last December. India themselves haven’t played a Test match since surrendering to Australia in Sydney in January.
While it is inevitable that there will be a sense of loss in the absence of Rohit, Kohli and R Ashwin, who retired in December midway through the Australia series, one can’t help but be excited by the prospects that lie ahead as a new era dawns. Several of India’s specialist batters haven’t played a Test in England till now, but they all have pedigree and steel and will be energised by the prospect of making a name for themselves in a land which places immense demands on skill and character, on technique and fortitude.
Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy
Headingley will be the stage where the first act will unfurl from today. On a green track that will gradually lose colour, and potentially bite, under the harsh summer sun, they can expect a stern examination from England’s pacers, themselves short on Test-match experience with the exception of Chris Woakes, returning from injury. Between them, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue have only eight appearances. But what they lack in terms of familiarity with the five-day game will be offset by their knowledge of the conditions, especially in the case of local lad Carse.
Gill played coy about who will occupy the No. 3 position that has been his since the middle of 2023. There are multiple options — Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran, maybe even Karun Nair — all of whom will have their work cut out, considering that the first two are yet to play a Test anywhere and the last-named had his last dalliance with international cricket more than eight years back.
Not for the first time, the onus of carrying the bowling will rest with Jasprit Bumrah, who had to give up captaincy aspirations because of the need to manage his back, which has troubled him numerous times in the past. If Bumrah plays only three of the five Tests, as has been the official word in the last few weeks, he will try his utmost to make every one of them count as India target their first series victory in England since 2007. On that occasion, Rahul Dravid marshalled his troops to a 1-0 triumph to ensure India wrapped their hands around the inaugural Pataudi Trophy. Gill will be hoping to follow suit and take first possession of the rebranded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the new symbol of supremacy in England-India Tests in the former’s backyard.
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